Polk County Edition: Playoff Results

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>The high school basketball regular season has concluded with district playoffs and championship games having been tipped off this week. Prep Hoops scout Andrew Johnson will be providing postseason schedules and results from schools in the Polk County area. Here is an updated list of results and standouts from this week's district championship games.</em></strong> <strong><em>All winners of Saturday's matchups will move on to regionals. </em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"style":{"typography":{"fontSize":"18px"}}} --> <p style="font-size:18px"><strong>Winter Haven defeats Plant City 83-45</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Winter Haven Blue Devils (23-4) have made noise and put the spotlight on the Polk County area all season with its big four which features two seniors and juniors. They all contributed in their respective ways on Friday night to defeat the Planty City Raiders 83-45 for the 7A-9 District Championship in front of their home crowd. The 6'5, 215-pound junior [player_tooltip player_id='1055762' first='Jamie' last='Phillips'] Jr led all scorers with 20 points and 6 rebounds and 4 assists to add. The junior phenom [player_tooltip player_id='1055750' first='Isaac' last='Celiscar'] recorded 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 assists with the senior [player_tooltip player_id='814550' first='Dylan' last='James'] adding 10 points, 15 rebounds, and 3 blocks. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"style":{"typography":{"fontSize":"18px"}}} --> <p style="font-size:18px"><strong>Lakeland defeats Bartow 69-49</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Not too many high schools can claim district titles for their both football and basketball programs but the Lakeland Dreadnaughts achieved the feat once again on Saturday after taking the stinger out of the Bartow Yellow Jackets with a 69-49 victory for the 6A-7 District Championship. The Dreadnaughts (22-4) have put together a solid season behind the efforts of senior Navy football commit [player_tooltip player_id='814549' first='Rolijah' last='Hardy'], averaging 15.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4 assists. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"style":{"typography":{"fontSize":"18px"}}} --> <p style="font-size:18px"><strong>Auburndale defeats Jones 54-50</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Auburndale Bloodhounds earned the 5A-7 District Championship trophy after a narrow 54-50 win over Jones High on Saturday. Auburndale has been led by 6'1, 180-pound point guard [player_tooltip player_id='1060163' first='Kervin' last='Knaggs'] who scored the last-second go-ahead bucket with 1.7 seconds remaining to give his team the chance at the title. The Bloodhounds have made the most of this season and will attempt to keep it going with regionals on the horizon. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"style":{"typography":{"fontSize":"18px"}}} --> <p style="font-size:18px"><strong>Victory defeats City of Life 74-45</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Victory Christian Academy Storm was one of the first teams in Polk County to put the Class 2A-7 District Championship trophy above their heads and celebrate the accomplishments along the journey after defeating City of Life 74-45 on Friday night. Head coach Steve Fitzgerald had a notable season, reaching 500 wins and bringing home the district title trophy. Junior phenom LJ Cason has dominated all competitors while raising his overall recruitment status. He finished the championship game with 26 points, 6 steals, and 8 assists.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"style":{"typography":{"fontSize":"18px"}}} --> <p style="font-size:18px"><strong>Bell Creek defeats Santa Fe 44-31</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Santa Fe Hawks suffered a tough loss in competing for the class 3A District Championship but fell to Bell Creek (23-4) and its well-coached squad. The Hawks finished the regular season strong and had high hopes for the title but will have to hit the drawing boards and return with even more determination next season. Bell Creek has been led by the freshman star Jermal Jones and rising sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1301768' first='Caleb' last='Sanders']. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->