First Coast Varsity Weekly: Colin Hurley, Tramell Jones join elite passing yards club
Football's regular season ends this Friday.
But the milestone season is still going strong.
Trinity Christian's Colin Hurley became the latest member of the 5,000-yard club in Friday's victory against Providence, the Super 11 quarterback's latest statistical feat before hitting the road for the bayou at LSU.
Now up to 5,157 career yards entering this week's season finale against Specially Fit Academy, Hurley needs only 71 more to surpass the 5,228 of Ja'Cory Jordan at Trinity from 2018 to 2020.
Hurley isn't the first Jacksonville quarterback to top 5,000 in October, though. Mandarin junior Tramell Jones surpassed 5,000 earlier in the month, and the Florida State commit is already up to 5,546 career passing yards -- not far from the area's top 10 with a year to spare.
Jones is already high on the all-time list of quarterbacks who spent their entire careers at Gateway Conference schools. Others within reach include Derrick Jones (5,798, Lee, 2014-17), Jake Owens (6,235, Wolfson, 2001-04) and Gavin Screws (6,811, Baldwin, 2016-18).
Knocking on the door of 4,000 yards are QBs like Locklan Hewlett of St. Augustine, DJ Moore of Bolles and Riley Trujillo of Bartram Trail, all likely to clear that mark during the postseason.
Former First Coast quarterback De'Andre Johnson tops Northeast Florida's all-time passing list with 11,712 yards from 2011 to 2014, followed by John Wolford at Bishop Kenny (10,621), Tim Tebow at Nease (9,922) and Ivory Durham IV at Cedar Creek Christian and Raines (9,761).
A few other notable milestones recently completed or shortly on tap:
When quarterbacks are putting up big numbers, receivers join in the fun. Nease's Maddox Spencer is up to 1,906 receiving yards (1,173 this year) and could reach 2,000 with a year to spare. Mandarin's Jaime Ffrench is up to 1,603 career yards and might top the 2,000 mark with a deep playoff run. Naeem Burroughs, still a sophomore, already has 1,411 for his career at Bolles.
There's a new long field goal on this year's list after Middleburg's Kaleb Robison booted a 54-yarder in Friday's game against Orange Park. Although records aren't complete, Robison's kick appears to tie Landon Grover of Matanzas for the longest field goal made this season in Florida's MaxPreps list.
Bartram Trail's Laython Biddle is three rushing touchdowns away from 50 for his Bears career.
Finally, the next win for Bolles will mark No. 100 in Matt Toblin's head coaching career. Toblin owns 17 victories in two seasons at Clay, 39 in five years at Ponte Vedra and 43 -- and counting -- in his four-plus years with the Bulldogs.
Tocoi Creek-Nease a district oddity
Maybe the first rule of Florida football scheduling: District races are all wrapped up by the end of Week 10.
Well, aren't they?
Not this year, at least for District 4-4S, which remains in limbo pending Friday night's showdown between Tocoi Creek and Nease.
The reason: When the Florida High School Athletic Association bumped Tocoi Creek up to Class 4S during the offseason, citing a significant enrollment increase within the classification cycle, Tocoi Creek-Nease was already locked in as a planned non-district game for Week 11. That didn't change, even after the two became district foes.
So when Nease upset Ponte Vedra 24-23 last Friday, the effects extended well beyond the First Coast.
Nease would win the district by topping the Toros Friday, which would be the school's first district trophy since 2015. A Toros win, though, means a three-way tie to be settled by the FHSAA ranking formula, a scenario that likely benefits Ponte Vedra.
Meanwhile, the district's uncertain status turns several schools on the Class 4S postseason fringe into Tocoi Creek fans for a week: If Nease wins the district and the automatic playoff berth, it would remove one of the at-large berths available for schools like Creekside or Tallahassee Chiles. Those schools already saw their chances diminished last Thursday when Lynn Haven Mosley upset Niceville 29-28 to claim a surprise District 2-4S title, pushing Niceville into the at-large pool.
Deep Bishop Kenny girls win district
The long wait is over for Bishop Kenny girls cross country.
Using unsurpassed depth and balance, Bishop Kenny overcame traditional nemesis Bolles to win Monday's District 3-2A girls championship on the Crusaders' home course, while Bolles took top spot in the boys race.
"It's been a while since we've done this," said junior Stephanie Grden, who placed fourth in 19:15.32. "So I really appreciate us getting back to this point where we were like decades ago."
Running on the course used for September's Katie Caples Invitational, Bishop Kenny placed nine runners under 20 minutes, five of them — Grden, Emily Wheldon, Tessa Massa, Alexis Wilson and Alexis Holmes — under 19:42.
That brought Bishop Kenny home with 27 points compared to 34 for Bolles, the first time any school had beaten the Bulldogs in a girls district race since 2007.
The Bolles girls still got a first-place individual finish from seventh-grader Sofie Stam (18:51), who pulled clear of the lead pack after the one-mile mark.
"Some of the Bishop Kenny girls kind of fell back a little bit, and then I decided to start pushing," she said.
Bolles left little doubt in the boys race, scoring a near-perfect 21 points to outdistance Bishop Kenny. State champions in 2021 and 2022, the Bulldogs looked like a contender once more, with Will Morales, Miles Rivera, Julian Barre and Cole Breuer all placing in the top eight behind winner Chris Joost.
Bolles senior Joost grabbed a sizable lead before the second approach to the St. Johns River and never looked back. The Boston College commit won by 15 seconds in 15:54, following in the steps of 2022 district champion Aidan Ryan.
"He definitely built a desire to win inside of me, so I appreciate him for that," Joost said. "Just coming out here and continuing that legacy of his, continuing that Bolles culture, it's amazing."
St. Johns teams dominate swim districts
St. Johns County's speedy swimmers are still going strong.
Reigning Class 3A boys champion Nease and defending 3A girls title-holder Ponte Vedra splashed to playoff-opening victories in District 3-3A.
Freshman Luke Zardavets led the Panthers with dominant swims in the 200-yard individual medley (1:56.69) and the 100 breaststroke (58.35), continuing his charge up the state standings. Brandon Gear swept the distance events and Jack Mainville, Walker Lanoue and Anatoli Monsalve all added individual district trophies for the Nease boys. The Panthers earned 477.5 points to 409.5 for Fletcher and 363 for Ponte Vedra.
Ponte Vedra's girls tallied 554.5 points to retain their district title ahead of Nease and Fletcher. Lily Doyle (500 freestyle), Kate Pelot (100 backstroke) and Penny Zarczynski (100 butterfly) won individual events for the Sharks.
In District 1-4A, St. Johns schools again topped the list. Bartram Trail's boys edged Creekside by 12 points, bolstered by wins from Thomas Frost (200 individual medley/500 free), Trevor Haskins (diving), Simeon Prosinski (100 breast) and Luke VanDeusen (100/200 free), while Creekside easily led the girls standings with wins for Leslie Dame, Anna Gavin, Danica O'Dwyer and Sophie Oldham.
Bolles stayed on course for yet another repeat in boys and girls swimming with a thoroughly dominant Region 1-1A triumph, while Bishop Kenny earned both the boys and girls team titles in Region 1-2A. Owen Kerkezi, Carter Wright and Rachel Howard captured individual wins for the Crusaders.
FHSAA softball may implement ghost runner
Two years ago, Bishop Kenny's Kaitlyn Gilmore (newly committed this week to Pensacola State College) and West Florida's Sydney Scapin faced off in a pitchers' duel that put up strands of zeros on the scoreboard for 16 innings.
Nights like that may be a thing of the past — and professional baseball's much-debated ghost runner may be on its way to a high school softball diamond near you.
The FHSAA board of directors is scheduled to vote Monday on a proposal to introduce the rule for softball in Florida, aimed at reducing marathon extra-inning contests.
Under the rule, beginning with the eighth inning, each team batting would open the inning with a runner on second base. Major League Baseball installed the rule permanently before the 2023 season, drawing a mix of support and opposition from fans.
The National Federation of State High School Associations, under Rule 4-2-6, permits states to implement such a rule if they choose. In the board's agenda, FHSAA staff said that coaches support the measure for health and safety reasons, making interminable extra-inning deadlocks less likely.
The athletic directors advisory committee, normally influential in shaping FHSAA policy, recommended the proposal by a 13-0 margin.
The softball rule is the most significant policy move on the agenda in the first meeting for the new FHSAA board, which was largely reconstituted through appointments by Gov. Ron DeSantis following the signing of House Bill 225 in May.
The board is also scheduled to discuss reclassification plans and its amateurism policy, although no vote on either topic is scheduled at this time.
Mandarin trio leads All-Gateway volleyball
Gateway Conference champion Mandarin led the annual selections for the all-conference volleyball team, highlighting the top players in Duval County public schools.
Outside hitters Paola Aviles Morales and Kyla Hollis represented the Mustangs, along with setter Paige Wind. For Aviles Morales, the all-Gateway selection was her third.
Runner-up Fletcher also received three selections, with outside hitters Nadia Ewton and Katie Issendorf joining libero Addison Hilton.
Also named to the team were Atlantic Coast's Emon Alipio, Baldwin's Grace Gottberg, Englewood's Anagelis Rosa, First Coast's Aleyaa Kaiser, Stanton's Danielle Gammon and Wolfson's Delaney Hayman.
Kenyon Gardner, Paxon shine in SSAA
Small schools. Big fireworks.
How big? Try a 61-point first half.
The Sunshine State Athletic Association football playoffs are in full swing, with more than a half-dozen Jacksonville-area teams in second-round action this week after winning last Friday.
Among the big winners: Paxon, which got four touchdowns (two interception returns, two receptions) from Kenyon Gardner and racked up 61 first-half points against Port St. Lucie Tradition Prep to win 61-22. The Golden Eagles travel to Sebastian River Thursday in the Atlantic bracket.
Fellow magnet program Stanton moved on in the same bracket with big nights from Trey Tompkins and Kamryn Sharp, beating Cocoa Beach and qualifying to play Lake Weir.
In St. Johns County, St. Joseph stampeded for 424 yards to down Legacy Charter 56-14, advancing in 3A to travel for a Thursday game at West Palm Beach Oxbridge Academy.
Bishop Snyder got three John Bishop touchdown passes to beat Orangewood Christian and set up a 5A semifinal against Mount Dora Christian, and Zarephath Academy topped Christ's Church 30-26 in an all-Jacksonville matchup to advance to face Oviedo Master's Academy in the championship bracket.
In this week's SSAA events, Eagle's View meets Lighthouse Private Christian in the 4A bracket; Harvest Community plays Fort Myers Canterbury in 2A; and Cedar Creek Christian meets Berean Christian in the SSAA Cup.
Around the area
St. Augustine linebacker Drake Lusk committed to Bryant football. … Episcopal attack Maeve O'Neil committed to George Washington women's lacrosse. … Episcopal senior Ella Henderson committed to Wooster women's swimming. … Ponte Vedra junior defenseman Ryker Kemp committed to Utah men's lacrosse. … Bolles catcher Gabe Gonzalez committed to Georgia Tech baseball. … Fleming Island junior defensive specialist Kaylee Kirkland committed to St. Johns River State College volleyball. … Florida Southwestern middle blocker Izzy Collier, formerly at Creekside, committed to Marshall volleyball. ... Nease outside hitter Hanna Virts committed to Chowan volleyball. ... Ridgeview outside hitter Brianna Adams committed to Webber International volleyball. ... Bishop Kenny's Emily Wheldon committed to Georgia Southern women's cross country. … Christ's Church setter Sydney Kambach surpassed 2,000 career assists. … Ridgeview setter Payton Cannon reached 500 career assists. … Harvest Community announced the field for the Jack Wilcox Memorial Classic basketball tournament, including Atlantic Coast, Baker County, Bartram Trail, Creekside, Fletcher, San Jose Prep, St. Augustine, Trinity Christian and West Nassau. … JAXUSL's inaugural Soccer Media Day is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 2 at the Winston Family YMCA in Riverside from 9 a.m. to noon.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Colin Hurley, Tramell Jones surpass career passing yards milestone
