Dr. Phillips football falls in state semifinals, 23-14

Dr. Phillips High football's magical 2024 run, fueled by its senior class, ends as the Panthers fell on the road in the FHSAA Class 7A State Semifinals to Lake Mary High, 24-13. 

"I'm extremely proud of this group," said coach Rodney Wells following the loss. "These guys have fought since they were freshmen; they've been playing since they were sophomores. So to get here, to get to the Final Four — obviously (it's) not what we wanted — but it's a great feat and they have nothing to hang their heads about."

After the Rams (12-2) opened up the game by scoring 10 unanswered points, the Panthers (12-2) responded with a long pitch-and-catch touchdown from quarterback Stanley Anderson-Lofton to receiver Mykel Calitxe, making it a 10-6 game in the second quarter. 

Before the end of the first half, Lake Mary drove down the field and had a chance to extend its lead before the midway break, but the Panthers' vaunted defense was able to end the second quarter without allowing any more points. 

With the momentum swinging its way, Dr. Phillips came out in the third quarter and took a 13-10 lead after senior running back Amari Major punched in a short run for the TD. 

Unfortunately for Panther Nation, the home team took back control of the game from that point on, scoring two rushing touchdowns in the fourth quarter and holding DP scoreless the rest of the way to seal the win and a berth in the state championship game. 

"We definitely needed to have made some plays on defense that we didn't make," Wells said. "We let them stay on the field a couple of times, and they took advantage of that, but to hold those guys to 24 points at their home — and to have a chance to go up to take the lead in the third quarter — we had our chances and just didn't capitalize on them when we needed to. We just had too many mistakes. There weren't a lot of turnovers on the offensive side, but we couldn't block up front the way we needed to. We missed open receivers; we dropped some big first downs. So, in totality, we just didn't play well."

Lake Mary will play Venice High — which defeated West Orange High in the regional finals — for the 7A State Championship Saturday, Dec. 14, while the loss for the Southwest Orange County powerhouse represents the official end of the 2024 high school football season in West Orange and Southwest Orange County.