It’s a rivalry bigger than the teams that face each other. The Miami versus Jacksonville dynamic stretches across further lines of separation than their geographical locations in the state. Last year, the NFL sponsored hats with city’s skylines on them. But when they released the Jacksonville hat, it happened to have the Miami skyline on it. The Jaguars arn’t conference rivals with Tampa Bay, but they are with the Miami Dolphins. 
Last year in Pop Warner Football Gwen Cherry (Miami) defeated Sweetwater (Jacksonville) and Forestview (Jax) defeated Overtown (M.I.A). It’s a given that most times either a team from Jacksonville or Miami will be representing the South East region at National in Pop Warner. In High School Football Booker T. Washington defeated Raines in the Class 4A State Championship game last year, which hurt when the Miami crowd returned the “Duuuuval” chant with “UUUUUHaul” as to say pack it up. There’s never a dull time in the friendly rivalry, as was the case this past Saturday when two teams traveled on I-95 to face one another. Killian came north to take on Sandalwood in Jacksonville, while Ribault traveled south to take on Miami Norland.
Sandalwood fell behind early in the game on a long run by Brandon LaCount, who took it 45 yards to pay dirt to put Killian up 6-0. Sandalwood would respond with 35 unanswered points in the game to crush Killiam 35-6. They scored seemingly from everywhere on the field. QB Ashton Gonzalez tossed two touchdowns to Edwin Carter and RZ Mc Corker. Gonzalez has been a great addition to Sandalwood after he departed Atlantic Coast this summer. He’s added a dynamic to the passing game that forces defenses to respect.
Photo Credit to Sandalwood's Mr. Mike Monlezun. #ROAD2GREATNESS @29Duke17 @darynp21 @904Preps_David @DuvalSports pic.twitter.com/cNie9gFPV7
— Saint Fan -Wood Life (@saintsndno) August 28, 2016
A blocked punt by Ameer Speed resulted in 6 after LB Wade Pierre recovered it in the endzone. Speed showed he could do more than just lock down wide outs. His block allowed Pierre to capture the spotlight he deserves. As we mentioned this spring, the underrated outside linebacker can play.
The @SandalwoodSaint have packed the house vs Miami Killian #teamsideline pic.twitter.com/H834sZ8aPs
— Tammie K Talley (@talleymama) August 26, 2016
Finally, running back Logan Wight did his usual damage for the Saints, rumbling for 164 yards on 15 carries. The massive offensive line was just to much for Killian. It’s almost unfair to ask a kid to ride a bus for 6 hours just to get ran over by a bus in the form of Logan Wright and the Saints offensive line.
Duval -1 vs Dade-0
Saturday pitted two opponents who took it to the limit last year. Norland came out on top last year in Jacksonville, but the new look Ribault Trojans looked to get revenge against another team of Vikings. The game was a stale mate for most of the contest minus a early 4yd TD run by Miami Norland’s by Alec Carr. It remained knotted at 6-0 thanks to good defense by both clubs. Devon Mathews made a great diving interception at the goal line , one of many plays made by a impressive Trojan defense.
However Ribault had several scoring opportunities slip through their hands thanks to costly mistakes and penalties. An 81 yard punt return by Kenneth Channelle was called back due to holding. A Quarterback scramble and thrown completion in the fourth would’ve resulted in a touchdown and left more time on the clock in the end, yet a penalty backed them up. Finally Ryan William’s touchdown pass knotted the score at 6 all with just over 3 minutes left in the game. Yet once again the Trojans were undone by penalties as a highly questionable pass interference call a.t the five yard line of Ribault put the Vikings in scoring position to kick the winning field goal.
The Trojans fell 9-6 but it was a tough and gritty performance in 305 that makes the 904 proud. They took Norland’s best shot and returned it just in kind. It’s games like this and Sandalwood’s blowout that has Duval looking good early in the yearly Dade versus Duval saga.
