2016 Spring Football Recap: Terry Parker Jamboree; First Coast, Baker County

DuvalSports.com will recap all the spring football games in Northeast Florida this summer! Check out this game recap below!

Terry Parker hosted First Coast and Baker County in their spring football jamboree. Baker County came away with wins in both exhibitions, looking impressive in a limited showing. Against First Coast, #6 Joe Green scored two touchdowns showcasing his ability to pass and run. One of his passes was to wide receiver #1 Lee Graham. Green is versatile and in turn allows Head Coach Jamie Rodgers the ability to draw up unique plays on offense. The offense was clicking on all cylinders versus First Coast. #3 Curtis Harmon capped off the scoring on a touchdown reception making the score 30-3. Harmon is elusive and a speedster, but if your in his way he’ll lower those shoulder pads on you. A great asset on offense.

Baker County’s most impressive performance may have been by their offensive line. Against First Coast, they moved the line of scrimmage fairly easy. The Quarterback was untouched on most instances. They started slow against a very athletic Parker defense, but turned it on later in the contest. #74 Traction Clayton, #52 Shaquan Griffin, and #54 Dalton Thomas are three leaders on the line this year for them. Against Parker they paved the way for RB #22 Josh Haygood. Haygood seemed to get stronger as the quarter went on. He scored three touchdowns in a 2 minute span to lead the comeback against Parker. Look for the running game to be powered by him.

On defense Baker County held First Coast to just 3 points. Their leader is Rod Haygood. Coach Rogers describes him as their “captain” and “always where he is supposed to be”. A reliable player like him allows coaches to rest at night, and Baker County has that in Haygood. Rod’s partner in crime in the secondary is FS Lee Graham. At 6’1 and great speed he is without question their most talented player on the field. He covers a lot of ground on defense, and can lay the wood on receivers.

It’s not every day you see a Wide Receiver punish other Wide Receivers by switching to Safety in iron man football. Graham is definatley that rare tenacious talent. #50 DT Tavion Reed was observed getting after it on defense.  He should be a reliable run stuffer for them.

Overall its been a good spring for Baker County. They have a young defense with mostly sophomores, but strong leadership. On offense, they have a veteran offensive line which bodes well for their success. Look for the offense to challenge the defense in workouts this summer to prepare them for the fall.

 


 

First Coast and Head Coach Marty Lee have an up hill battle, and spring was the beginning of the journey. The Buccaneers were once the hotbed of the city as far as football talent is concerned. And though they still have very good players on the roster, they have been decimated by departures. The Spring jamboree was an opportunity for the team to measure their progress from practice, and from that aspect the coaching staff gained valuable film to break down and study each position this summer.

On Offense Quarterback #8 Michael Smith led the brigade in the spring game. Tall, and athletic Smith has all the skills and attributes to be a great Quarterback, continuing the line of talent at that position for the Bucs. Joining him in the backfield was running back #7 Cameron Corbitt, who many believe can be one of the premier backs in the area as a long as he works hard in the film room and at practice. The athletic side is already evident as he and Smith showed promise on certain plays against Terry Parker. They went up 7-6 before a safety sealed their fate.

Shawn Wiley (2017) not only is the bookend Left Tackle, but he is also an outstanding defensive lineman. He currently has offers from Southern Miss, Central Michigan, Charlotte UNC, and  Stetson. He is the unapologetic leader of the team, citing loyalty as a reason he bleeds Black and Blue. When asked why loyalty was good for a football team Wiley said, ” If there’s loyalty on the team each player trust one another and with that trust there’s confidence in that position to compete against their opponent and do the best to their ability to dominate and come on top”. This is what you want from a leader in the spring, there’s no question about where he will be this fall.

Joining him on defense are two DBs that have impressed in spring practice. Keayvion Blue and Brian Anderson. They were touted by teammates as playing good coverage this spring, but also possessing the ability to come up and hit ball carriers. This is probably the most experienced group on the defensive side of the ball right now, but as evident from the spring game, the entire defensive unit must work hard this summer to build cohesiveness.


 

Terry Parker may have gone 1-1 officially in the jamboree, but they sure do have a lot to be proud of. A safety sealed the victory in a tough one against First Coast 8-7. Coach Tommy Balom’s crew edged Fist Coast with an opportunistic defense that was touted by Balom in our Spring preview of Terry Parker earlier this year.  DE Kaleb Seymore made several plays in the half versus First Coast.

After the warm up Parker was ready for their contest against Baker County!

The Braves would start early, moving the ball down field against the Baker County defense. Their drive would stall on a penalty but Austin Anderson showed that the Braves will be able to rely on the kicking game. He connected with a 30 yard field goal to put them up 3-0.

The Braves defense was fully charged and getting after it against Baker. Holes that were open closed quickly as Parker’s Linebackers swarmed to the ball. Parker was smaller than Baker County on defense, but they did not let size intimidate them early.

After another stop, Parker’s QB Erik Hill connected on a long 40 yard pass to WR Josh Livingstone. The next play Hill connected with Cam Sapp who did the rest as he scored the quarter’s first touchdown. This is a combination to look forward to as each one of these players know how to make things happen with the ball in their hands. Hill is exceptionally intriguing. He has very good size and certainly looks the par of a college Quarterback. When he sets his feat he can make all the throws. It’s funny that this kid originally wanted to play a skill position instead of the signal caller. The coaches made the right decision for putting him in to learn in spring, and Erik made the right decision listening to his father who suggested he play QB.

Apparently Coach Balom saw all he wanted to see from his number ones on offense as he substituted his Quaterback and other starters midway through the final quarter. Immediately after he sat them down Baker County struck on defense. A sack fumble set up Baker County in scoring position, after Josh Haygood trimmed the lead to 10-7.

After Baker County recovered the fumble, they drove right into the endzone thanks to the hard running of Haygood. Baker County would take the lead for the first time in the contest 14-10.

After three straight scores all by running back Josh Haygood and five minutes still left in the game, Coach Balom put his starters back in to gain some momentum on offense. They immediately got it going when Hill tossed a deep pass down the right sideline to his wide receiver Jai Williams. Williams would make a spectacular diving grab setting his team up inside the redzone.

Baker County’s defense would hold in the redzone turning back any attempt for Parker to turn the tide in the quarter. In the end Baker County would come away with the 21-10 victory.

Thanks for checking out the Spring Football Recap of this jamboree. Don’t forget to keep checking back for more football action and sports on DuvalSports.com! Duval’s #1 Youth & Prep Sports Site!!

About the author

Andre' Ellis, Founder/ Lead Writer DuvalSports.com Florida Times Union All-City 1998,LB, Sandalwood Florida A&M Unv, BA , MBA