First Coast Varsity Weekly: Rare Week 5 district football decider matches White, Riverside
Friday marks the fifth week in an 11-week high school football season. That's too early to clinch a Florida High School Athletic Association district championship, right?
Wrong.
Because of a scheduling quirk, Friday's battle at the Backyard between White and Riverside not only decides bragging rights in a rivalry, but could directly determine a playoff berth in District 3-2M.
If the host Generals (3-1) beat White, they will officially become Northeast Florida's first 2023 playoff qualifier. If the Commanders come out on top, they'll be able to make their own playoff future secure on Sept. 29 if they defeat winless Westside. That's right: In this three-team district, all district games are through by the end of September, leaving five weeks of non-district action to come.
Schedules in 2023 are far less predictable than even five years ago, when small-district matchups were typically assigned to Weeks 6, 8 and 10. The 2023 season included a Week 1 district game (White vs. Westside) and will include a Week 11 district finale (Nease vs. Tocoi Creek).
Besides crowning Jacksonville's first district champion of 2023, the White-Riverside game also matches a pair of rivals in a series that, once upon a time, was not so close. White beat Lee (now Riverside) 13 consecutive times from 1996 to 2014, including an 84-0 blowout in 2013.
King, Conquerors charge at River City Classic
Once upon a time, Trinity Christian's fall sports scene was all about football. Now, Trinity's volleyball squad is giving Conquerors football a run for its money as the top fall sports squad on campus.
The Conquerors (15-2) slashed through five matches in two days to win the Atlantic Division in the River City Classic, held at Jacksonville Juniors Volleyball Association on the Southside.
Trinity's Mari King earned most valuable player honors with 67 combined kills in the Conquerors' victories over Titusville Astronaut, Ocala St. John Lutheran, Mandarin, Tallahassee Lincoln and finally Ridgeview.
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For the Trinity outside hitter, the numbers are climbing higher and higher. The junior, up to 241 kills on the season, passed 1,500 for her career during the tournament and has a chance to top the 2,000 mark at some point next season. She also reached 1,000 career digs, while setter Ariel Ross surpassed 1,500 career assists.
With the volleyball regular season's end only three weeks away, Trinity Christian is also climbing the state rankings. Trinity came in 10th statewide and fourth in Class 3A in the FHSAA's new weekly rankings, which will eventually determine district tournament seeding and at-large regional qualification. The Conquerors also top Region 1-3A, comfortably clear of Florida High, Ocala Trinity Catholic and Providence.
King and senior libero Taylor Teaman represented Trinity on the Atlantic Division's all-tournament team, along with Ridgeview's Sydney Little and Haley Robinson and Lincoln's Ashlyn Koerner.
Bay Division all-tournament selections were Dixie County's Jaicee Brown, DME's Gabriela Carvalho and Ainhoa Garcia Sanchez, North Marion's Jayda Kinsler and Suwannee's Paula Golub and Rachel Smith. In the Coastal Division, MVP Senna Thayer and Rylan Miller led the way for Matanzas, along with Molly Fitzpatrick and Abby Johnson of Bartram Trail, Bentley Braswell of Effingham County and Ryanne Robinson of Orange Park.
Tournament season isn't done: Teams travel to Bolles' Davis Gym Friday for the annual Elise Bush Invitational.
Bubble battle for Ponte Vedra?
The unthinkable: Could Ponte Vedra volleyball really miss the playoffs?
Based on the numbers, the next month could be a tense one for the Sharks, state champions in 2017, 2019 and 2020. The FHSAA rankings currently place Ponte Vedra 11th in Region 1-6A, with only the four district tournament winners and four at-large selections based on the rankings to qualify.
The Sharks' most direct road to the playoffs means winning the District 3-6A tournament, which will include the likes of Fleming Island and Fletcher. Otherwise, they'll have to overtake teams like Matanzas, New Smyrna Beach and Pace in the standings.
Working in favor of Ponte Vedra (3-4), though, is strength of schedule. The FHSAA credits Ponte Vedra with Florida's second-strongest schedule behind only Miami Westminster Christian, and the Sharks earned a quality four-set win over Ridgeview on Tuesday. Tennessee commit Chelsea Sutton led with 15 kills, nine blocks and four aces, while Avery Webb finished with 22 digs and Ryan Murphy tallied 22 assists.
Some of the notable rankings:
Leading outright in Class 5A is senior-heavy Ridgeview, ranked No. 21 in Florida, powered down the middle by Haley Robinson. The Panthers' likely District 4-5A showdown with Middleburg could end up determining an overall top seed.
A trio of killer B's — Bishop Kenny, Baker County and Bolles — rank first through third in Region 1-4A. The Crusaders, three-time FHSAA champions, are seeking their 19th consecutive regional final appearance.
Others in the top five of their regions: Beachside (fourth, Region 1-5A), Harvest Community (second, Region 1-2A), Christ's Church (third, Region 1-2A), Covenant School (fifth, Region 1-2A), Union County (third, Region 3-1A).
Softball stars lift Baldwin v-ball
It's a familiar combination for Baldwin: stars like Shaylen Byrd, Chloe Gotto and Cali Hartung teaming up for win after win after win.
Wait a minute: Just which season is this?
The core of the Baldwin softball team that qualified for back-to-back FHSAA state semifinals is also sparking a resurgence on the volleyball court. Baldwin entered the week at 10-2, storming through the Terry Parker Invitational with sweeps of Duval Charter, Westside, Parker and Riverside.
"It's a different type of connection that I feel like a bunch of other teams don't have like we do," said junior Kendall North, who lines up at first base on the diamond and stands tall at the net — 16 blocks so far this year — in volleyball.
In all, seven softball starters also see regular time for Baldwin volleyball, a list that also includes Rylan Gray, Olivia Hartung and Raven Watson. Gray, normally a fielding wizard in the softball outfield, is making moves on defense with a team-high 90 digs, while slugger Gotto is embracing her role as volleyball setter with 195 assists.
"Volleyball is still working its way up [at Baldwin] and softball is what's finally gotten us way up there [to the final four]," North said. "So it's pretty cool to be able to just show off both sports."
Changes in latitudes await UC football
In high school football, winning is a good thing. But for University Christian, it can also be expensive.
"You beat Trinity, and nobody wants to play you," head coach David Penland III said before the season's first kickoff. "It was probably the toughest year I've ever had scheduling-wise."
That's going to send the Fighting Christians on a road trip that will rack up the mileage, making the 500-mile trek down Interstate 95 and the Overseas Highway to Key West on Friday night.
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UC has already traveled to Tallahassee North Florida Christian and the Florida-Georgia Border Classic in Brunswick against Charlton County. It's not even UC's first trip to Key West, but it's been a while: University Christian beat the Conchs 27-14 on Oct. 4, 1996, when Penland was still in middle school.
Not surprisingly, for Jacksonville schools, football trips to Key West are rare. Bolles won 55-6 in the Keys Oct. 13, 1995 on their way to a state title; Parker lost 7-6 in the Braves' season opener on Sept. 17, 1965; and DuPont lost 19-0 in Key West on Nov. 18, 1955.
Adventures in 10-man football
It takes 11 players to compete in 11-man football… unless it doesn't.
Exhibit A: Sarasota County, where North Port faced undermanned and overmatched Winter Haven Ambassadors Christian. As reported by the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Ambassadors Christian began the game with only 11 players in uniform — until the injury bug arrived.
Game over? Nope.
Under National Federation of State High School Associations regulations, specifically Rules 1-1-3 and 7-2-5, a football team can legally continue with fewer than 11 players after injuries, as long as it is able to assemble a legal formation.
Ambassadors Christian's bizarre situation could have entangled a Northeast Florida opponent. The school was originally set to play Union County on Nov. 3, but the Fightin' Tigers now list a nine-game schedule with a Week 11 bye.
North Port took advantage of the rare hockey-style power play to win 35-0.
Around the area
Ponte Vedra junior midfielder Abby Wooten committed to Samford women's soccer. … Tocoi Creek junior goalkeeper Morgan Weaver committed to Tennessee women's soccer. …. Ponte Vedra junior attack Stella Lynch committed to Denver and senior attack Lily Toole committed to Anderson in women's lacrosse. … Creekside's Riley Bader committed to Lee University women's lacrosse. … Keystone Heights named Carlos Lamar as boys basketball head coach and Sarah Andrews as girls basketball head coach. … Menendez junior Meghan Dawson was selected to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at last Wednesday's Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp game against the Gwinnett Stripers. … Former Ridgeview quarterback Tyler Huff was named Southern Conference player of the week after rushing for four touchdowns and throwing for 237 yards in Furman football's 31-28 win against Kennesaw State. … USA Swimming selected Bolles graduate Leah DeGeorge for the national open water swimming team at next month's Pan American Games in Chile.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: High school football 2023: Ed White, Riverside meet for district title
