This year, the first in Jacksonville for the Boys Basketball State Championships, the Rural Classification will have the spotlight all to itself. The semi-finals will be held Tuesday and the finals on Friday.
We split 50/50 on our picks for the Rural Regional Finals. In Region One, district rivals Holmes County and Ponce De Leon met for the fourth time this season. Holmes County won the first one big at home but the three remaining contests were close. Ponce De Leon lost at home by just three and the district title game by a similar margin. This time around, at Holmes County, Ponce De Leon won “the one that counts” by a three-point margin. Region Two wasn’t much of a surprise as Crossroad Academy was able to dispatch district rival Port St. Joe by a 63-57 score. The teams hadn’t played each other until the district tournament, which Crossroads won. The Tiger Sharks of Port St. Joe only had two losses the entire season, both to Crossroads. Trenton won Region Three over Hilliard by double-digits. Trenton won a previous matchup back in December. No doubt Trenton’s superior strength of schedule was a factor in this contest. Finally, in Region Four, we have to believe that Williston has Wildwood’s number. The Wildcats played the Red Devils twice this season, both times at home, and each time they came up short.
Semi-Final #1: Crossroad Academy (#1) vs. Ponce De Leon (#4)
Crossroad Academy was the state runner-up last season and returns everyone of importance from that team. They look to 6’2 senior Jabari Boahen and 6’1 senior Camari Hale for points as both average double-digits. Conversely, Ponce De Leon is a young squad as their top five scorers, led by 6’4 sophomore Amarion Griggs, are underclassmen. Our guess is the experience of playing in a state championship setting and having gone through a challenging schedule will propel Crossroad Academy into the Friday night final.
Semi-final #2: Williston (#2) vs. Trenton (#3)
On a map, these two schools aren’t very far apart so it is a bit of a surprise they haven’t played one another this season. While Williston has a higher strength of schedule rating, both teams have sort of won the games they were supposed to and lost the games they were expected to. Williston has been in this position before, having won titles in ’23 and ’24. Traeston Armstrong, a 6’2 senior, paces Williston in scoring, but the team’s remaining key scorers are underclassmen. Trenton features four double-figure scorers led by 6’5 junior Mason VunCannon at almost 17 points a game. Of those four only 6’3 Nathan Ridgell is a senior. Trenton has good overall size for a Rural Classification team while Williston may have a bit of an advantage in the speed category. Expect a close contest but Williston’s experience in these type of games should make the difference.
Should our semi-final predictions hold up, we think Crossroad Academy will take the title come Friday night.