- December 26, 2024
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Coach Travis Roland's son Paxton (left) joins arms with Mainland players as they prepare to face Rockledge in their second FHSAA playoff game at the Daytona Stadium. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland team captains - Ramon McCollough Jr. (66), Christian Hudson (55), Jerard Bell (52), Emmanuel Y'Israel (8). Photo by Michele Meyers
Coach Travis Roland's son Paxton (left) joins arms with Mainland players as they prepare to face Rockledge in their second FHSAA playoff game at the Daytona Stadium. Photo by Michele Meyers
Coach Travis Roland's son Paxton Roland (center) joins his Mainland brothers-in-arms as the Buccaneers prepare to face Rockledge in the second FHSAA playoff game. Photo by Michele Meyers
The Mainland Buccaneers take a moment to reflect before the FHSAA Region 3-3S semifinal game against the Rockledge Raiders. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland's Air Force JROTC color guard presents the flags before the FHSAA region 3-3S semifinal game against Rockledge. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland coaches, players and supporters get pumped up before the game against Rockledge. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland's L.J. McCray (11) launches himself toward kicker Jerry Valdez in the playoff game against Rockledge. Photo by Michele Meyers
Buccaneer Bubba Westbrook stops Raider Jaelyn Bradley's drive in the FHSAA regional semifinal game at the Daytona Stadium. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland team managers Aunesty Bailey and Diaria Franklin. Photo by Michele Meyers
Buccaneer Bubba Westbrook (center) stops Raider Jaelyn Bradley's drive with a little help from Ramon McCollough Jr. (left) in the FHSAA regional semifinal game at the Daytona Stadium. Photo by Michele Meyers
Dennis Tank 3rd (6) and Myron Shafer (7) are an effective duo for the Buccaneers with multiple sacks and tackles thoughout the regional semifinal game against Rockledge. Photo by Michele Meyers
Buccaneer Ramon McCollough Jr. charges Rockledge quarterback Traven Green during the FHSAA Region3-3S semifinal game at the Daytona Stadium. Photo by Michele Meyers
The battle is on in the FHSAA Region 3-3S semifinal game between Mainland and Rockledge at the Daytona Stadium. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland head coach Travis Roland motivates his players to 'fix their faces' and get fired up for the second half of the game. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland head coach Travis Roland motivates his players during halftime to get fired up for the second half of the game. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland head coach Travis Roland tells his players it is a long game and they have a second half to play. Fix it and move on. Photo by Michele Meyers
At halftime, Mainland is scoreless and down 7-0. Head coach Travis Roland motivates his players during his locker room speech. Mainland wins the FHSAA Region3-3S semifinal game against Rockledge 22-14. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland quarterback Dennis Murray Jr. scrambles for some yardage as Rockledge's Jaquay McFadden chases him down. Photo by Michele Meyers
Retired NBA player Vince Carter plays catch with his friend Joe Giddens, the Mainland boys basketball coach, during halftime at the FHSAA Region 3-3S semifinal game between Mainland and Rockledge. Photo by Michele Meyers
Retired NBA player Vince Carter plays catch with his friend Joe Giddens, the Mainland boys basketball coach, during halftime at the FHSAA Region 3-3S semifinal game between Mainland and Rockledge. Photo by Michele Meyers
Retired NBA player Vince Carter plays catch with his friend Joe Giddens, the Mainland boys basketball coach, during halftime at the FHSAA Region 3-3S semifinal game between Mainland and Rockledge. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland boys basketball coach Joe Giddens throws the ball around with his friend retired NBA player Vince Carter, during halftime at the FHSAA Region 3-3S semifinal game between Mainland and Rockledge. Photo by Michele Meyers
Buccaneer Elyjah Gilyard runs for a 31-yard kickoff return as Raider Derion Ayliffe attempts to take him down during the FHSAA Region 3-3S semifinal game. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland's E'Zaiah Shine launches himself toward Rockledge's Jamarcus Giscombe after he catches the ball during the FHSAA Region 3-3S game at the Daytona Stadium. Photo by Michele Meyers
Raider quarterback Traven Green (3) avoids a sack by Mainland's L.J. McCray (11) in the FHSAA Region3-3S semifinal game at the Daytona Stadium. Photo by Michele Meyers
Rodney Hill (5) runs in for the two-point conversion and later scores the final touchdown in the regional semifinal game against Rockledge. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland fans support their team during the FHSAA Region 3-3S semifinal game against Rockledge. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland's Collin Wilson. Photo by Michele Meyers
Rockledge's Jaylen Heyward (0) sprints through traffic in the FHSAA Region 3-3S semifinal game. Heyward scored both of the Raiders' touchdowns. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland coaches and players watch from the sidelines during the FHSAA Region 3-3S semifinal game against Rockledge. Photo by Michele Meyers
Pass interference is called on Rockledge's Jorden Woods as Mainland's Tyree Weatherspoon is pulled away from the ball by Raider Jorden Woods. Pass interference is called on Rockledge. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland cheerleaders keep everyone going during the FHSAA Region 3-3S semifinal game against Rockledge. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland's Khamani Robinson (9) doing what he does best--working his way through defenders to steal some yardage. Photo by Michele Meyers
Buccaneer Freddie Wilson runs 21-yards and grabs Mainlands' first completion of the game against Rockledge. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland players Jamison Holliday (23), Lawrence Campbell (24) and Khalil Wilmore. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland coach Travis Roland's son Paxton cracks up after the game against Rockledge. Photo by Michele Meyers
Quarterback Dennis Murray Jr's pass is good to Mainland wide receiver Tyree Weatherspoon (83) before Rockledge's Jaylen Heyward (0) grabs the tackle. Photo by Michele Meyers
Catch is good by Mainland wide receiver Clarence McCloud during the FHSAA Region 3-3S semifinal game against Rockledge. Photo by Michele Meyers
Buccaneer Zavier Mincey (1) was instrumental in keeping the ball out of the hands of Rockledge's wide receivers in the FHSAA Region 3-3S semifinal game. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland's Dennis King III (6) celebrates a defensive play with Zavier Mincey (1) and Bubba Westbrook (19) in a Nov. 17 playoff game against Rockledge. File photo by Michele Meyers
As retired NBA great Vince Carter and his friend, Mainland boys basketball coach Joe Giddens, played catch on the sidelines during halftime of the Region 3-3S semifinal football game, Buccaneers’ head coach Travis Roland was in the locker room delivering a speech.
Following a blocked field goal attempt and an 82-yard touchdown return by Rockledge’s Jaylen Heyward in the second quarter, Mainland was down 7-0. The vibe in the locker room was somber as Roland addressed his players.
“Fix it (your faces) — it’s a long game,” he said. “You’ve got to deal with adversity. OK, it’s the first half, but it’s a two-half game. It’s the first quarter, the second quarter, the third, the fourth and sometimes overtime. You’ve got to move on every single time. That’s the biggest part — to continue to show resilience.”
The Bucs (11-1) went on to win 22-14 and will host Sebring (9-2) in the regional final on Friday, Nov. 24.
The Rockledge Raiders went into the game on Nov. 17 at Daytona Stadium with a deceptive 6-5 record. Roland said they had one of the toughest schedules in their classification and it showed. The Raiders lost to district champs Eau Gallie, fourth-ranked Cocoa and 10th-ranked Seminole. They also lost to the 15th-ranked Texas team — Duncanville.
Mainland, ranked 16th in the state over all classifications, beat Rockledge 16-14 in the 2022 playoffs.
“We knew they wanted to come and beat us and get revenge,” Roland said.
Rockledge’s defense tamped down on quarterback Dennis Murray Jr.’s rushing game in the first half. J.J. Silberzahn sacked Murray in the first quarter and Murray did not have a completion until the second quarter when he connected with Freddie Wilson on a 21-yard gain. Mainland kept doggedly returning to the red zone only to have a field goal blocked and returned for a touchdown return and a 36-yard attempt strike the goal post.
Murray said Rockledge wanted to show it was a tough team because everybody was doubting the Raiders' abilities coming in to the game.
“I think that given the situation that happened last year, they were just out to get us,” Murray said. “They came out and played hard enough in the beginning that we weren’t ready for how aggressive they were coming. We fixed it and just kept our heads on a swivel. We didn’t break down when stuff wasn’t necessarily going our way.”
He said the turning point of the game for him came after halftime when Marquis McCants caught a 13-yard touchdown pass following a 31-yard kickoff return by Elyjah Gilyard. At that point, he said, everybody began to gel as a team.
“Defense just came out and did what they had to do,” Murray said. “Then everybody started playing their role — playing for the team. I was really proud of them. I try to get better (at passing) each and every weekend. I just have to put trust in my receivers that they are going to make plays and today they did just that. Shout out to Tyree Weatherspoon. He made plays when we needed them the most.”
Rockledge went on to score in the third quarter with a touchdown pass from quarterback Traven Green to Heyward. The score remained unanswered until the fourth quarter when Murray threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Clarence McCloud which was followed up with a 2-point conversion run by Rodney Hill.
“I was a nervous wreck,” said Daytona Beach Pop Warner football commissioner Thomas Roland, who is also the head coach's father. “That game there had me nervous, but after that 2-point conversion we made, I knew we were ready to go.”
Mainland’s last touchdown came after defensive end L.J. McCray forced a fumble that was recovered by linebacker Dennis King III. The Buccaneers set up on Rockledge’s 5-yard line after a brawl broke out and the Raiders were flagged for a personal foul. Hill ran the ball in for a 4-yard touchdown.
Sebring beat Eau Gallie 21-12 in the other semifinal game after crushing Westwood 48-0 in the first round of the playoffs. The Blue Streaks have won seven in a row.
“We are just thankful that we are in the third round,” Travis Roland said. “Thanksgiving football is the greatest time ever in all high school sports. Daytona Beach Mainland alumni — we need you. Everybody will be back for the (Florida) Classic (in Orlando). Don’t go back to your respective homes if you’re coming from out of town. Stay here until Saturday so you can come to this game and be screaming and be loud on Friday.”
