GAINESVILLE – St. Joseph Academy rolled through the regular season unscathed on its way to claiming the North Florida Football Conference this past fall. For that the Flashes were well represented on the 2018 North Florida Football All-Conference team recently released to coaches.
The conference consists of nine schools in two divisions, the North and the South, with St. Joseph, Florida Deaf, Oak Hall, St. Francis and St. Johns Country Day comprising the South Division and Aucilla Christian, Munroe, John Paul II and Rocky Bayou in the North Division.
St. Joseph led with 6 Flashes being named to the South Division team and All-Conference team, while St. Johns had 3 and Florida Deaf had 2.
Despite being undefeated in the regular season and declared co-champs with Aucilla Christian due to severe weather, the Flashes (9-1) coached by Brannon Tidwell were surprisingly not named Coach of the Year and/or Player of the Year by the conference.
NFFC ALL-SOUTHERN DIVISION
John D’Alessio (St. Francis) OL/DL
Our most consistent lineman graded out at 80%, third leading tackler with 60 tackles
JP Dallazem (Oak Hall) K/P
Made 5/6 Field goals with a long of 44 yards, 40/42 XP made, total of 55 points, 19 punts with a 28 yard average and a long of 28
Seamus Daugherty (St. Joseph) Linebacker
54 tackles, 1 sack, 4 fumble recoveries
James Drysdale (St. Joseph) LB/RB
79 tackles, 4 sacks, 1 INT, 1 caused fumble, 1 kickoff return for a touchdown
607 yards rushing (6 yards per carry), 10 touchdowns; 301 receiving yards (18 yards per reception) with 4 touchdowns
Thomas George (Oak Hall) RB
62 carries for 397 yards and 5 TD’s
27 tackles, 3 TFL, 1 fumble recovery
Cole Gonzales (Oak Hall) QB/FS
703 yards, 58 for 121 for 703 yards, 10 TD, 5 INTs; 370 yards rushing on 64 carries and 6 TDs
28 tackles, 2 INT’s and 2 TFL
Matthew Guillou (Florida Deaf) Sophomore, QB/CB
Passing 7 of 48 for 97yds, 6 INT; rushing 76 for 251 yards
53 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 sack, 2 INTs despite playing in only 6 games
Jaquez Jackson (St. Francis) WR/RB/LB
Rushing 33 carries 144 yards and 3 Tds; Receiving 33 receptions for 452 yards, 3 TDs
57 total tackles, 8 forced fumbles, also returned a punt and a kickoff for a TD
Calvin Littles (St. Francis) QB/WR/DB
Passing: 48/120 719 and 6 Td; Rushing 132 carries for 1,052 yards and 12 TDs; Receiving 7 catches 154 yards and 3 td
49 Tackles 2 interceptions both of which he returned for touchdowns
Max Monroe (St. Johns Country Day) Senior, QB/DB
Passing 75-140-1216yds-15TD; Rushing 91-292 yards, 7TD (avg 3.2)
Tackles 30 solo, 8 assist, 3 INT (2 returned for TD), 1 fumble recovery
Michael Mugford (St. Joseph) Defensive Line
58 tackles, 6 sacks, 2 CF, 1 FR
Ryan O’Leary (Oak Hall) RB/DB
1,100 yards on 170 carries and 18 TDs
30 tackles, 3TFL, 1 fumble recovery
Sam Ryan (St. Joseph) OLB/DB/WR/K
43 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 fumble recovery
150 yards receiving with a touchdown
39/42 on PAT, 3/4 on field goal attempts
Dylan Thibault, (St. Joseph) QB
1,237 yards passing and 13 touchdowns; 672 yards rushing (7.2 yds per carry) with 13 rushing TDs
Ethan Senderling (St. Joseph) OLB/WR
38 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 CF, 2PBU
85 yards receiving
Brady Walden (St. Johns Country Day) Senior, WR/DB
Rushing 21-166, 2TD (avg 7.9); Receiving 20-306, 3TD (avg. 15.3)
51 solo tackles, 64 total tackles, 4 pass break up, 1 Fumble Recovery, 2 fumbles caused
ALL-NORTHERN DIVISION
Nick Bowers (Rocky Bayou) Senior, OL/DL
On the offensive line, he averaged two pancake blocks per game. Graded out 88% for the season at his position.
14 tackles, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery
Brady Browning (Aucilla) Sophomore, QB/DB
Completed 50 of 83 pass attempts for 1,172 yards with 12 TDs/2 INTs, 60% completion percentage and a 133.9 quarterback rating. Also rushed for 372 yards and 7 touchdowns, 1,544 total yards and 19 touchdowns.
56 total tackles, 38 solo/18 assists, while setting a school record for interceptions in a year with 8 (tied for lead in Big Bend area) for a total of 166 yards and returning 3 for touchdowns, also blocked 2 extra points.
Steven Burdick (Munroe) SR/DL
59 Tackles, 13 TFL, 3 Sacks, 2 Blocked Kicks, 1 FF
1 Rushing TD. 8 2pt Conversions
Andrew Burrus (Aucilla) Senior, FB/LB
36 carries for 215 yards and 6 touchdowns and served as fullback helping pave the way for a new school rushing record.
56 total tackles, 45 solo/11 assists and 6 tackles for loss. Player also served as a team captain.
Evan Courtney (Aucilla) Senior, LB/OL
96 total tackles, 51 solo/45 assists and had 2 tackles for loss.
Anchored an offensive line that paved the way for 2,456 rushing yards and a school single season rushing record while playing on all special teams.
Tyler Dickey (Munroe) Freshman, DL
66 Tackles, 18 TFL, 2 sacks, 1 block kick, 1 FR
Will Ferguson (Rocky Bayou) Junior, LB/WR/RB
60 tackles, season/career high of 20 against Aucilla, 2 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries, 3 forced fumbles
8 receptions for 137 yards, 68 carries for 184 yards and 4 TD’s
Brandon Hannon (Aucilla) Junior, WR/DB/K
21 catches for 408 yards and 3 TDs and carried the ball 7 times for 71 yards.
18 total tackles, 1 interception, and 1 tackle for loss.
39 of 46 extra points and made 2 field goals
Julian Harrison (Munroe) Senior, ATH
314 Yards Rushing & 4 TD; 90 Yards Receiving & 1 TD
335 Return Yards & 3 TD (2 KR & 1 PR)
60 Tackles, 1 TFL, 1 Sack, 4 INT, 5 Pass Def, 1 FF; 1 FR
Ryan Jackson (Aucilla) Senior, WR/DB
18 catches for 472 yards and 5 TDs
10 solo tackles and 6 assists while primarily serving in a coverage capacity.
Dylan Rodriguez (Rocky Bayou) Senior, OL/LB
10 pancake blocks on the season, graded out at 86%
118 tackles on the season, had single game accomplishments of 19, 21, and 24, 1 sack, and 2 forced fumbles
Michael Starling (Munroe) Senior, LB/RB
69 tackles, 17 TFL, 4 Sacks, 2 FF, 1 FR
216 Yards rushing & 1 TD
Blake Wirick (Aucilla) Senior, RB/DE
1,592 yards (7.3 per carry) on 217 carries with 16 TDs; 6 receptions for 135 yards and 2 touchdowns, 1,767 yards and 18 TD.
35 total tackles, 20 solo/15 assists, 5 tackles for a loss and 2 sacks.
All-NORTH FLORIDA FOOTBALLL CONFERENCE TEAM
Nick Bowers (Rocky Bayou)
Brady Browning (Aucilla)
Steven Burdick (Munroe)
Evan Courtney (Aucilla)
James Drysdale (St. Joseph)
Will Ferguson (Rocky Bayou)
Thomas George (Oak Hall)
Cole Gonzales (Oak Hall)
Julian Harrison (Munroe)
Jaquez Jackson (St. Francis)
Calvin Littles (St. Francis)
Max Monroe (St. Johns Country Day)
Ryan O’Leary (Oak Hall)
Dylan Rodriguez (Rocky Bayou)
Michael Starling (Munroe)
Dylan Thibault (St. Joseph)
Blake Wirick (Aucilla)
Player of the Year: Blake Wirick (Aucilla)
Led team and Big Bend area in rushing with 1,592 yards (New School Record) on 217 carries with 16 TDs averaging 7.3 yards a carry and 159 yards per game. Caught 6 passes for 135 yards and 2 touchdowns, also had a 40 yard kick return bringing his all purpose yard and touchdown total to 1,767 yards and 18 touchdowns. On defense, player had 35 total tackles, 20 solo/15 assists, 5 tackles for a loss and 2 sacks.
Sportsmanship Individual Winners:
Wyatt Smith (St. Johns) OL/DL
Darion McGill (St. Francis)
Max Reinhard (Munroe)
Bryan Raffa (Florida Deaf) Senior, TE/HB/DB
Sam Ryan (St. Joseph) K
Levi Stafford (Aucilla) Senior, TE/DE
Grant Pita (Oak Hall)
Aaron Grabinger (Rocky Bayou) QB/DB
Team Sportsmanship Winners:
Florida School of Deaf & Blind
Rocky Bayou
Coach of the Year: Colby Roberts (Aucilla)
NEFAC Championship games
2018: St. Joseph, Aucilla co champs (weather)
2017: John Paul 14, St. Francis 12
2016: Oak Hall 41, John Paul 13
2015: St. Joseph 10, John Paul 0
2014: Rocky Bayou 22, Florida Deaf 21
2013: Rocky Bayou 26, St. Johns 19
2012: Maclay 41, Oak Hall 13
2011: Maclay 54, Oak Hall 42
