GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Florida High School Athletic Association’s Rural Classification Football Championships will take place this Friday at
The Range at H.G. Morse Stadium in Sumterville. The FHSAA has partnered with
The Villages Charter School for the first time to host the 2024 Rural Football State Championship on Friday December 6
th, as well as the inaugural Rural Florida Invitational Tournament (FIT) title game. The Class 1A-7A State Championship title games will take place next week, December 11-14 in Miami.
The first storyline to follow this week includes a title game rematch in the Rural State Championship Game between two storied programs. The formerly Class 1R and now two-time defending state champions, the Hawthorne Hornets, will be seeking their third straight and third overall championship when they face a familiar foe in the Madison County (Madison) Cowboys. This will mark a fifth straight title game appearance for the Hornets. Scheduled to kick off Friday under the lights, it will be a rematch of last year’s title game, a contest in which the Hornets defeated the Cowboys 22-13. The Cowboys are no stranger to the title game themselves in their history, having last claimed a Class 1A State Championship back in 2021. The Cowboys will seek their seventh overall title in football, with all their titles coming after the turn of the century.
The other storyline for this week is history being made in the first title game of the Rural Florida Invitational Tournament Championship. The Fort Meade Miners will face the Dixie County (Cross City) Bears in this year’s inaugural title game of the newly sanctioned state event. The Miners have made numerous traditional state championship game appearances in their history, with their lone FHSAA State Championship coming back in 2004 for Class 1A. Their opponents, the Bears of Dixie County are making only their second ever championship appearance in an FHSAA football sanctioned state event, with their lone appearance coming back in 1971.
The Rural FIT Championship is scheduled for 1 p.m., and the Rural State Championship Game will kick off at 7 p.m. (
all times are EST). Tickets for the event are currently on sale and are being sold by game for an advanced purchase rate of $17.00, and a day of price of $20.00. Tickets are available through
GoFan. Parking fees will not be charged onsite, and instead are already included in the cost of admission.
Fan parking lots will open 90 minutes prior to the scheduled games, with gates opening 60 minutes prior to each contest. For additional event and venue information, including streaming opportunities for those who are unable to attend in person, please see the information below or visit the
football sport page.
2024 Florida High School Rural Football State Championships – The Range at H.G. Morse Stadium (Sumterville)
Friday, December 6
- Rural FIT Championship, 1 p.m.
- Fort Meade vs. Dixie County (Cross City)
- Rural Class State Championship, 7 p.m.
- Madison County (Madison) vs. Hawthorne
Know Before You Go:
Where:
The Range at H.G. Morse Stadium (Sumterville)
When: Friday, December 6
th
Host: The Villages Charter School
Tournament Brackets & Matchups Schedule:
2024 Tournament
Admission: $17.00 per game with advance purchase and $20.00 day of
- All tickets available via GoFan
- This is a General Admission Event
- $3.00 cost of parking already included in each ticket of admission (all proceeds retained by host organization)
Parking:
No parking fee onsite as it is included in the cost of admission
Facility Information: Clear Bag Policy in Effect |
Stadium Information
Lodging Information: list of hotels nearby as per Sumter County Tourism
Live Streaming: NFHS Network
Official Merchandise: Team IP