'Make it a great one': Raines tops Ribault, extends Northwest Classic football streak

Count the milestones from Saturday's latest edition of the Raines-Ribault high school football tradition.

The 54th Northwest Classic was the first held under a solar eclipse.

The second Northwest Classic to kick off at First Coast High School.

And, for the cardinal and silver side of Moncrief Road, Saturday was the 40th time the Northwest Classic ended with Raines in the win column, downing rival Ribault 47-18 on an afternoon of neighborhood festivities in a Northside home away from home at the Shipyard.

Senior quarterback Ty'ren Randolph created four touchdowns, two passing and two rushing, to keep the Vikings (6-1, 1-0) as Ichiban — number one — in the rivalry for the seventh consecutive year while boosting the series record to 40-14.

Plus, they're potentially Ichiban as well in District 1-2M and Region 1-2M. The Vikings need to beat Jackson on Oct. 26 to clinch the district crown, and they currently top the Florida High School Athletic Association's regional standings. That could guarantee home games in the Graveyard through at least the third round of postseason, provided they keep winning.

"Now, we're kind of dominating our plays, and those plays are really hitting good for us," said Raines offensive lineman Solomon Thomas.

They hit in all three phases: The Vikings scored running (Randolph and Mark Miller), receiving (Amari McIntyre and Ziyon Butler) and returning (Nicholas Kilpatrick and Shareef Jackson).

After razor-thin margins of victory (one, two and one) in the previous three weeks, Raines coach Donovan Masline relished the chance to relax a bit for the final seconds.

"It was just good to come out and not give our fans a heart attack this week," Masline said.

RAINES SECONDARY TAKES CENTER STAGE

Raines' secondary once more played the role of a collective big-play magnet.

"We pride ourselves during the week on our work on turnovers, how to create turnovers, being aggressive with the football and getting the ball out, and when the ball is in the air, doing a good job of tracking it," Masline said.

It began with Chris McCloud, falling on a Ribault fumble forced by Vikings linebacker Terrence Forbes. Then it was safety Jayden Taylor, who tallied a dozen tackles and returned an interception to the Trojan 12 to set up Randolph's 10-yard touchdown pass to Butler.

In the fourth quarter, sophomore corner Shareef Jackson returned a Trojan kickoff for a 72-yard touchdown to quash any thoughts of a Ribault rally.

And then there was Kilpatrick, proud wearer of the No. 1 jersey and a lock for any list of all-time top performers on defense in Northwest Classic history.

Last year, he scored a punt return and a game-sealing pick-six. This time, he was fastest to the football after linebacker Jaylen Clark popped it loose from a Ribault rusher, scooping it up for a 55-yard third-quarter return.

"It's emotional, it's my last one, but I had to make it a great one," Kilpatrick said. "Got to go out with a bang."

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TROJANS SHOW SPIRIT, COMEBACK FALLS SHORT

Down 34-0 in the third quarter, Ribault still summoned the resolve that's made them a potential postseason contender under second-year coach Ram Pinckney.

Sophomore quarterback T.J. Cole came through with three touchdowns in the space of nine and a half minutes to spark short-lived hopes for Ribault (3-4, 0-2), seeking its first win in the series since 2016.

The ever-elusive Cole led the Trojans with 72 yards on the ground and connected on touchdowns to Jahrod Shaw, Johnnie Braziel and Jaylen Houston to slash the lead to 34-18 with five and a half minutes to go.

That didn't last: Ribault tried an onside kick but broke too soon to draw an offside penalty. Their ensuing kickoff ended in disaster: Raines' Jackson caught the ball and slashed to the end zone for his clinching touchdown.

With a depleted offensive line, the Trojans struggled to find consistency, with Raines defensive tackle Jyon Simon putting the brakes on interior rushes.

Ribault's pass rush remained active all day, including another sack and a half by defensive end Jenssy Smith, but the Trojans still have work to do for an FHSAA Class 2M wild card. That battle, against the likes of Episcopal, Jackson and Wolfson, may go down to Week 11 on Nov. 3.

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RANDOLPH EFFICIENT FOR RAINES

First Coast isn't Raines, and it isn't Ribault. But that doesn't mean the Shipyard wasn't buzzing and bouncing with the energy from the fans and the bands who made the trip to the far north of Duval County.

"We just took it like a playoff atmosphere-type game, going one step closer to the playoffs," Randolph said. "We worked hard all week and kept playing like we're supposed to."

Randolph bounced back from a fumble on the opening snap to command the offense efficiently. He completed 8 of 13 passes for 124 yards and two scores, and sprinted around left end for a 21-yard run before the break, while senior tailback Miller energized the rushing game with 86 yards.

Randolph is now above 400 rushing yards with eight scores on the season, with games against Atlantic Coast, Jackson and Westside still to come.

"We just keep gaining more momentum throughout the season to be able to take it into the playoffs," Masline said.

Yes, the playoffs. Raines is a near-mathematical lock. If they retain the No. 1 seed and Ribault squeezes in with the last at-large berth, then the possibility is alive and well for a postseason Northwest Classic next month -- a little more of the unprecedented.

Whether it's Ribault or anybody else in the Vikings' path come November, five-star blocker Thomas is charging ahead with confidence. Other than Daytona Beach Mainland, ranked No. 1 in Class 3S, no one has vanquished the Vikings in 2023.

"As long as we're on the same page," said Thomas, ranked by the national recruiting services among the nation's top five junior linemen, "there's nobody who can beat us."

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Raines-Ribault high school football: 2023 Northwest Classic takeaways