GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Florida High School Athletic Association’s Football Championships will begin this weekend at
The Range at H.G. Morse Stadium in Sumterville. The FHSAA has partnered with
The Villages Charter School for the second consecutive year to host the 2025 Rural Football State Championship on Friday, December 5
th, as well as the Florida Invitational Tournament (FIT) title games on both Thursday & Friday. The Class 1A-7A State Championship title games will take place next week, December 10-13 in Miami.
The major storyline of the week will be in the event’s final game, the Rural State Championship, which kicks off Friday night underneath the lights. This will mark the sixth consecutive championship game appearance for the Hawthorne Hornets who will enter as the number two seed on the bracket. After a disappointing defeat in 2024, the Hornets will seek their third title in school history against a deep, and bracket’s top-seeded Blountstown Tigers team who are making their first trip back to the championship game since 2019. The Tigers will be seeking their fourth overall state championship in school history.
Also, for the second consecutive year, the Florida Invitational Tournament championship games will take place this week as well. After the success of the inaugural FIT Championship in the Rural Classification in 2024, the event has expanded into two additional tournaments encompassing Classes 1A-3A & 4A-7A this year. The 1A-3A title game pits the Dunnellon Tigers against the North Miami Beach Chargers in the Thursday afternoon matinee. The Class 4A-7A title game will follow and take place under the lights between Dr. Joaquin Garcia (Lake Worth) and the Tate (Cantonment) Aggies. Both games are scheduled for Thursday, December 4
th. The Rural FIT title game will take place on Friday afternoon between the Port St. Joe Tiger Sharks and Fort White Indians. Of the competing FIT competitors, Port St. Joe (four), Dunnellon (two), and Tate (one) have won an FHSAA sanctioned football state championship in their schools history.
Gametimes are scheduled for 1 p.m. for the afternoon games, and the evening games will kick off at 7 p.m. (
all times are EST). Tickets for the event are on sale and being sold by game for an advanced purchase rate of $17.00, and a day of price of $20.00. Tickets are available exclusively 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.
2025 Florida High School Rural Football & FIT Championships – The Range at H.G. Morse Stadium (Sumterville)
Thursday, December 4
- 1A-3A FIT Championship, 1 p.m.
- North Miami Beach vs. Dunnellon
- 4A-7A FIT Championship, 7 p.m.
- Tate (Cantonment) vs. Dr. Joaquin Garcia (Lake Worth)
Friday, December 5
- Rural FIT Championship, 1 p.m.
- Port St. Joe vs. Fort White
- Rural Class State Championship, 7 p.m.
- Hawthorne vs. Blountstown
Know Before You Go:
Where:
The Range at H.G. Morse Stadium (Sumterville)
When: Thursday & Friday, December 4
th – 5
th
Host: The Villages Charter School
Tournament Brackets & Matchups Schedule:
2025 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