- November 23, 2024
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Standing O Jaelin Long poses with the 3S State Championship trophy at Mainland High School. Photo by Michele Meyers
Standing O Jaelin Long poses with the Class 3S State Championship trophy at Mainland High School. Photo by Michele Meyers
Rodney Hill (5) spins into the end zone, led by center Jaelin Long (53) for a Mainland touchdown during the FHSAA 3S state championship game against St. Augustine. Photo by Michele Meyers
Standing O Jaelin Long poses with the 3S State Championship trophy at Mainland High School. Photo by Michele Meyers
Standing O Jaelin Long poses with the 3S State Championship trophy at Mainland High School. Photo by Michele Meyers
Standing O Jaelin Long poses with the Class 3S State Championship trophy at Mainland High School. Photo by Michele Meyers
Standing O Jaelin Long poses with the Class 3S State Championship trophy at Mainland High School. Photo by Michele Meyers
Standing O Jaelin Long poses with the Class 3S State Championship trophy at Mainland High School. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland center Jaelin Long (53) and kicker Jacob Gettman (27) lead the Buccaneers to the tent before the Class 3S State Championship game against St. Augustine. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland head football coach Travis Roland holds the Class 3S State Championship trophy after the Buccaneers win against the St. Augustine Yellow Jackets. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland head football coach Travis Roland holds the Class 3S State Championship trophy after the Buccaneers win against the St. Augustine Yellow Jackets. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland center Jaelin Long (left) and Athletic Director Terry Anthony. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland’s Jaelin Long comes from a family of champions whose Buc pride runs deep.
His dad, Marcus Long, played football for Mainland High School and went on to play at Florida State, where he was part of the 1993 NCAA Division 1A national championship team. His uncle Desmond Long played basketball with retired NBA player Vince Carter on the 1995 Class 6A state championship team.
In his junior year, alternating between playing guard and tackle, Jaelin helped the Buccaneers make it to the Class 3S State Championship final against Lake Wales. In his senior year, as a center, the Bucs brought home the Class 3S State Championship trophy with a win over St. Augustine on Dec. 7.
This spring, he will also be the 15th person in his family to graduate from Mainland. Former Principal Tim Huth gave his father his diploma in 1991 and also gave Jaelin’s brother Jamarcus his diploma in 2020.
Jamarcus checked Jaelin’s school records in December. He has a 4.1 GPA and has only had two Cs throughout his high school academic career. He is currently ranked 39th out of a class of 401. Jaelin’s favorite subject is math and he wants to go to college to become either an electrical or mechanical engineer.
Mainland athletic director Terry Anthony said Jaelin is a true student athlete. For the last two years, he has been the most valuable offensive lineman due to his ability to play multiple positions and pick up the slack when people were hurt or not getting the job done.
“When Jaelin first got here, I don’t think anybody would have told you that Jaelin would be a two-year starter for Mainland on the offensive line,” Anthony said. “Definitely the student was first, athlete was secondary. You could see from day one that he was a special kid. He gave it his all and eventually got better and better. Through all of it, he never let his grades waiver.”
Even though Jaelin was born in West Palm Beach, he established his football roots in Gainesville starting at 6 years old playing for the Gainesville Gladiators. At 8 years old, he began playing basketball.
The family moved to Daytona Beach when his grandfather died and left his house to them. As a father who was born and raised there, Marcus Long said he was ecstatic to have his family back in his home town to share his experiences.
He is our senior offensive lineman and has started every game for us for the last two years. He's a kid that has fought through a lot of adversity. He lost his mom in the middle of the 2021 season. Honestly, for him not to miss a beat as a player has been pretty impressive. After we won states, he was on that field on his hands and knees. It was a standing ovation for him that he was able to dedicate a very hardworking moment to the woman that gave him birth—his mom." — Travis Roland, Mainland head football coach
“I was hoping they could take part in the same steps I had taken there,” he said. “Jaelin was able to take the next step. I never did get a chance to get a state championship. We always got knocked out in districts by Lake Howell or Lake Mary. I was ecstatic that Jamarcus came back to finish (at Mainland) and Jaelin came along to finish his years there as well. I would have loved if Tim Huth could have done his graduation ceremony but he is retired.”
Just before Jaelin’s freshman year at Mainland, his mom Yavonda took him to football summer camp.
“My mom saw the love I had for football and forcefully made me go to summer camp as a freshman,” he said. “I didn’t want to show up. I hated the workouts because summer workouts be killing for real. Now I am glad about how she brought me back because, after four years, I can say I’m a state champion and I won it for her.”
On Sept. 20, 2021, as Jaelin left for practice, his mom told him to have a good day and they both said “I love you” to each other. He walked to Mainland. Due to rain, the players had to go in the gym where coach Travis Roland told him his grandmother was there to pick him up. He said he had to hustle because it was urgent.
They rushed to the hospital where he saw his father crying and he found out what was happening with his mother.
She had been battling cancer for 10 years.
On Sept. 21, 2021, Jaelin returned to the hospital where his father said they would have to ‘let his mother go’. Yavonda died at 11:50 a.m. Her wish was not to be resuscitated after multiple attempts.
“When my dad told me they were going to have to let her go, I said no — no, no, no,” he said. “But after seeing my brother and how down he was about it and my pops and how down he was about it, I’m thinking to myself, I am not OK with it. I’ve never been OK with it, but it was not my decision, it was hers.”
Mainland coaches and teammates were instrumental in supporting Jaelin and his family. Anthony understood what he was going through. He moved back to Daytona Beach 27 years ago when his mother died.
“Everything he’s done has been for her,” Anthony said. “I know that even when he’s not saying it. She became his ‘why’. My mom became my ‘why’ when I came here. You have to find a reason to do what you do. His reason to do what he’s doing is to still make his momma proud.”
Jaelin said the first month after his mom died, he had nightmares. After some time, he finally had one good dream.
“I was in her car and I’m just driving on an empty road,” he said. “Then I hear my mom’s voice. I look over and she’s in the passenger seat and she says she’s very proud of me. She’s proud of how I handled everything at my young age. When I woke up, I was back to being sad because I saw her and I remembered she’s gone, but I heard that she’s proud so I’m doing something right. That kept me saying that I’m going to stay on this path because I heard she’s proud.”
