2023 FHSAA Football Title Recap

      South Florida high school football teams finished with three FHSAA state championships in 2023. The tri-county won four state titles in 2021 and 2022. South Florida had five crowns in 2020 and seven back in 2019. It has been a downward trend over the last five years. 

South Florida Sports Review 2023

     It was a great year for South Florida professional sports teams in 2023. Four of the five local sports clubs appeared in the postseason for the second straight year. Many teams were able to get deep into the postseason. 

     The Florida Panthers finished with the lowest seed in the Eastern Conference for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Panthers upset the Presidents' Cup winner the Boston Bruins in seven games during the first round. The Cats stopped the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Eastern Conference Semifinals and swept the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Finals. Florida reached the Stanley Cup Final for the second time in franchise history. The Panthers were eliminated in the final round by the Vegas Golden Knights in five games. 

     The Miami Heat ended up with the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference for the NBA Playoffs following the NBA Play-In Tournament. The Heat upended the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in five games during the first round, took care of the New York Knicks in six games during the second round and got by the Boston Celtics in seven games during the Eastern Conference Finals. The Heat reached the NBA Finals for the second time in the last four seasons and eventually lost in five games to the Denver Nuggets. 

     The Miami Marlins ended up in the second wild-card spot for the National League Playoffs. It was the second time in the last four seasons that the Fish reached the postseason. They were swept in two games by the Philadelphia Phillies. 

     The Miami Dolphins got to the postseason again for the second straight year. The Fins finished will an 11-6 record for an AFC Wild-Card spot with the sixth seed. They were edged by the Buffalo Bills for the AFC East Division title in the final regular season game. 

     Inter Miami CF did not reach the MLS Cup Playoffs. The team signed Lionel Messi, captured the Leagues Cup and lost in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup championship game. 

     The biggest story involving local college sports was in men's basketball The University of Miami Hurricanes and the Florida Atlantic University Owls reached the Final Four for the first time and both lost in the national semifinals.  

Ravens Pummel Dolphins

     The top seed in the American Football Conference was on the line as the Miami Dolphins were pounded by the Baltimore Ravens 56-19 on Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium. The Ravens wrapped up the #1 seed and a first-round bye in the AFC Playoffs two weeks from now.

     Miami(11-5) scored first in the contest and they were down 14-13 with 3:14 left in the second quarter. Baltimore(13-3) outscored the Dolphins 42-6 for the rest of the game. 

Georgia Dominates Florida State In Orange Bowl

     The University of Georgia Bulldogs slammed the Florida State University Seminoles 63-3 in the Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens on Saturday. Both schools were on the outside of College Football Playoff final four teams for the national championship. 

     Georgia(13-1) scored the opening two touchdowns in the first 16 minutes of the contest for a 14-0 lead. Florida State(13-1) got their only points of the game on a 22-yard field goal at 12:39 of the second quarter.

     The Bulldogs would score 49 unanswered points for the remainder of the Orange Bowl. They held a 42-3 halftime lead and were well ahead 56-3 at the end of the third quarter. 

Panthers Take Habs

     The Florida Panthers played their final game of the 2023 calendar year and knocked off the Montreal Canadiens 4-1 at Amerant Bank Arena. It capped off a year for the Panthers where they captured the Eastern Conference title and reached the Stanley Cup Final for only the second time in franchise history. 

     After a scoreless first period, Florida(22-12-2) moved to a 1-0 lead with the man advantage at the 4:05 mark of the second. Sam Bennett whisked a cross-ice pass from above the right circle. Evan Rodrigues carried the puck from the left wing to the top of the zone and snapped a shot. Eetu Luostarinen batted the puck on a volley from the top of the crease for his sixth goal this year. 

     Montreal(15-15-5) responded with a power-play goal at 7:01 to tie it up 1-1. Former Panther Mike Matheson angled a pass from the top of the zone to Nick Suzuki on the left wing. He passed it forward and Cole Caufield lifted a backhand shot from the left of the crease for his ninth goal of the campaign. The Cats had their six-game, penalty-killing streak snapped after having the previous 15 occasions stopped.

     In the third period, the Panthers pulled ahead 2-1 at 7:34 on a power-play goal. Oliver Ekman-Larsson connected a pass from the right point to Aaron Ekblad in the top left circle. He passed it down to the left goal line and Luostarinen roofed a backhand shot from the left of the crease for his second goal of the contest and his seventh tally of the season. It was Luostarinen's first career two-goal game. 

     Florida made it 3-1 with 4:34 to go in the frame. Carter Verhaeghe made a short pass from the left wing. Ekman-Larsson fired a slap shot that was redirected in by Bennett in the slot area for his sixth goal this season. 

      It became 4-1 for the Cats with 2:47 left in the third. Matthew Tkachuk fed a pass across the red line and Verhaeghe snapped a shot from the neutral one into an empty net for his 18th goal of the season for a 4-1 lead. 

Jazz Dance By Heat

     The Utah Jazz outscored the Miami Heat 117-109 on Saturday at Delta Center. It was the second contest of a five-game road trip out west for the Heat. 

     The Heat had a four-game winning streak snapped with the defeat. Miami played their final game of the calendar year.in which they won their seventh Eastern Conference championship back in May.  

     Miami(19-13) had a 28-27 edge after one quarter.  Utah(14-19) was able to get a slight advantage 54-53 by halftime. Both teams were tied 88-88 at the end of the third quarter. The Jazz went on a 24-13 run in the final eight minutes of the fourth quarter. 

     Bam Adebayo collected a double-double with game-highs of 28 points and 16 rebounds for the Heat. Tyler Herro dropped in 25 points while Jimmy Butler returned to the lineup with just eight points. Kevin Love placed in 12 points and Duncan Robinson drained in 11 points. 

     Former Heat player Kelly Olynyk led Utah with 19 points, 10 assists and six rebounds for a double-double. Collin Sexton added 22 points and Keyonte George contributed 21 points. 

Reggie Wayne Pro Football Hall Of Fame Finalist

     Reggie Wayne has been named a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. He did play for the University of Miami Hurricanes from 1997 until 2000 prior to reaching the National Football League. 

     Wayne was with the Indianapolis Colts during his entire NFL career from 2001 to 2014. He helped that club capture Super Bowl XLI and two AFC Championships.