Footy John Kross Jr. Passes Away

     Longtime Miami radio host John Kross Jr. passed away on Saturday at the age of 77. He went by the name Footy whenever he was on the radio airwaves. 

     Kross was best known for his long reign at Y-100 WHYI-FM from 1974 until his retirement in May 2006. He began as a morning sportscaster for 13 years until 1987. Kross worked in that role alongside morning show talents that included Bill Tanner, Bill Reihle, Sonny Fox and Ron Hersey. Footy was a morning co-host with Bobby Mitchell from 1987 to 1998. He co-hosted Footy and The Chix at Six along with Jade Alexander and Tina Malave from 1998 to 2001. Kross then was the morning co-host with Kenny Walker on the Kenny & Footy Show from June 2001 until January 2006. 

     He came out of retirement to join WIOD-AM as a weekend host in early 2007 and later replaced Glenn Beck as the late morning host for a short time. Footy then became a part of two different South Florida sports talk format radio stations. Kross was a Saturday late morning host at 940 WINZ-AM until April 2013. He was a Sunday morning host at 560 WQAM-AM from April 2013 until 2017.

South Florida High School Champions

     South Florida high schools competed in six FHSAA state championship games this past week on South Dade Kia Field in Pitbull Stadium at the Florida International University campus. The local three-county area won four state championships this year. The South Florida region had three state titles in 2021, three state titles in 2022, four state titles in 2023 and five state titles in 2024. 

     Palm Beach County finished with two state championship teams. It was the first time more than one high school from that county won a state title since 2009 when they captured three state titles. The Cardinal Newman Crusaders made their first state title appearance in school history and stunned the defending champions the Chaminade-Madonna Lions 17-14 for the FHSAA Class 1A state championship. 

     The West Boca Raton Bulls repeated as FHSAA Class 6A state champions when they blanked the West Broward Bobcats 31-0. They became the first back-to-back state champion from Palm Beach County since Glades Day did it in 2009 and 2010. 

     There was two high schools from Broward County that won a a state title. The St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders shut out the Lakeland Dreadnaughts 29-0 in the FHSAA Class 5A state championship contest. The Raiders captured their state-record seventh consecutive state title and their state-record 17th overall state football championship. STA extended their postseason winning streak to a state-record 35-game winning streak. They have won 14 state championships in the last 19 seasons. The Raiders reached the FHSAA Football Finals for the 18th time in the past 22 seasons.  

     The American Heritage Patriots held off the Jones Tigers 33-28 in the FHSAA Class 4A state championship game. They became back-to-back champions and won their seventh state title in school history. Chaminade-Madonna made their state-record 10th straight state title game appearance and had their streak of four consecutive state championships end by Cardinal Newman in the Class 1A state title game. 

     There was no state championships from Dade County for the first time since 2009. The Miami Northwestern Bulls were edged in the final 10 seconds by the Raines Vikings 23-22 in the FHSAA Class 3A state championship game. 

      Indian River County fell short of a state title. The Vero Beach Indians lost on the last play of the game to the Lake Mary Rams 28-27 in the FHSAA Class 7A state championship game. They were trying to win their first state title since 1981 and their second overall state title in school history. 

Lake Mary Tops Vero Beach For 7A Title On Final Play

     The Lake Mary Rams scored on the final play of the contest and surprised the Vero Beach Indians 28-27 in the FHSAA Class 7A state championship game on South Dade Kia Field in Pitbull Stadium at Florida International University on Saturday night. It was the final state title game played at the venue this week.

     The Rams won their first state championship in school history. The Indians did not capture their first state championship since 1981 and their second overall state football title. 

     Lake Mary(12-3) broke out to a 3-0 lead at 7:00 of the first quarter on their first possession. Lucas Parker was able to boot a 32-yard field goal. 

     Vero Beach(14-1) scored on the first play of their opening drive just 10 seconds later. Quarterback Champ Monds connected an 80-yard touchdown pass to quarterback/wide receiver E.J. White on the right hash marks to take a 7-3 lead. 

     Rams quarterback Noah Grubbs threw his second interception of the contest to defensive back Jordan Crutchfield in the end zone for a touchback at 9:37 of the second quarter. Two plays later, White fired a 79-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Marcus Melbourne on the right sideline to give Vero Beach a 14-3 lead with 8:52 remaining in the second.         

     The Rams turned the ball over on downs at the Indians 20-yard line with 6:17 left in the second. The Indians extended their lead on their next possession to 21-3 with 3:00 remaining in the first half. Monds threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Xavier Stinson in the middle of the field to finish off a six-play, 80-yard drive. 

     In the third quarter, Lake Mary closed it to 21-11 with 2:00 to go. Wide receiver Barrett Schulz caught a 35-yard touchdown pass on the left sideline from Grubbs. They were able to pick up a two-point conversion as Grubbs sneaked into the middle of the line. 

     The Indians responded on a three-play, 80-yard drive and got into the end zone with 1:23 left in the third. White rushed through the middle from one yard out to make it 27-11. The extra point by kicker Riley Swanson was no good. 

     The Rams answered back and trailed 27-19 at the 11:14 mark of the fourth quarter. Grubbs tossed a seven-yard touchdown pass to running back Gavin Isaacs on the right side. They made the two-point conversion with a double pass. Grubbs threw a lateral pass across the field toward the right side to Schulz. He then found Isaacs with a pass to the right side of the end zone. 

     Indians running back Jonathan Hillsman reached the 200-yard rushing mark during a possession in the middle of the quarter. He finished up the contest with 238 rushing yards. Swanson missed a 39-yard field goal with 3:23 to go in the fourth to end the drive. 

     Things looked great for Vero Beach as Crutchfield made his third interception of the game when he picked off a Grubbs pass at the Indians 40-yard line with 1:12 left. Vero Beach took a knee three straight times and had a 4th-and-31 from their own 19-yard line. White got the snap and ran the ball to beyond the back of the Indians end zone. It gave Lake Mary a safety and they were behind 27-21 with 12 seconds left in the fourth. 

      The Rams had one more chance after the ensuing kickoff. Kick returner Jahvon Robinson returned the kickoff 23 yards to the Vero Beach 42-yard line with eight seconds to go. Grubbs rolled out to his right and threw a hail-mary pass down the right sideline. It was caught by Schulz at the Indians four-yard line. He lateralled the ball near the goal line and wide receiver Tavarius Brundidge Jr. ran it into the zone to tie the game 27-27 with no time remaining in the fourth quarter. Parker kicked the extra point to give Lake Mary the 28-27 victory and their first FHSAA state championship. 

Panthers Erase Stars

     The Florida Panthers blanked the Dallas Stars 4-0 at American Airlines Center on Saturday night. Both teams have reached the Stanley Cup Semifinals in the past three seasons. The Panthers are in the middle of a four-game road swing. 

      Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky picked up his third shutout of the season and 52nd shutout of his NHL career. He now has a 21-2-2 career record against Dallas(21-7-5). 

      After a scoreless opening period, Florida(16-13-2) collected three goals during the second period for a 3-0 lead. The Cats picked up goals from Anton Lundell at the 19-second mark of the second, Sam Bennett at 5:45 of the period and Brad Marchand with 15 seconds remaining in the frame. 

      The Panthers put the game away late in the third period. Marchand chalked his second tally of the contest and 18th goal of the season on an empty-net goal with 2:48 left. 

Amercian Heritage Covers Jones For 4A Crown

     The American Heritage Patriots held off the Jones Tigers 33-28 for the FHSAA Class 4A state championship at Pitbull Stadium on the FIU campus in Miami on Saturday. It was a state title rematch from last season between both high schools. 

     The Patriots won their second straight state championship. They captured their seventh overall state title in school history. 

     Jones(12-3) moved out to a 7-0 lead at the 7:09 mark of the opening quarter on their first possession. Quarterback Dereon Coleman connected a 40-yard touchdown pass down the middle of the field to wide receiver Diaonte Hicks.

     American Heritage(9-5) evened it up 7-7 with 51 seconds remaining in the second quarter. The four-play, 71-yard drive took just 37 seconds. Quarterback Leon Strawder tossed a 14-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jamar Denson in the front of the end zone. 

     The Patriots turned the ball over on the first play of the third quarter just 14 seconds in. Strawder was stripped of the ball by defensive back Landen Gaines and defensive back Ke'Sean Williams recovered it at the Pats 33-yard line. Tigers kicker Kason Mullis had his 47-yard field goal blocked by defensive back Amare Nugent at 9:36 and he returned it to the Tigers 25-yard line. 

     American Heritage responded with a score and increased their lead to 13-7 at the 8:30 mark of the third. Running back Tremaine Mullen rushed up the middle from five yards away to complete the four-play drive. 

     It became 19-7 for the Patriots on the second play of their next possession with 5:08 to go in third quarter. Strawder threw a short pass to the middle and Denson sprinted down the hash marks for a 42-yard touchdown. They failed on the two-point conversion pass. 

     Coleman was later picked off by defensive back Terrance Johnson at the Patriots 25-yard line and he returned it 32 yards. It led to a Strawder 14-yard touchdown run around the right end and finished off a three-play drive for a 26-7 advantage with 1:46 remaining in the third.

     In the fourth quarter, the Tigers closed it to 26-14 at the 11:16 mark. Coleman fired a 16-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Larry Miles on the right side of the end zone. 

     Strawder had a pass intercepted on the first play of the Patriots next possession by defensive back Marcellus Reese and he returned it 15 yards to the Patriots 12-yard line. Five plays later, Coleman plunged in up the middle from one yard out and Jones trailed 26-21 with 8:34 to go in the fourth. 

     American Heritage extended their lead to 33-21 with 3:19 remaining in the final quarter. Mullen raced through the middle on a six-yard touchdown run. 

     The Tigers answered back quickly and cut the deficit to 33-28 with 2:20 left in the fourth. Miles pounded through the line on a run and scored from one yard away. 

     Jones attempted an on-side kick, however the Patriots recovered it. American Heritage was able to run down the clock in the final two minutes of play. 

Marlins Signing Christopher Morel

     Utility player Christopher Morel has agreed to a contract with the Miami Marlins. It is expected to be a one-year deal worth $2 million. 

      He spent the past two seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays. Morel debuted in the majors with the Chicago Cubs in 2022 and stayed there until July 2024 when he was dealt to the Rays. 

WAQI Keeping Sports Broadcasts

     Radio Mambi 710 WAQI-AM has decided to eliminate all of their Spanish-language live talk show broadcasts. The station will continue to be the Spanish-language radio flagship of the Miami Heat and the Miami Marlins. 

     Latino Media Network purchased WAQI and TUDN Radio 1140 WQBA-AM in June 2022. They flipped WQBA from a Spanish-language sports format to a Spanish-language news/talk format in August 2024. It then changed to a Spanish-language soft adult contemporary format in July 2025.