First Coast Varsity Weekly: Jackson keeps Northwest Christmas Tournament basketball reign
A Northside basketball rivalry, for Jackson senior Ronald Durham, meant no time to wait before setting the tone.
"We knew it was a game we had to win, and so we had to start early and go play off that momentum," he said.
The Tigers returned to the top of the annual Northwest Christmas Tournament with their speedy start against red-hot Raines, building a double-digit lead inside the second quarter and pulling away from the hosts 73-51 to retain their trophy.
This time, Jackson applied its patented pressure from the start to rush Raines into turnovers and finishing in transition. Durham's gym-rattling dunk ignited the visiting crowd inside a packed Douglas White Gymnasium and the Tigers were never threatened.
Durham, named the tournament's most valuable player, scored 16 points in the title game. Jahari Simmons led all scorers with 19, while Jaylen Dopson scored 12 and Octavius Lawson added 11.
Jackson hasn't lost a game in the annual tournament since Dec. 28, 2018 against Raines.
The win over Raines made it 2-for-2 for the Tigers, who overcame 19 points from Caleb Williams to defeat 2022-23 state semifinalist Ribault 63-55 in Wednesday's semifinal. At 11-3, Jackson flips the calendar into 2024 on a six-game winning streak. All three of their losses have come by a single score: 53-52 to Dougherty on Nov. 25, 59-56 to Creekside on Nov. 28 and 48-45 to Ribault on Dec. 12.
Still, the long-term goals remain well in the future for the Tigers, who qualified for the Florida High School Athletic Association final four in four consecutive seasons from 2019 to 2022 until Panama City Bay ended their regional run in February.
For Durham, victory on the Northside is just an early step toward the championship objective. The school is the host for the 12-game Pre-MLK Basketball Classic on Friday and Saturday, with Gateway Conference, districts, regionals and potentially a state tournament in the Tigers' future.
"We've got bigger things still to worry about," he said.
Four wins, three days for Sharks girls
Don't call it a break for Ponte Vedra girls soccer.
While other Northeast Florida teams spent Christmas and New Year's getting some time off, the Sharks were playing, and winning, against several Sunshine State giants at the Red Card for Cancer tournament in Vero Beach.
Within barely 48 hours from Wednesday through Friday, Ponte Vedra won 2-1 over Cape Coral Mariner, 2-0 over Vero Beach, 2-0 over Tallahassee Lincoln and 1-0 over Somerset Academy Canyons.
Senior goalkeeper Audrey Johnson and freshman Abby Kennedy combined to allow only one goal in 320 minutes.
The remaining schedule isn't as compressed but doesn't get easier for the Sharks, who play Jan. 12 against Creekside, Jan. 18 against Bartram Trail and Jan. 20 against national power Montverde Academy.
Ponte Vedra (13-1-1), whose only loss came Dec. 15 to Edgewood, is pursuing a shot at a fourth state championship under head coach Dave Silverberg. The FHSAA ranks the Sharks No. 1 in Class 6A.
Who's on top? Jacksonville-area high school basketball and soccer power polls, Jan. 2
St. Johns hoops trio storms into 2024
They're on fire: The two newest girls basketball programs in St. Johns County, along with the county's oldest, are officially red-hot rolling into 2024.
Meet St. Augustine, Beachside and Tocoi Creek. Since the start of December, they've risen rapidly to join Ponte Vedra atop the county's girls hoops scene near the halfway point.
Here's a closer look at all three.
St. Augustine (11-1) is far from a stranger to the win column after a 23-2 season in 2021-22 that included current seniors Aniyah Fisher and Alayla Terry as contributors. They've won their last seven since a 44-32 loss to Ridgeview on Dec. 6, holding opponents to 29.3 points per game in that span, and beat Palatka, Oakleaf and University Christian last week.
Third-year Tocoi Creek (12-3) relied on improving defensive cohesion to beat Keystone Heights, Bradford and Williston at the Bradford Christmas Tournament in Starke. They've got one of Northeast Florida's top young combinations: Sophomore Audrey Beyer averages 17.0 points per game and freshman Gabi Iturralde averages 13.1, including a career-high 33 against Williston.
Even newer is Beachside, up to 12-3 in its second season. They've won eight straight, paced by the outside shooting of junior Kendall Kane (14.7 points per game) and Morgan Cremen (12.6 points), and center Madi Ray tallied her first triple-double (12 points, 12 rebounds and 10 blocks) in Friday's 60-36 win over 14-2 Camden County to win the Egmont Key bracket of the Tampa Bay Christmas Invitational.
Four-peat in sight for Mandarin, Fletcher
Is 2024 the year of the Gateway Conference four-peat?
The first Gateway tournament of winter kicks off Monday with the boys and girls soccer competitions, following with Jan. 9 quarterfinals, Jan. 10 semifinals and the Jan. 12 championship games.
Unbeaten Mandarin enters as the three-time defending boys champion, while Fletcher has captured the past three girls tournaments.
Of the two, the Mandarin boys enter in the more comfortable position. The Mustangs (10-0-2), who outlasted Englewood in a penalty shootout last season, has outscored its opponents 54-6 with a durable defense commanded by senior Sasha Maric. No Duval County public school has beaten Mandarin since Fletcher's 2-1 win on Jan. 25, 2021. The FHSAA currently ranks the Mustangs seventh in Florida and No. 1 in Class 7A.
For the Fletcher girls (6-6-3), defenders Mia Diaz and Avery Langlois and midfielder Allison Aquino are attempting to join the ranks of four-time Gateway champions. All three played on each of the last three county champions, as well as the Senators squad that won the FHSAA Class 6A title in February 2022.
In brackets released Tuesday night by Duval County Public Schools, Mandarin received the top boys seed for the tournament, followed by Atlantic Coast, Stanton and Wolfson.
In the girls tournament, Atlantic Coast (8-1-2) received the top seed in pursuit of its first-ever Gateway title, followed by Fletcher, Mandarin and Stanton.
SSAC rolls out regional football list
Eagle's View led Northeast Florida with six first-team selections on the Sunshine State Athletic Association's 11-Man North All-State team for football.
Selected for the Warriors were cornerback Aiden Amos, tight end Caleb Carraway, safety Marcus Carter, kick returner Jaycen Lowery, offensive lineman Austin Marsh and linebacker Owen Sheetz.
Also among the first-team selections were Bishop Snyder linebacker Joe Guidry, cornerback Jordan Belt and safety Jordan Williams; Christ's Church running back Kyree Wilson and defensive lineman Connor Murray; and Impact Christian athlete Eliyjah Caldwell and defensive lineman Tristen Kelly.
Second-team honorees include Bishop Snyder punter Lawson Metz, Christ's Church cornerback Grey Saleeba and linebacker Patrick Setzer and Zarephath Academy wide receiver Joshua Jones and linebacker Allan Masseline.
Christ's Church linemen Marcos Alvarenga and Ty Cobb, Impact Christian offensive lineman Noah Christie and Zarephath Academy quarterback Jordan Durham and defensive lineman Ephraim Wright were honorable mention picks.
Around the area
Former Bolles linebacker Skyler Malone announced his commitment Tuesday to Georgia Southern football. … Episcopal girls basketball center Zara Griffith was named to the All-Tournament team at the Bobcat Classic in Bluffton, S.C. … Creekside boys soccer's Jackson Hartford, Cooper Maurer and Christian Denegri made the All-Tournament team at the Mike Stone Invitational in Tavares, where the Knights placed second to Bishop Moore. … Former Menendez safety Kenny Logan, now at Kansas, was named defensive MVP of the Guaranteed Rate Bowl. … Ponte Vedra guard Morgan Gavazzi was named MVP for the Sharks at the KSA Events Pre-Holiday Tournament. … Beginning Monday, arm care conditioning may begin under FHSAA regulations for baseball and softball.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jackson Tigers boys basketball wins Northwest Christmas Tournament
