This week determined a lot of destinies for teams vying for district championships. Many of the games were dog fights, close contests that saw players lay it on the line for the opportunity to reach the playoffs. Check out the local districts below and who wrapped up district championships, as well as who has the inside track.
DISTRICT 1-8A ( District Records)
Bartram Trail (2-0)
Creekside (2-1)
Mandarin (1-2)
Oakleaf (1-1)
Sandalwood (0-2)
Bartram 16 Creekside 13
Liam Padron kicked the game winning field goal as time expired to lift Bartram Trail (6-1) to a 16-13 win over county rival and now district foe Creekside (5-2). It was a game that lived up to the hype and anticipation and more as there wasn’t an empty seat in the house.
Creekside’s Jacob Dennie took the first shot and it landed with a 70-yard touchdown pass to Brendan McMillan to go up 7-0 in the first quarter. However, Eric Weatherly got his team back in the game scoring on a 3-yard touchdown run to tie the game 7-7 in the 2nd quarter.
Preston Strope answered in the form of 50-yard scamper right through the middle of the defense. The incredible play gave Creekside a 13-7 lead in the 2nd quarter.
Riley Trujillo would lead Bartram back in the second half. He hit a big pass play to Jack Cremen for a 70-yard touchdown erupting the home crowd, and bringing the game to a boil in the 4th quarter. The top would come off stadium as Padron knocked the kick through.
With the win, Bartram took an inside track in the district sitting at 2-0 in district play with wins over Mandarin and now Creekside. They still have Oakleaf (4-3), and Sandalwood (2-5) coming up, but the Bears control their own destiny after Oakleaf fell to Mandarin last week.
DISTRICT 3-7A
Atlantic Coast (1-2)
First Coast (0-3)
Fleming Island (2-1)
Fletcher (3-0)
Nease (2-1))
Ponte Vedra (1-3)
Fletcher 14 Nease 13
What an incredible victory for the Senators Friday night, as they edged Nease 14-13 to improve to 3-0 in the district. Running back Jabarri Williams rushed for150 yards in the contest yet his 30-yard scamper late in the fourth quarter was his most important run. That put Fletcher in position to score setting up Marcellis Tate for a QB sneak a few plays later for the deciding touchdown. Tarik Smajic hit the extra point as the Senators remained undefeated in District play.
Marcellis Tate’s touchdown pass to Aiden Heilmann put Fletcher on the board, yet they still trailed Nease 10-7. Nease got on the board when Samuel Milton plunged in from 1-yard out in the first quarter. Nease quarterback Marcus Stokes drove the team on scoring drives with his legs and arm as Nease converted two field goals. They’d be costly missed opportunities to put 7 points on the board which resulted in Fletcher capitalizing. The Senator defense held Nease to one of it’s lowest scoring outputs of the season.
DISTRICT 3-6A (District Record)
Columbia (Lake City/ 4-0)
Englewood (1-2)
Riverside (2-1)
Orange Park (0-2)
Westside (0-2)
Columbia 42 Orange Park 14
It was an evenly balanced rushing attack from Columbia, who ran for 206 yards and 3 touchdowns from 10 different players. First it was Tony Fulton who scored on a 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Cohen David would score in the fourth quarter to make it 35-7, and then Malik Moore would punch it in from 8-yards out to balloon the score to 42-14 and started the celebration for Columbia.
Columbia built their first half lead through the air when Cohen David tossed a touchdown to Leo Robinson for 39-yards. Evan Umstead then came back in and passed a touchdown to Keeven Young as Columbia led 21-0 at halftime. An interception by Amare Ferrell was an highlight for the Tigers defense pitching the first half shutout.
Orange Park’s Tavien Wilkerson hit Nolan Chambers for a touchdown pass and Elijah Craggette scored on a touchdown run, but it wasn’t nearly enough. Columbia (6-2) would win the game and wrap up the 3-6A District Title. Orange Park (2-4) has Westside (1-6) next. Columbia has their annual non-district matchup with rival Madison County (4-3) this week, before finishing at Raines (5-2)
DISTRICT 4-6A (District Record)
Gainesville (2-0)
Matanzas (0-2)
Middleburg(1-2)
Ridgeview (0-2)
St. Augustine (3-0)
Gainesville 36 Middleburg 27
Middleburg needed this one bad after falling to St. Augustine earlier in the season. As with most losses this season the Broncos kept it close, however Gainesville held them at bay. Running back Mike Mitchell ran for 173 yards in the loss. Gainesville’s Kyree Edwards ran for 131 yards in the win for Gainesville.
Now it’s virtually a race between Gainesville and St. Augustine who had a bye last week. The Yellow Jackets prepare for Matanzas this week. If they handle business as many believe, then it will be a dogfight for the district next week.
DISTRICT 2-5A (District Record)
Baker County (2-0)
Bishop Kenny (1-2)
Ed White (3-0)
Paxon (0-3)
Suwannee (1-1)
Ed White got a close victory over district rival Bishop Kenny Friday night to improve to 5-1 on the season. Bishop Kenny fell to 4-2. With the win, Ed White can clinch a District 5-2A title against Baker County next week. Kenny was eliminated from district championship consideration with the loss.
Kenny played like the championship was on the line striking first when Baylor Newsom burst up the middle for a 24-yard touchdown. Newsom also led the defense to a first half shutout as Kenny controlled the game.
In the second half Ed White woke up, as Ellis led the Commanders out of halftime rushing for 40 of his 106 rushing yards in the game. The drive culminated with a Isiah Teal short touchdown run as White trailed 7-6.
Kenny would respond, driving down the field as quarterback James Resar threw a back shoulder touchdown to increase Kenny’s lead to 14-6 in the 3rd quarter.
With Ed White’s district hopes lingering in the balance, they needed another spark and they got it from junior Davaughn Patterson. Patterson was inserted at running back and ran hard through attempted tackles by Bishop Kenny. Patterson scored in the 3rd quarter to tie the game at 14-14 after a successful 2-pt conversion.
Patterson would score again from 50-yards out, giving Ed White the lead for the first time in the game. The resurgence of energy is exactly what the team needed at the time and he delivered.
James Resar answered the score with energy of his own. In the 4th, Resar threw to the back of the end-zone for his wide receiver Andrew Tabor who went up and snatched the touchdown catch from the air. The 2-pt conversion was good and both teams were tied at 22-22.
Patterson would close the game out for Ed White, literally willing his team to victory over Kenny and into a winner take all showdown with Baker County next week. Patterson finished with 134 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns in the game.
Check out photos from the game by clicking HERE
DISTRICT 3-5A (District Record)
Raines (3-0)
Ribault (0-2)
Terry Parker (2-1)
Yulee (1-2)
Raines 25 Yulee 6
Raines (5-2) wrapped up the District 3-5A title Friday night defeating Yulee (3-4) 25-6. The Vikings dominated the entire affair as Carleton Butler led the Vikings offense to scores. It’s been an impressive year for the Vikings as their only losses have come to Trinity and Clearwater Academy. Kareem Burke has been one of the most versatile players in the state, rushing for 748 yards and 3 TDs on the ground while amassing 326 yards and 3 touchdowns receiving coming into the Yulee game. On defense, Rashard Hall led the team in tackles (46) and Craig Jenkins led the team with 2 interceptions.
Now it’s time for the Northwest Classic this week against rival Ribault (1-7), and because the Trojans fell to Terry Parker last week, Raines with their win earned the District championship. It’s the last hurrah for senior leaders Quincy Burroughs, Kyree Hammond, Reshawn Latimer, Ja’Quon King, and Carleton Butler, so they will be excited to end with a bang.
DISTRICT 4-5A (District Record)
Clay (3-0)
Eastside (Gainesville) (0-3)
Menendez (1-1)
North Marion (2-0)
Palatka (0-2)
Clay 21 Menendez 16
Friday night, one team would remain undefeated in district 4-5A and the other would suffer their first district defeat. The winner would have the inside track to the District title, automatically advancing them to the playoffs with first round bye. A spirited comeback by Menendez saw Tabias Brown cut the Clay lead to 5 points on a 4th quarter touchdown. Yet it wasn’t enough as the Falcons fell just short. Clay would emerge victorious thanks to big efforts from Jarvis Lee, who returned a punt for a touchdown in the 2nd quarter.
Clay has been getting plays from playmakers that have stepped up in the absence of Alquerious Ray’s season ending injury. D’Maurion Frazier at wide receiver and Chris Golstein at running back, while Billy Mobly and Jaydan Jenkins have worked well at quarterback. The Blue Devils gear up for North Marion in two weeks. They have a very emotional game this week against Clay county rival Middleburg (4-3), who is vastly improved this year.
