Earlier today Jacksonville celebrated history with the football teams of William M. Raines and Mandarin high schools. For their championship wins and the excellence displayed off the field, Mayor Curry presented both teams with a Key to the City at the ceremony in City Hall’s atrium. . The keys are only the fourth and fifth the mayor has presented since his time in office.
Congratulations to Coach Wiley (Raines), Coach Ramsay (Mandarin), the players, coaching staff, and parents!
“You really rallied the city, probably in a way that you don’t know and you don’t understand…Parents, other kids that aren’t playing, adults in the city that are struggling on any given day to achieve their goals and take care of their families, when you guys bring a championship like this home, when you go out on the field and do it, you give people hope. They rallied around you and they know they can get up now and they can grind through their difficulties to achieve their goals.” ~Mayor Curry
“To the Raines nation, this is one of the most remarkable things that we could share together. “I’m just honored and blessed to be here. And I tell you what, we want to try to three-peat, if it’s possible, but we’re going to put our best foot forward.”
~Coach Wiley
The Vikings brought home the school’s third state football championship when they beat Cocoa 27-13 in the state 4A title game.
“My team, my players, I love them. I told them before the game we went down there to play, they were my heroes. What they did this year as a group, just like these players over here at Raines understand, they made a lot of right choices, they made decisions to work together, to stay together, to sacrifice. I think what both teams accomplished this year is a little taste of what all these players as individuals can accomplish when they go on and leave here.”
~ Coach Ramsay
Mandarin won its first ever state football championship with a 37-35 win over Miami Columbus in the state 8A title game. . In doing so they joined Raines as the second Duval County public school to win a state football championship this year and becoming the second Duval County School to ever win a state championship.