BARADENTON, Fla. (WWSB) – The State Playoffs Final Four is here and the Manatee Hurricanes are preparing to take on a familiar postseason opponent, the St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders.

The winner of this matchup will advance to the Class 5A state championship game next week. Hurricanes senior players like Shawn Williams III have been looking forward to a moment like this for a long time. “I feel great,” Williams said. “It’s a big week, you know. We’ve been working on this all summer and our whole lives, for moments like this, man.”

However, this duel is greater for this young man and his family because of history and a moment 17 years in the making. His father, Shawn Williams Jr., is a graduate of Manatee High School and a former Hurricanes football player. His final high school game was against the Raiders.

It’s surreal for the father to soon see him playing on the field he once called home. “I never thought I would grow old and have an older son playing on this football field,” Shawn Jr. said

However, Shawn hopes his son can achieve a different result than in 2007. “My last game was against St. Thomas Aquinas,” said Shawn Jr. “They beat us in double overtime. I thought about it like I was playing a game on Friday. The only thing I told him is to control what he can control. Do your job.”

Shawn Williams III wants this win for himself and his teammates, but also for his father. “I want to get revenge for him and win this game too,” Shawn III said. “This is, if not the biggest game of the season. This will be one of the ones you want to win here.”

Above all, the father wants his son to soak up this moment and enjoy the game they both love. “I just want them to feel like they’re playing in a state championship game,” said Shawn Jr. “I would love that feeling for them.”

The matchup between the Hurricanes and Raiders takes place on Friday at 7:30 p.m

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