The Florida Classic is more than a rivalry football game to Florida A&M cornerback Kendall Bohler and safety Lovie Jenkins.

The yearly showdown between Football Championship Coaches Poll seventh-ranked Rattlers (9-1, 7-0 SWAC) and Bethune-Cookman Wildcats (3-7, 2-5 SWAC) is personal to the Orlando natives.

Orlando has filled the Dark Cloud Defense duo Bohler and Jenkins with joy.

But, it has also caused them sorrow.

On the night of April 25, 2020, Dexter Rentz Jr., a childhood friend of Bohler and Jenkins, was fatally shot in a car while leaving his grandfather’s Orlando home.

The 18-year-old succumbed to his injuries on the way to the hospital.

Rentz Jr. had recently signed to play college football at Louisville. But his death never allowed him to attend his first practice, game, or class.

So, Bohler and Jenkins will enter Orlando’s Camping World Stadium for Saturday's Southwestern Athletic Conference regular-season finale, ready to continue to dedicate their college football career to their Ocoee High School teammate and dear friend fallen to gun violence.

Bohler is a redshirt junior general health science major with 27 tackles and 12 pass breakups.

He honors Rentz Jr. with a tattoo on his right bicep that reads “LLD2 (Long Live Dexter Jr. or his jersey No. 2)."

“It definitely hurts,” Bohler, 22, remembered Rentz Jr. “That boy probably would’ve won a Heisman if he was still here.

“Every time I step on the field, I pray and raise everything to him. So, going out there and balling out will be something to show.”

Jenkins is a senior criminal justice major with 29 tackles, four for loss, and an interception.

He has a tattoo on his left forearm dedicated to Rentz Jr. that illustrates his friend wearing his No. 2 football jersey. Jenkins says the Rentz family will cheer on the Rattlers at the Florida Classic.

“Going back to ‘The O’ is really important. Dexter’s whole family is coming out to see me and Kendall play,” Jenkins, 21, said.

“So, it’s definitely a bigger purpose being back in the city where we’re from because many people who look up to us will be out there to see us ball.”

Bohler and Jenkins both have a year of college eligibility remaining.

FAMU defensive backs Kendall Bohler and Lovie Jenkins has full-circle connection

Jenkins transferred to FAMU in the fall of 2021.

He began his college football career at Louisville, where he and Rentz Jr. inked their letters of intent together on December 2019’s Early Signing Day.

Jenkins took classes and practiced with Louisville in the ensuing spring. Rentz Jr. planned to enroll and start practicing during the summer.

But they never got to grace the field or classroom together at Louisville.

So, being unable to fulfill the intended achievement puts a chip on Jenkins’ shoulder as Rentz’s college experience lives through him.

“It’s a tough situation, and it’s hard to talk about,” Jenkins said.

“That’s my boy, and I’m going to always honor him until the day that I die. I’m just thanking God to be here.”

Bohler and Jenkins met in middle school before playing together at Ocoee.

Bohler transferred to FAMU from Mercer in the spring of 2021 alongside his older brother, former All-American Rattlers cornerback BJ.

Jenkins entered the NCAA Transfer Portal shortly afterward, leading the Bohler brothers to urge FAMU coaches to recruit their high school teammate and hometown friend.

Jenkins said that BJ and Kendall Bohler played a significant role to joining the Rattlers.

“As soon as [Jenkins] jumped in the portal, I talked with all my coaches and said we got to get him,” Kendall Bohler recalled.

“And we got him.”

FAMU defensive backs Kendall Bohler and Lovie Jenkins display longstanding cohesion

Bohler and Jenkins’ on-field roles exemplify their off-the-field friendship.

Bohler guards the front as a cornerback, while the safety Jenkins will have his back just in case of a busted coverage.

The two have been valuable for FAMU’s FCS’ second-ranked total defense.

“Playing together in high school makes it easy in college,” Jenkins said.

“Kendall was my corner, and I was the safety. So, when I came to FAMU, the connection was already established. And that’s how we’ve been carrying it ever since.”

Bohler and Jenkins’ chemistry was undeniable in the Rattlers’ Week 6 win over Southern.

The Jaguars attempted to kick a PAT after scoring a 72-yard passing touchdown from quarterback Harold Blood to wide receiver Chandler Whitfield.

Bohler and Jenkins had different plans.

Jenkins blocked Southern’s Joshua Griffin’s kick, which Bohler returned for a 95-yard two-point conversion. Jenkins stayed in stride with Bohler the entire way to the endzone.

Bohler and Jenkins account for two of three special teams scores this season. Jenkins returned a blocked punt for 15 yards in Week 10 in FAMU’s win at Alabama A&M.

They nickname touchdowns the 'Chicken Box.'

“It was lit," Bohler recalled the play at Southern. “I didn’t even know Lovie blocked it at first. I spun in circles, looking for the ball, and it popped up in my hands.

“Me and Lovie were gone, sliding down the sidelines. He made some blocks, and we got that Chicken Box.”

FAMU defensive backs Kendall Bohler and Lovie Jenkins hoping to make history

The Rattlers have an opportunity to do something special this weekend in Bohler and Jenkins’ hometown, Orlando.

If FAMU defeats Bethune-Cookman in its regular season finale at the Florida Classic, the program will secure its first 10-win season since 1999. Moreover, it would be the Rattlers’ first 10-win regular season since 1998.

“Getting nine-plus wins every year and being around great players, teammates, and coaches has been great,” Bohler said.

“It means a lot for sure.”

Following the Florida Classic, FAMU will host the SWAC Championship on Ken Riley Field at Bragg Memorial Stadium on Dec. 2 against an undetermined SWAC West opponent.

It will be the program’s first home playoff game since the 1998 NCAA Division I-AA (now FCS) First Round.

Winning the SWAC would place FAMU in its first HBCU Celebration Bowl on Dec. 16 versus the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference’s top team. The Celebration Bowl crowns the Black College Football National Champion.

“This team is special,” Jenkins said.

“Being part of this winning culture shows me what type of commitment it takes to play in December.”

Florida A&M (9-1, 7-0 SWAC) vs. Bethune-Cookman (3-7, 2-5 SWAC) Florida Classic Game Information

When: Saturday, Nov. 18 at 3:30 p.m.

Where: Camping World Stadium; Orlando, Florida

How to watch: ESPNU, Rattlers+

Gerald Thomas, III covers Florida A&M University Athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at gdthomas@gannett.com or on Twitter @3peatgee.

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This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: FAMU Football: Orlando natives remember friend before Florida Classic