DuvalSports.com picks the top 32 High School Football teams ever to play in North East Florida. We match them up against one another in a bracket to determine who is the the greatest high school football team of all time. Who is the Best of the Best? DuvalSports.com analyst Andre’ Ellis and Corey Davis debate match ups daily and the fans get to vote on who they believe would win each contest as well. Finally, we will resolve the question that has been on the minds of former players and football fans for nearly a century. Who is The Best of the Best in our area??
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1958 Gilbert vs 2002-2003 Trinity
No Respect…
Trinity’s rise to football prominence in North East Florida started with the 2002 and 2003 teams. A private school tucked away on Jacksonville’s westside, Trinity was an afterthought in terms of football due to their perceived weak schedules and lack of titles. All of that would change in the late 90’s.
As a teenager I can remember meeting a guy at a Jaguars game in 1996. We became really good friends as both of our father’s were season ticket holders and we sat next to one another at the games. He was a big guy, so naturally my dad asked him if he played football. He said yes he played for Trinity Christian. I being a Saint from Sandalwood was expecting him to say Raines, Mandarin, Bolles, ya know the usually suspects. I had never heard of his school. Well a couple of years later in 1998 while looking to see if I had made the Times Union Team, I noticed my friend’s name from the Jaguar game right next to mine in the paper, Larry Brown. Larry would go on to receive a scholarship to play ball at the University of Central Florida. At that moment I knew Trinity had some talent over there off Hammond, and others began to take notice too. In 1999 a RB by the name of Guss Scott captivated the first coast on his way to Florida. And soon, Trinity began to catch the attention of the high school football world by putting top talent into college in the 90’s.
By 2002 Trinity had the individual talent, but was ready to set its sights on championships and it started in the A division. In 2002, Trinity defeated American Heritage 42-7 to win their first State title. In that game Trinity rushed for 347 yards behind first team All-State OL Rashid Lavergne, powering their way for the win. The very next year they defeated Fort Meade 17-7 to win back to back titles. In that game Dre Steimetz scored two touchdowns on the ground. Suddenly it was move over Bolles and University Christian, because Trinity Christian had arrived as the next private school powerhouse and they were here to stay. They had earned their respect.
Disrespect…
“They traveled as far away as Pensacola and Miami to find opponents and finished 11-0. But they couldn’t play against their neighbors who attended Jacksonville’s white high schools because of segregation laws.” – Tia Mitchell
As diverse a sport as football is today, unfortunately it wasn’t always that way. The 1958 Gilbert Panthers were only recognized as State Champions by the Florida legislator in 2008; Some 50 years after they laced up their cleats to play Dillard High School in Ft. Lauterdale Florida in front of 11,000 fans for the state association governing black high school athletics in 1958. Gilbert would defeat Dillard 14-7. 
Gilbert defeated all black teams such as Douglas Anderson and Stanton in Jacksonville, FAMU High in Tallahassee and Orlando’s Jones High. They beat two Booker T. Washington schools, one in Pensacola and the other in Miami. The same Miami Booker T Washington that closed their doors paving the way for powerhouses like Miami Northwestern and Carol City to rise. The same Booker T that since it’s doors reopened has won five State titles, including three straight from 2012 to 2015. Ironically their most recent victory in the state championship was against the school that took over as the black school powerhouse football program in Jacksonville after Gilbert, William M. Raines. The school named after the man William M. Raines a long time educator at Matthew Gilbert, the school where Legendary Head Coach Earl Kitchings coached, and players like Louis Hill, Roy Mitchell, backup RB Bob Hayes (Olympic Gold Medalist, Black College Hall of Fame 2011, NFL Hall of Fame 2009) and so many others played. The school where the winning tradition began. After 50 years the the team had finally overcome it’s disrespect.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
As you see these two teams had more to play for than just football reps, they had school reputations on the line too. Corey and I are torn between these two teams, so your vote will not just let us know what you think, but it will advance that particular team to the next round. But hurry, voting for this game will end tomorrow at 7pm!
