Mandarin Shocks Columbus To Win 8A Title

     The Mandarin Mustangs surprised the Columbus Explorers 37-35 in the FHSAA Class 8A state championship game at Camping World Stadium in Orlando on Saturday night. It was the first state title in school history for Mandarin.
     Columbus(14-1) got the first and they scored on their first possession. Quarterback Brandon McDuffey fired a 71-yard pass to wide receiver Xzavier Henderson for a touchdown at 10:05.
     Mandarin(11-4) came back on their first drive and tied the contest 7-7. Quarterback Carson Beck connected a 23-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Demario Douglas at the 7:27 mark.
     The Mustangs moved ahead 14-7 with no time left in the first quarter. Wide receiver Kris Mitchell caught a 23-yard strike from Beck. In the second quarter, they added a 27-yard field goal from Hudson Levine at with 7:10 left for a 17-7 lead.
     The Explorers cut the deficit to 17-14 with 4:52 remaining. McDuffey tossed a 14-yard touchdown pass to Kalani Norris.
     Mandarin regained a 10-point left with 1:50 to go in the first half. Beck threw another touchdown pass to Douglas from 11 yards away.
     In the third quarter, Columbus scored on the first play of their second possession at 6:43. Henderson caught a 45-yard touchdown reception from McDuffey and made it 24-21.
     The Mustangs answered back just over a minute later with 5:37 left in the third. It was the same connection from Beck to Douglas from 39 yards out.
     Beck would compile his fifth touchdown pass of the game early in the fourth quarter. Douglas make his fourth touchdown catch in the contest which was for 29 yards with 10:48 remaining for a 37-21 lead.
     There would be one more surge for Columbus later in the fourth. McDuffey threw a 32-yard strike to Norris with 9:23 to go. Running back Henry Parrish ran in a two-point conversion and they were down 37-29.
     McDuffey got his fifth touchdown pass of the contest with 1:17 left. Henderson made it to the end zone for the third time on a nine-yard reception. They fell short and missed on the two-point conversion run by Parrish to tie the game.