Florida High defense lives up to 'Best In America' moniker vs Chiles

The Florida High defense calls itself “B.I.A,” short for Best In America.

After the unit’s showing on Friday, Aug. 28, it may be hard to challenge the Seminoles on that.

Florida High (2-0) blanked the Lawton-Chiles (1-1) offense as the visiting Seminoles left Stan Goldstein Field with a gritty 24-14 non-district victory in Week 2 of the Florida High School Athletic Association season. Chiles only scored on defensive touchdowns.

“We call ourselves ‘BIA’ because we’re the Best in America,” Florida High senior cornerback and NCAA Division I prospect Montell Holmes told the Tallahassee Democrat. “That’s what we stand by. We showed it tonight, holding them to zero points.”

Aside from Holmes, the Seminoles defense is led by four-star cornerback Izayah Vickers, defensive backs Gavin Brown, Antonio Dickey Jr., Jaylen Lanier, linebacker tandem Jason Harville and Skyler Burger, and a “great” defensive line that can get “QB pressure.”

Florida High built an early 14-0 lead. Sophomore running back-turned quarterback Brysin Brown connected with four-star wide receiver Ar’Tavian ‘Bubba’ Brown for two touchdown passes.

Then adversity began to strike.

Florida High would turn the football over four times in the first half. The deficiencies included a pick-six by Chiles Timberwolves cornerback Nolan Williams and a fumble by running back Ashton Callahan.

By halftime, the Seminoles were staring at a tied 14-14 ballgame against an inspired Chiles team.

“Interception in the beginning,” Brown recalled the game. “But my trust is in our defense. Our defense held it down the whole game.”

The Seminoles rebuilt their lead with a one-yard rushing touchdown by senior running back Mike Jones, and then a field goal by Tucker Campbell in the fourth quarter. Chiles didn’t score in the second half.

“Defensively, we did a great job of really making it tough on them all night long,” said Florida High head coach Jarrod Hickman. “Had a lot of faith in our defense there.”

The game was sealed for the Seminoles when Holmes intercepted Chiles quarterback Cason Philley on the Timberwolves’ final drive. With less than 10 seconds remaining, all Florida High had to do was kneel the ball from that point.

“I trusted my teammates and D-Line to give the quarterback pressure so I could make a play on the ball,” Holmes replayed the interception in his head. “Big playmakers make big plays.”

The Seminoles have much to “clean up,” says Hickman.

A week of improvements will lead into a two-and-a-half-hour trip to Santa Rosa Beach to face South Walton (2-0). The South Walton Seahawks have won two shutouts, 50-0 over Gulf Breeze in Week 1 and 35-0 against Fort Walton Beach in Friday’s Week 2 game.

South Walton is led by University of Connecticut commit, quarterback JD Brown, and linebacker Connor Rooney, a Rice commit. They swept the small-school offensive and defensive player of the year awards from the Northwest Florida Daily.

Last time Florida High and South Walton met, the Seminoles hosted and won 34-14 during the 2025 season, a year ago.

“I think you have to handle the road. It’s two hours away, someone else’s backyard, we played them last year and got the better end of it,” Hickman previewed the game. “But I’m sure they’ve got it circled and know this is a big opportunity. They present some good challenges, and we’re going to have to be ready for that.”

Florida High and South Walton kick off at 8 p.m. Eastern Time next Friday, Sept. 4.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida High defense lives up to 'Best In America' moniker vs Chiles