Spring 2025

Where Harllee Stadium, Palmetto, Florida  
When: Wednesday, May 21st, 7:30pm kickoff

Clearwater Central Catholic Marauders
at
Palmetto High School Tigers

Notes:

Spring has sprung and the Marauders will hit the road to take on a formidable Palmetto Tigers team who advanced to the 2nd round of the class 6A playoffs in 2024. 

The Tigers are coached by Eric Sanders in his 2nd season. Last year the Tigers finished 10-2. Palmetto brings back a fair amount of their skill players from a talented 2024 team and should be stout on both sides of the line as the Tigers project to be just as good, if not, a touch better than 2024 thanks to the earned experience that last season brought.

CCC is coached by Chris Harvey going into his 10th season at CCC. in the previous 9 years, coach Harvey has lead CCC to a 92-23 record.  The Marauders enter the 2025 season as a three-time defending state finalist and project to have an excellent blend of youth and experience.

History:

The Marauders and Tigers most recent game was played in 1999. 

The Marauders would win 26-22, at the time, considered to be an upset.  This was CCC's first ever playoff win as a school and the first ever playoff win for then head coach John Davis. 

Credit to Cole Thomas @cole_thomas64 on X for the awesome graphic!

Clearwater Central Catholic (12-2)
 vs
 Chaminade-Madonna (12-2)
 
 Where: Pitbull Stadium, Miami, Florida
 When: Wednesday, December 11th, 7:30pm
 
 Tickets:  https://tinyurl.com/mhvffhpp
Live Stream: https://tinyurl.com/32xj2zws 
 
 
Notes:
 
For the 4th time in school history, the Marauders have advanced all the way to the state championship game. In 2022 and 2023, CCC played in the class 1M state finals. In 2013, CCC played in class 3A.
 
The Marauders advanced to the finals thanks to an impressive defensive effort against a quality Cardinal Newman football team, a strong rushing attack that allowed CCC to win with a 2 point conversion in overtime and a never say die attitude that has been contagious across the senior class.
 
Playing without star QB Jershaun Newton in the 4th and overtime, QB Khayse Barrett came into the game and helped keep the Marauders offense moving. The defense made big play after big play in the 2nd half to only allow the Crusaders 2 first downs. 
 
Meeting the Marauders on the other side of the field, a familiar foe. 
 
Chaminade-Madonna has won 3 consecutive state championships and 8 in their schools history. Chaminade started the season 0-2, dropping hard fought contests to St. John Bosco (Cali) and Blanche Ely. Since then, the Lions have won 12 straight. The Lions advanced to the finals by knocking off Jacksonville Trinity Christian Academy 35-0.
 
The Lions are coached by Dameon Jones who took over the program in 2016 for Jason Milgrom. Chaminade has been to a state record 9 consecutive state championship games. In the previous 8, the Lions have won 6 and finished runner-up twice.  
 
CCC Coach Chris Harvey is 92-22 in his 9th year at CCC, this is the third consecutive year the Marauders have advanced to the state finals.
 

Credit to Cole Thomas @cole_thomas64 on X for the awesome graphic!

CLASS 1A STATE SEMI-FINALS
 
 Clearwater Central Catholic (11-2)
 at
 West Palm Beach Cardinal Newman(10-1)
 
 Where: Sam Budnyk Stadium, West Palm Beach
 When: Thursday, December 5th, 7:30pm kickoff
 
 Tickets: https://tinyurl.com/yhwyx7bw 
Live Stream: None available at this time
 

Notes:
 
The Marauders of CCC are back in the state-semi finals for the third consecutive year and 11th time in school history after a quality 35-14 win over Lakeland Christian School. In the game, Sophomore QB Khayse Barrett made school history by being the first QB to make his first varsity start in the regional championship game.  Barrett finished 13-16 passing and added 40 rushing for 215 total. As a unit, CCC’s offense racked up 500+ yards.
 
Thanks to the offense’s effort, the Marauders set a new school record for rushing yards in a season eclipsing the record of the 2022 team. 
 
Cardinal Newman knocked off a game Naples First Baptist team 27-9 last week, using a stout defense and big play offense rushing for 201 yards.  Newman is 10-1 this season, with the sole loss coming on the road at Gainesville Bucholz, a class 6A state power who advanced to their classifications state final 4.
 
The Crusaders of Cardinal Newman are coached by Jack Daniels, a life-long Palm Beach county resident and most known for this 23 year tenure at Palm Beach Dwyer High School where he racked up 234 wins and two state championships.  Since taking over Cardinal Newman in 2021, the success has continued with a 39-8 overall record. Daniels has coached Newman to 2 state final 4s and 2 regional finals. 
 

Credit to Cole Thomas @cole_thomas64 on X for the awesome graphic!

Class 1A REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Clearwater Central Catholic MARAUDERS (10-2)
vs
Lakeland Christian VIKINGS (10-1)

Where: James Brian Thomas stadium, Clearwater, Florida
When: Friday, November 30th, 2024
Kickoff: 7:30pm

Tickets: https://tinyurl.com/msz6fdkx
Livestream: https://tinyurl.com/22jt7838

==========
NOTES:
 
For the 4th consecutive year, and 12th time in the past 13 seasons CCC has advanced to the regional championship game. Last week, the Marauders picked up their 10th win of the season in a 45-0 win over Carrollwood Day school.  This was the first playoff shutout since 2015.  CCC’s offense racked up 398 yards total, while the starting defense limited Carrollwood to under 100 yards total offense. 
 
LCS started playing football in 2005 and is currently coached by Danny Williams. Coach Williams is in his 7th year as head coach and has lead LCS to the playoffs each of the 7 years as head coach.
 
As a head coach, coach Williams is 61-19.  He also served as an offensive coach at LCS starting in 2013.  This will be the Vikings 6th regional championship game, currently they are 3-2 with the last regional championship coming in 2021.  LCS has qualified for the playoffs 8 consecutive years.
 
Last week, Lakeland Christian advanced to the regional championship game with a 48-20 win over Orlando Christian Prep. LCS used a strong 2nd half and timely offense in the 3rd quarter to pull away against a talented OCP team who was only able to field 20 players total.  Lakeland Christian’s only loss was at Carrollwood Day 31-17 back in late September. 
 
This will be CCC’s 18th regional championship game, the Marauders are 10-7 all-time in regional championship games.  Coach Harvey is 90-22 at CCC since taking over in 2016. 
 
 

Credit to Cole Thomas @cole_thomas64 on X for the awesome graphic!

Playoffs Round #2
 
 Clearwater Central Catholic (9-2)
 vs
 Carrollwood Day School (7-3)
 
 Where: James Brian Thomas Stadium, Clearwater, Florida
 When: Friday, November 22nd, 7:30pm Kickoff
 
 Live Stream: https://tinyurl.com/ycnxpf4e

Tickets: https://gofan.co/event/2288938?schoolId=FL5818 
 

Notes:
 
For the third consecutive year, the Marauders of CCC and Patriots of Carrollwood will meet in a postseason clash at James Brian Thomas stadium. 
 
The Marauders scored a 64-14 win over Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy and advanced to the 2nd round for the 20th time in school history.  The 64 points is the most scored by a CCC team in playoff history.
 
It's hard to beat the same team twice in the same season, it’s even harder to beat the same team two consecutive weeks.  Last week, the Patriots of Carrollwood were able to do just that, knocking off Lakeland Victory Christian Academy 42-18. 
 
The Patriots started the season 0-2 and 1-3, but have won their last 6 consecutive games. In the past 6 games, the offense has averaged 43 points per game.
 
The Patriots are coached by Marshall McDuffie in his 4th season at Carrollwood. Currently, coach McDuffie has accumulated a 28-12 and lead the Patriots to the playoffs in each of his 4 seasons.  

Credit to Cole Thomas @cole_thomas64 on X for the awesome graphic!

Playoffs: Round 1
 
 Clearwater Central Catholic (8-2)
 vs
 Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy (5-4)
 
 Where: James Brian Thomas stadium, Clearwater, Florida
 When: Friday, November 15th, 2024
 
 Notes:
 
 Playoff season is finally in bloom in Florida!
 
  After a longer than anticipated regular season due to hurricanes Helene and Milton, Florida kicks off round #1 of the playoffs.  The Marauders enter the 2024 playoffs as a 2-time defending state finalist, battle tested, locked and loaded for more.    CCC finished as the #1 seed in Class 1A, Region 2.
 
 For round #1, the Marauders will be welcoming the Tigers of Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy, hailing from Melbourne, Florida near Pineda Causeway and US-1.  
 
  The Tigers sit at 5-4; after starting 0-2, the Tigers rallied with wins against TRU Prep and Astronaut, HT would drop a competitive district game against Foundation Academy before reeling off wins against Cocoa Beach and Palm Beach Christian. Holy Trinity would then pick up a forfeit win against Orlando First Academy.  Last week, the Tigers dropped a 42-14 decision against a good New Smyrna Beach team.
 
 Holy Trinity is coached by Hurlie Brown, who is an 87’ graduate from Merritt Island High School. He would become MI’s head coach going 26-16 in his 4 seasons’ there, including leading them to the 2021 state finals and becoming the class 5A coach of the year the same year. 
 
 Coach Hurlie Brown took over Holy Trinity in June 2022. So far, he has lead Holy Trinity to an 18-13 record in 3 seasons.   Coach Brown also played on two national championship Miami teams during his playing days.
 
 History:
 
 CCC and Holy Trinity have only met one time in varsity football history. This meeting took place back in round 1 of the 2015 playoffs. The Marauders won that one 36-0.
 

Credit to Cole Thomas @cole_thomas64 on X for the awesome graphic!

Week #11
 
 Clearwater Central Catholic (7-2)
 at
 Boca Ciega (4-4)
 
 Where:  Charles Beauchamp Memorial Stadium, Gulfport, Florida
 When: Friday, November 1st, 7:30pm Kickoff
 
 Tickets: Sold at stadium.
 
 Live Stream:  https://tinyurl.com/y33xdty4 

 Notes:
 
 The Marauders finish the regular season by hitting the road for the 5th time this season to take on an improving Pirates team from Boca Ciega.  
 
 CCC enters the game on a two game losing streak; however, the losses have come to teams ranked in the top 13 in the entire US according to HSFB America.  CCC has a chance to finish the regular season at 8-2 which, by any metric, would be an impressive record given the competition the team has faced. 
 
 Boca Ciega currently sits at 4-4 coming off of a 48-12 loss at Sarasota Booker. The game was the de facto Class 3A, District 11 championship game. Still, Boca Ciega is a shoe-in to make the class 3A playoffs after coming off a 2-8 campaign in 2023.   Boca Ciega will conclude their regular season next Thursday, 11.7.20204 in a make-up game against Bradenton Bayshore.
 
 
 History:
 
 Clearwater Central Catholic has never played Boca Ciega in varsity football, so history will be made this Friday.  The last time CCC lost to a Pinellas county high school was back on August 31st, 2012. 

Credit to Cole Thomas @cole_thomas64 on X for the awesome graphic!

Week #10
 HOMECOMING
 
 Clearwater Central Catholic (7-1)
 vs
 St. Frances Academy, Baltimore, MD (5-3)
 
 Where: James Brian Thomas Stadium, Clearwater, Florida
 When: Friday, October 28th, 2024  7:30pm kickoff
 
 Live Stream:  Game will be live streamed on FloFootball.com, https://flosports.link/3LXHG8k

Tickets:  https://gofan.co/event/1598772?schoolId=FL5818

Marauder Minutes: https://marauderminutes.buzzsprout.com 
 
Notes:
 
It's homecoming season at Clearwater Central Catholic High School as the Marauder welcome alumni from years past back home. 
 
The Marauders dropped a 27-20 game against the #18 team in the US according to Maxpreps last week. Despite the loss, CCC racked up over 400 yards total offense, and limited Venice to 27 points in the game.  The Marauders quite literally came up a few yards short of forcing OT.
 
This week CCC welcomes the Calpreps rated #8 team in the US to Clearwater, St. Frances Academy from Baltimore.  The Panthers do not play any team from their home state of Maryland, and instead travel the country playing elite teams. The three losses have come against Mater Dei and Orange Lutheran from California, and Duncanville from Texas. 
 
  The Panthers have scored wins over Pittsburg Central Catholic (PA), St. Joseph Regional (NJ), St. Thomas Moore (CT), Hun School of Princeton (NJ) and last week scored a 48-10 win over Center Grove (IN).
 
The Panthers are coached by Messay Hailemariam who is in his 4th year as head coach of St. Frances, and 8th year overall.   
 
History:
 
The Marauders have never played St. Frances Academy.  The only other team that CCC has played from outside of Florida was Brentwood Academy as part of the 2019 Freedom Bowl, played in Alpharetta , Georgia.  
 

Credit to Cole Thomas @cole_thomas64 on X for the awesome graphic!

Week #9
 Clearwater Central Catholic (7-0)
 vs
 Venice High School (6-1)
 
 Where: James Brian Thomas Stadium, Clearwater, Florida
 When: Friday, October 18th   7:30pm Kickoff
 
 Tickets: Clearwater Central Marauders vs Venice Indians - Football - Oct 18, 2024 (gofan.co)
Live Stream: https://tinyurl.com/3jfa6x23 
 
 
Notes:
 
After Hurricanes Helene and Milton have significantly impacted both the Venice Indian and Clearwater Central Catholic communities over the past month, the teams are ready to meet on the field for competition, and, to hopefully give both communities a brief respite from the rebuilding going on.
 
CCC was last in action back on October 4th against Northside Christian. The 42-7 win resulted in CCC finishing a 3 game road trip.  CCC now hits the national portion of the schedule, welcoming the Venice Indians to JBT this Friday. 
 
Venice enters the game 6-1, ranked #18 in the US and #4 in all of the state of Florida according to Maxpreps. The FHSAA ranks Venice #5 in the state of Florida. The Indians have wins over state and national powers: Tampa Bay Tech, Miami Northwestern, Bishop Verot and Cocoa. Venice’s only loss came to IMG National 21-16.
 
The Indians are coached by John Peacock in his 26th year at Venice High School, 18th as head coach. Coach Peacock has lead the Indians to state championships in 2017 and 2021.  
 
Venice plays in Class 7A, District 8.
 
Earlier this year, CCC defeated Berkeley Prep who was ranked #23 in the US at the time. Currently, CCC is ranked #11 in Florida by the FHSAA.
 
History:
 
CCC is 0-2 all-time against Venice. The Marauders played Venice back in 1997 and 1998.  Against Sarasota County as a whole, CCC has mostly played Cardinal Mooney and Booker. There is little history against any other team from the county in years past.

Credit to Cole Thomas @cole_thomas64 on X for the awesome graphic!

Clearwater Central Catholic MARAUDERS (6-0)
 vs
 Northside Christian School MUSTANGS (3-2)

Where: Mustang Stadium
 When: Friday, October 4th, 7:30pm Kickoff

 Tickets: Purchased at Gate, no known GoFan link at this time.
 Live Stream: https://tinyurl.com/48eh3juv

Marauder Minutes: https://marauderminutes.buzzsprout.com 
=================
Notes:
 
CCC enters’ the game having secured the class 1a, district 8 championship last week over Indian Rocks Christian.  In the game, the Marauder defense limited Indian Rocks to less than 100 yards total offense, while the offense racked up just shy of 400.  CCC is currently ranked #9 in the state of Florida in the latest FHSAA power poll standings.
 
Northside Christian started the season 3-0, but has dropped their last two. First to an improving Seffner Christian team and then to Community School of Naples. NCS did not play this past Friday. The Mustangs are coached by Bailey Grainer in his 2nd season at Northside Christian.  
 
 
History:
Northside Christian started playing football in 1973; however, outside of some history between the late 1980’s and 1990’s, the teams haven’t been in the same district or classification consistently.  Last’s year’s contest was the first time the teams met on the field since 1998. 

1989 35-14 Northside
 1990 38-13 Northside
 1992: 15-0 CCC
 1995: 13-0 CCC
 1996: 13-0 CCC
 1997: 46-0 CCC
 1998: 35-0 CCC
 2023: 45-0 CCC
 
 The Streak Lives!:
 
 Going into week 7 and dealing with the challenges of a hurricane, limited to no practice time and a modified football schedule, CCC has scored 1 touchdown each quarter of the 2024 regular season. 

Credit to Cole Thomas @cole_thomas64 on X for the awesome graphic!