With the new playoff system in place, teams were forced to drop the cupcakes and play better competition.
Which is why Week 1 brought us so many solid opening game such as Raines vs Lee, Cocoa vs Trinity, Ribault vs Sandalwood, Baker County vs St. Augustine and Bartram Trail and Cartersville, Georgia.
Not to mention several top rivalry games were played as well making Week 1 one for the ages.
Here is a rundown of some of the top performers from Week 1 and some of the notable accomplishments.
Players of the Week
Offense
Senior quarterback Joey Gatewood from Bartram Trail rallied his team from a 28 point deficit to nearly tying the game on the final play of the game in a 52-45 loss to Cartersville, Georgia. Gatewood completed 11 of 14 passes for 191 yards and 1 touchdown and ran for 135 yards and two scores on 20 carries.
Defense
Senior linebacker Michael Munder from Bishop Kenny, had a monster game accumulating 10 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 2 sacks and recovered a fumble in the Crusaders upset 23-0 win over Fletcher.
Streaks, Trends, Notables
* Creekside ended the areas longest losing streak at 22 games with a 48-21 win over visiting Winter Springs
* Ridgeview ended the second longest losing streak at 18 in a row with a 53-0 win over Jackson
Jackson now holds the areas longest current losing streak at 19 straight losses with the 53-0 loss to Ridgeview. The Tigers last won a game in the second to last game of the 2014 season a 13-7 win over Baldwin.
* Nine in a row now for Ed White over arch-rival Westside, who have now won 17 of the last 18 matchups in the second oldest Westside rivalry.
*After dropping the inaugural game of the Battle of the Bridge rivalry, Ponte Vedra has now won eight in a row in the series over Nease.
* First year Palm Coast head coach Travis Roland not only got the first of many wins; but his most important win as well stopping arch-rival Matanzas two year win streak in the Potato Bowl with a 35-14 win.
Heroes
* Defensive back Nick Gardner from Ribault stopped Sandalwood quarterback Antonio Clary short of the goal line on a two-point attempt with 20 seconds left to preserve the Trojans 14-13 win over the Saints.
* Devon Matthews, senior from Ribault, hauled in two touchdown passes and recovered an onside kick.
Rushers
* Kenny Logan, Menendez, 143 yards and 3 touchdowns on 7 carries
* Darian Oxedine, Menendez, 101 yards and 1 touchdown on 16 carries
* Keshawn King, junior from Oakleaf, ran for 3 touchdowns and returned a kickoff 80 yards for another score
* Dewayne McBride, sophomore from Fleming Island, ran for 167 yards and 2 touchdowns on just 7 carries
* Caleb Steward, senior from White, 203 yards and 2 touchdowns on 19 carries
* Clayton Boyd, senior from U.C., 178 yards and 3 touchdowns on 15 carries from his quarterback position
* Terrell Jennings, from Mandarin, 124 yards and 2 touchdowns on 14 carries
* Jamari Broussard, from Atlantic Coast, 166 yards on 25 carries
Passers
* Gavin Screws, junior from Baldwin, 18 of 27 for 304 yards and five touchdowns.
* Dean Hyams, sophomore from Fleming Island, 9 of 11 for 107 yards and one touchdown
* Jack Murrah, from Ponte Vedra, 8 of 17 for 153 yards and 2 touchdown passes
* Austin Thomas, junior from Trinity, was 3 for 4 for 123 yards and 2 touchdowns
* Kyle Smith, senior from Mandarin, was 11 of 20 for 172 yards and 1 touchdown
* Tannor Watson, from Atlantic Coast, 14 of 27 for 162 yards and 3 touchdowns
* Ivory Durham, senior from Raines, 20 of 29 for 220 yards
* Tai Lavatatai, junior from Creekside, 8 of 17 for 134 yards and 4 touchdowns, ran for another
* Caleb Eason, senior from Clay, 11 of 21 for 124 yards
* Ketwan Mauzon, from First Coast, 6 of 9 for 124 yards and 2 touchdowns
* Riley Smith, senior from Bartram Trail, 16 of 20 for 175 yards and 3 touchdowns
Receivers
* Jarrett Stepp, from Ponte Vedra, 5 catches for 144 yards and 2 touchdowns
* Isaiah Washington, junior from Trinity, 3 catches for 123 yards and 2 touchdowns
Defense
* Ridge Abinsay, from BK, two sacks
* Andrew Heaton, from Columbia, intercepted two passes
* Josh Griffis, from Fleming Island, three tackles for loss, sack
* Cody Devore, from Fleming Island, 2 sacks
* Taro Ward, senior from Bradford, 13 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 1 interception
* Ed White pitched a shutout and forced 5 turnovers
Special teams
* Matthew Brust, from BK, was 2 for 2 on field goals successfully converting 27 and 28 yards.
Scores
Cocoa 24, Trinity 21
Lee 20, Raines 16
Ribault 14, Sandalwood 13
Mandarin 27, Atlantic Coast 24
Ponte Vedra 24, Nease 13
Fleming Island 27, Clay 6
Oakleaf 33, Orange Park 13
Ridgeview 53, Jackson 0
Menendez 44, Middleburg 13
Keystone Heights 21, Fernandina Beach 14
Baldwin 48, Hamilton County 8
Bishop Kenny 23, Fletcher 0
Christ’s Church 13, Episcopal 10
Cedar Creek 44, Rocky Bayou 14
Creekside 48, Winter Springs 21
Ed White 31, Westside 2
First Coast 62, Parker 6
Fort White 13, Suwannee 10
Harvest 20, Bishop Snyder 6
Hilliard 55, Duval Charter 8
Palatka 28, Yulee 7
Palm Coast 35, Matanzas 14
Paxon 33, Englewood 30
St. Augustine 31, Baker County 14
St. Francis 50, St. Johns 14
Stanton 51, Wolfson 12
Union County 57, Avant Garde 0
University Christian 42, Providence 14
Warner Christian 32, Eagles View 16
West Nassau 48, North Fla Educational 0
Next week
Aug. 28
Oak Hall at Florida Deaf
Aug 31
Harvest at Florida Deaf
Sept. 1
Bishop Kenny at Atlantic Coast
White at Baker County
Bradford at Baldwin
Eagle’s View at Bell
Stanton at Bishop Snyder
Deltona at Bolles
Jackson at Englewood
Sandalwood at Fleming Island
Parker at Fletcher
Mandarin at Godby
Fernandina Beach at Hilliard
Avant Garde at Interlachen
PK Yonge at Keystone Heights
Westside at Lee
Bartram Trail at Mainland
St. Augustine at Menendez
Clay at Middleburg
Orange Park at Nease
Palm Coast at New Smyrna Beach
Glades Central at Oakleaf
Christs Church at Orlando Christian
Ponte Vedra at Palatka
Fort White at Providence
First Coast at Raines
Trinity at Ribault
Creekside at Ridgeview
Yulee at Rockledge
St. Joseph at St. Francis
Columbia at Suwannee
Cedar Creek at U.C.
North Fla Educational at Union County
Episcopal at West Nassau
Paxon at Wolfson
OPEN: Matanzas, St. Johns
