Bolles, Ponte Vedra stars lead 2023 FSLCA All-State boys lacrosse team
Players from Class 1A runner-up Bolles and Class 2A regional finalist Ponte Vedra led the pack in the All-State boys selections from the Florida State Lacrosse Coaches Association.
Bolles, which narrowly lost to St. Andrew's in May's Florida High School Athletic Association final, placed seven players on the Class 1A first team: Gavin Boree and Daylin John-Hill in attack, Caleb Coleman and Spencer Surface in midfield, Tanner Hogan in defense, Bryce Hogan at long-stick middie and Garrett Jobe in the net.
Bulldogs second-teamers were Parker Kane in attack, John Allen Ginder in midfield and Greer Boree at FOGO. Episcopal's Tucker Chappell also received second-team recognition in the Class 1A defense.
For Class 2A, Ponte Vedra earned five first-team selections in Maddox Johnson (midfield), Tanner Parlette (defense), Luke Lowery (long-stick middie), Lad Harper (FOGO) and Jack Pelot (goaltender). J.P. Dolan, Canon Hauseman and Mack Gray also represented the Sharks on the second team.
Also winning first-team recognition in Class 2A were Garren Berkman in midfield for Bartram Trail, Will Krupsky in midfield for Fleming Island and C.J. Miller in attack for Nease.
Area second-teamers included Creekside's Colin Mayberry and Ian Schultz as well as Nease FOGO Conner Kunce.
Coaches across the statewide FSLCA voted for the annual awards.
Holloway promoted to Parker coach
Northeast Florida's coaching carousel has spun once more, this time at Parker.
The Braves have promoted longtime assistant coach Michael Holloway to head coach, following the five-year tenure of Char-ron Dorsey. Dorsey stepped down late last month.
With the fall practice kickoff less than a month away, Holloway said he's eager for his first head coaching opportunity at the high school level, with an eye on building on the foundation already in place.
"It's still going to be the same deal, the same hard work, and the same grind," he said. "We're still getting up early in the morning and we're going to get after it."
Dorsey, a Bolles graduate who won a national championship as a lineman at Florida State in 1999 and played for the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL, had led Parker football with a 22-27 record and regional playoff trips in 2019 and 2021. His 2019 season ended a postseason drought that had stretched to 19 years.
Holloway's elevation will maintain a sense of continuity with the program. He has coached the Parker defense during the past five seasons, in addition to his role as track coach on a Braves program that has produced recent stars like Aaron Bell (Tennessee) and Desmyn McCall (Louisiana Tech).
"We're trying to put Terry Parker on the map, where kids can come into our program and feel like, if they do what they need to do, they can get to that next level," Holloway said.
With the Braves' coaching move, only four of the 17 Gateway Conference programs enter the 2023 season with the same coach from 2018: First Coast (Marty Lee), Paxon (Steve Brown), Sandalwood (Adam Geis) and Stanton (Mike Healey).
Parker, which finished 3-7 last year, competes in District 1-3M against Englewood, First Coast and Fletcher. The Braves are still seeking their first back-to-back winning seasons since 1995 and 1996.
"Terry Parker's going to be better than people think we are," Holloway said. "We're going to catch some people off guard."
Commodores call for Baldwin's Carter
Mason Carter's rapid recruiting rise has led him to the SEC.
The Baldwin edge rusher announced his commitment to Vanderbilt football, the next step in a year that's launched him upward on scouts' charts across the Southeast.
Listed at 6-5 and 200 pounds, Carter selected the Commodores after official visits that included Minnesota, Missouri and Rutgers. He had picked up more than a dozen Football Bowl Subdivision offers, almost all of them since the middle of spring.
As a junior, Carter recorded 43 tackles, a sack, three fumble recoveries and five pass defenses on a Baldwin team that qualified for the FHSAA Class 2S regional playoffs. He has also competed in basketball and finished fourth in April's Gateway Conference track and field meet in the high jump, clearing 6 feet.
The 247Sports ranking lists Carter as a top-105 edge rusher nationwide.
Beachside's Gee chooses Appalachian State
Bryce Gee is ready to become the first major college signee in Beachside football history.
The rising senior wide receiver announced his commitment Wednesday to Appalachian State for the 2024 class.
A deep threat on a young Beachside offense that loved to air out the football in 2022, Gee caught 30 passes for 632 yards and 12 touchdowns, an average of 21.1 yards per reception.
He also excelled on the Barracudas' basketball court, averaging 16.3 points and 8.2 rebounds this winter.
Around the area
Brunswick rising senior Devin Smith named an SEC-heavy list of five finalists Monday, selecting Alabama, Auburn, Kentucky, LSU and South Carolina. The three-star linebacker, rated top-60 in his position nationwide in the 247Sports composite, recorded 63 tackles, six sacks and three fumble recoveries last season. … Fleming Island outside hitter Ella Vigue committed to Webber International volleyball. … Mandarin infielder Adrian Orozco committed to New College of Florida baseball. … Former St. Johns Country Day infielder Connor Moore announced his transfer to the University of North Florida. Moore batted .286 in seven games at Florida State this spring before entering the transfer portal near the season's end. … Baldwin named B.B. O'Steen as its new head baseball coach. … West Nassau named Blane Finley as its new boys basketball coach, taking over after the six-year tenure of Ran Coleman, who guided the Warriors to the FHSAA final four in 2021. … Former Mandarin outfielder Ty Jackson, now at Florida A&M, was invited to the HBCU Swingman Classic scheduled for Friday night in Seattle leading up to the Major League Baseball All-Star Game.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: High school lacrosse 2023: Bolles, Ponte Vedra lead All-State
