Ichiban! Raines headed to championship game after edging Booker

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Troy Butler laid a hit into Ryan Downes near midfield. The ball spurted free. Jyon Simon grabbed it on the ground.

Simon rose up immediately, holding the ball up high. He jumped up and down with the ball held aloft, racing toward the sideline. His Raines teammates celebrated and the Vikings fans at The Graveyard erupted.

Raines was 42 seconds and a victory formation away from the Class 3A state title game and now just a victory away from the fourth FHSAA football state championship in school history.

That one play symbolized how the Vikings made life miserable for Sarasota Booker’s high-powered offense in the second half Friday night. Raines trailed by nine at the half but rallied after a flurry of Booker mistakes to claim a 28-23 victory in the state semifinal.

“We’re going back to state, we’re going back,” said Simon, the Vikings senior defensive lineman. “It’s a lot of emotion. It could have been anybody (grabbing the fumble), and I would have had the same emotions. I would have done the same things.”

So, there is one more game for Simon and his teammates. That happens when the 3A state title game kicks at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 14, at Pitbull Stadium in Miami. Raines (13-0) the Region 1-3A champions and top seed in the state, will face third-seeded Miami Northwestern (11-2), which smoked Melbourne Eau Gallie 40-0 in its semifinal.

“It means a lot for everybody, not just me,” said Butler, who had three tackles for loss to go with his sack. “I was thinking about this a lot. We made it. We made it.”

That one play, with the Tornadoes at midfield, ended any hopes from Booker (9-4), the Region 3-3A champions. It capped a contentious 47:18 and guaranteed a shot at title No. 4 for the Vikings.

Now, this edition of Raines football will attempt to join the 1997, 2017 and 2018 teams that won it all, all coming at the 4A level. The Vikings fell a win short of state title games in 1973 and 2015.

After that last title, Raines has fallen in the first round of the playoffs once, the region semifinals three times and the region finals once.

Now, the feeling is the Vikings are back where they belong.

“It feels good,” said quarterback TJ Cole, who passed for 219 yards and four touchdowns and added 110 rushing yards. “Coming back, down by nine at halftime, it wasn’t an easy game. We had to fight through adversity.

“I’m excited for the team, excited for the program. We’re not worried about the past. The present is here. We’ve just got to finish.”

To say it was hard-fought was an understatement. The teams had a push-fest and were jawing with each other right after Raines ran onto the field prior to kickoff. They combined for 36 penalties for 315 yards, and with 4:44 left in the third quarter, Tornadoes coach Scottie Littles was ejected after picking up his second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

It was the tightest contest for the Vikings this season, which claimed running-clock victories in its past five games and had only one opponent — Bolles in the season-opener — stay within 20 points of them.

“Sigh of relief,” Raines coach Donovan Masline said of the game’s ending. “Just soaking in the moment that these kids came out and did what they wanted to do — and that’s punch their ticket to the state championship game.

“My emotions are my emotions, but I’m really just happy for these kids. They’ve been coming together as a team this season and, that defining moment here, never say die.”

There were plenty of opportunities to roll over. Though Cole raced for 54 yards on the game’s first play, and the Vikings scored on that opening drive, the team only scored twice on six trips into Booker territory in the first half.

A fumble on fourth down at the goalline undermined a drive that started at the Tornadoes 9 following a 77-yard kick return by Ziyon Butler, and a 100-yard pick-six by Chauncey Kennon not only halted another Raines possession but gave the Tornadoes a 15-8 lead.

The Vikings pulled to within 15-14 and looked likely to take back the momentum after Cole connected with Ziyon Butler with 1:16 left in the half, only to have Downes connect with Ty Wortham for a 73-yard touchdown on the very next play.

But the second half was much different. Booker ran eight plays in the third quarter. They included two interceptions and a fake punt from the Tornadoes own 19 that Geterius Brown and Jayshaun Wanton blew up for Raines.

It was the second failed fake punt for Booker in its own territory. The first led to Cole’s connection to Butler. The second allowed Cole to hit Adron Walker from 14 yards to give Raines the lead for good at 28-23.

“We knew, watching film, that they wanted to do some fake punts,” Masline said. “I don’t know why, but that’s what they wanted to do. We just had to take advantage of the opportunity, and we came out and did it.”

The Tornadoes second half possession chart is a line of misery for a team that entered the contest averaging 470 yards and more than 50.6 points a game.

The same team that scored more than 80 points twice this season was shut out in the second half. The first play of the second half was an interception by Ziyon Butler. The second possession ended with the final failed fake punt. Then came another pick, followed by Brown grabbing a fourth-down sack.

Ziyon Butler broke up a fourth-down pass to end Booker’s next drive and then had an interception on the following fourth down.

“I played my technique and let good things happen,” said Butler, who had three receptions on offense. “It’s a good feeling but we’ve got one more. We’re not done yet.”

Truly, they are not finished. There’s one more chance to join the Raines greats from 1997, 2017 and 2018.

“We practiced all year to get here,” Troy Butler said. “We made it, and now we have to finish the mission.”

Raines 28, Booker 23

Booker, 8, 15, 0, 0 — 23

Raines, 8, 6, 14, 0 — 28

R — Kaleb Lampkins 23 pass from TJ Cole (Tony Williams run)

B — Rashawn Peterson 21 run (Dylan Wester run)

B — Chauncey Kennon 100 INT return (Dylan Gomez kick)

R — Ziyon Butler 13 pass from Cole (run failed)

B — Ty Wortham 73 pass from Ryan Downes (Wester run)

R — Adron Walker 8 pass from Cole (kick failed)

R — Walker 14 pass from Cole (Williams run)

Category: B — R

First downs: 12 — 20

Rushes-yards: 22-32 — 42-132

Passing: 178 — 219

Comp-Att-Int: 8-28-3 — 16-24-1

Fumbles-lost: 2-1 — 4-1

Penalties-Yards: 18-154 — 18-161

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — B: Peterson 12-32, Tyree Mannings 2-8, Jacoby Mobley 1-5, Wortham 3-5, Wester 1-0, Downes 2-(-7), Team 1-(-11). R: Cole 20-110, Ta’darius Washington 17-45, Lampkins 1-(-4), Team 4-(-19).

PASSING — B: Downes 8-27-3-157, Wester 1-1-0-21. R: Cole 16-24-1-219.

RECEIVING — B: Wortham 4-102, Wester 2-35, Peterson 1-21, Ryan Simmons 2-20. R: Lampkins 4-77, Butler 4-53, Walker 4-43, Exavior Sherrod 1-28, Washington 2-11, Andreus Cox 1-7.