For the first time in a decade and a half, some of Florida's high school football champions will be crowned after games played in South Florida.
The Florida High School Athletic Association announced the five of the eight title games, in Class 4A through 8A, will be played December 16th through the 18th inside Fort Lauderdale's DRV PNK Stadium.
The three remaining title games, in Class 1A through 3A, will be played at Tallahassee's Gene Cox Stadium the weekend before. The locations will be the same for the 2022 season as well.
“Each location is sure to provide a unique and memorable football championship experience to all participating student-athletes and coaches, as well as their travelling fans," FHSAA Executive Director, George Tomyn said in a statement.
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It's a return for the FHSAA to South Florida for the annual weekend, with Miami's Hard Rock Stadium hosting the title games for the 2005 and 2006 seasons - the first time the FHSAA hosted the event in the area since consolidating into one location starting in 1989.
It will be the first time a FHSAA football championship game will be played in Broward County since 1973.
“High school football has been a huge part of the Broward County community for decades and it continues to bring people together,” said Stacy Ritter, President/CEO of Visit Lauderdale.
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Since then, the title games have been played in both Orlando and Daytona Beach before last season's games were played on the campus of Florida State University in Tallahassee.
South Florida has been no stranger to bringing home state championships in high school football. In the last two seasons, 12 of the 13 schools from Miami-Dade and Broward counties playing for the title have won.
