St. Johns Fl- The Raines Vikings got their first test in several weeks as they visited Creekside Friday night. It was their first battle outside the 295 beltway of Duval County this year. That didn’t make a difference, as Raines showed why they are built to win anywhere, including the state championship. No team has actually put them in a dog fight this year. Creekside, who came into the game on a 4-game winning streak did for about five minutes in the third and fourth quarter.
Trailing 22-7, Creekside ‘s Sean Ashenfelder found Rocco Rippa for a 23-yard touchdown pass on third-and-long. The touchdown brought Creekside to within one score of Raines. It was a position that Creekside was familiar in the last couple of weeks. The Knights came back from 21 points down in the second half to defeat Fleming Island 48-46.
Yet Raines, showed why they are on a different level than most teams in Northeast Florida. Raines would knock Creekside’s quarterback out of the game. As the Vikings’ defense lived in the Creekside backfield in passing situations all night.
Wide receiver Adron Walker would then extend the Vikings lead when he caught a short pass, made a defender miss and sprinted up the sideline for a touchdown. Raines now led 30-14 over Creekside , with 9:25 to go in the 4th quarter.
After another stop on defense, Ta’darius Washington would score his third touchdown of the night to put the game away. This time it was a 30-yard run a Raines went up 37-14 over Creekside with 5:29 to go in the game. Curtis Asbury would put an exclamation point on the game with a 3-yard touchdown run. with 2:20 left in the game.
Raines wears you down, and takes your will. Against a Creekside team that traditionally get’s stronger later in ball games, they overpowered them on both sides of the ball. They face adversity and take it out on the other team
Late in the third quarter, the head official cost Raines a touchdown. He blew the whistle for an action 35 yards behind the play on a kickoff return. Instead of a 95-yard kickoff return for a score, Raines would be forced to take over at the Creekside 40 yard line after Creekside cut the Raines lead to 22-15.
Said Raines head coach Donovan Masline, “we talk about adversity, we can’t think about wallowing in the moment we gotta use it as an opportunity to show what type of team we are”. At this point in the season, every team knows who Raines is. But, more importantly they know who they are.
They can force turnovers, as they did when a fumble by Creekside on their first possession, set up a Raines touchdown on their first offensive possession. They can run the ball, as Ta’darius Washington plunged in from 1 yard out to open the scoring. He’d would slip through a run fit for a 41-yard touchdown to put Raines up 14-0 in the first quarter.
Yet Raines can also make big plays through the air as well. Raines quarterback T.J. Cole found Kaleb Lampkins for a 23-yard touchdown pass on fourth down just before halftime. Cole also hooked up with Ziyon Butler to set up the first score of the game. They are just an all around dominant team.
Touchdown, Vikings!
— Will Brown (@wwbrown19) October 19, 2024
Raines QB T.J. Cole found Kaleb Lampkins for a 23-yard touchdown pass on fourth down.
Raines 22- Creekside 7, 0:30 2Q. pic.twitter.com/SXkMKbUmJV
Raines improves to 7-0 on the season, and has Yulee and Atlantic Coast left on the schedule. Their focus is the playoffs where in Class 3A, they may have to face teams like Bishop Moore who knocked Bolles out of the playoffs last year. Or Miami Northwestern or even Miami Central, two former state champions. Raines currently ranks #3 in the Maxpreps Class 3A state rankings, and #16 in the Maxpreps State overall rankings.
Creekside falls to 4-4, but the loss doesn’t affect their playoff hopes. In Class 7A District-1 they only have to beat winless Sandalwood to win their district and they are playoff bound. The loss, may have worked in their favor, as it was a chance to face a state power, and prepare them for what is down the road in Class7A.
