When it was over - when Orlando (Fla.) Christian Prep had won the Florida Class 1A title with a 59-54 triumph in Lakeland, Fla.- head coach Reggie Kohn acted as if his team had done this all before.

Maybe it was because they had.

"We did what we wanted to do" he said. "The guys executed our game plan perfectly."


Sunshine Celebration
Orlando Christian Prep knocked off Arlington Country Day to win the state title. Check out the photo gallery from our media partner OrlandoSentinel.comWith it, came the school's third straight state title. This one, however, may have been the most special as it prevented Jacksonville (Fla.) Arlington Country Day from capturing an unprecedented sixth straight state title.
"We had to take care of the ball, rebound at the defensive end, and know who to guard and who to back off of," Kohn explained - again sounding as if they had done this all before.

Maybe it was because they had.

Back on Dec. 12, Orlando Christian Prep, No. 72 in the latest RivalsHigh Top 100, held on for a surprising 49-47 victory over No. 63 Arlington Country Day. Of course, most in attendance Thursday afternoon thought Arlington's size and experience would prove to be too much this time around.

It certainly looked that way in the opening 75 seconds as Arlington raced out to a 7-0 lead. But Orlando Christian Prep, guided by Kohn, did just what it needed and used an 11-2 run to end the quarter up, 13-9.

Orlando Christian increased its lead to 21-15 at halftime and then extended it to 35-22 in the third.

Five-time champions do not go down easily though.

Arlington Country Day cut it to 38-30 through three quarters, then cut it to 39-38. The teams battled until Orlando showed its strength from the line down the stretch. Ahead just 45-44, Orlando scored five straight points to extend the lead to 50-44. Then it was just a matter of hanging on.

You know, acting as if it had done this sort of thing before.

"We stayed poised when they made their run in the final quarter and responded," Kohn said. "I couldn't be more proud of a group of guys."

Jordan Montgomery led the way with 14 points; Adonis Burbage contributed 12 and Isaac Cohen scored 11. Orlando Christian Prep finishes the season 28-4.

John Brown led Arlington Country Day (23-6) with 18 points; Chris Blunt and Shawn Smith each added nine. This time, though, it wasn't quite enough.

"It has been a great run with a great group of kids that have come thru here," Arlington coach Rex Morgan said. "OCP did a good job of keeping us off the offensive glass. We played in foul trouble the whole game and had to stay in zone more than we wanted. Also, of our 20 turnovers, I'd say 15 were unforced."

Morgan praised Orlando, too.

"Give all the credit to OCP; they did a great job," he said. "We just have to start a new run."

Rick Staudt of FlaVarsity.com contributed to this report.