Jacksonville high school football roundup: Fleming Island, Englewood, Riverside win
Following Hurricane Idalia, the high school football season rolls into Week 2 for Jacksonville and Northeast Florida. Games to watch include Trinity Christian at Plantation American Heritage, with the Conquerors traveling to South Florida in a battle of Sunshine State gridiron giants with multiple future Division I college football players; Riverside at Parker, a contest of Gateway opponents noted for strong defenses during the past few seasons; Ponte Vedra at Florida High, matching the Sharks against the Class 2S runners-up from 2022; and Sandalwood at White, two Gateway Conference schools that opened at the same time in the 1971-72 season.
Under the lights: In-depth guide to Northeast Florida high school football for 2023 season
UNIVERSITY CHRISTIAN 48, TALLAHASSEE NFC 23
Alan Woods starred in the ground game for University Christian (1-1), powering past host Tallahassee North Florida Christian (0-2). … Dahkari Gilley, Cole Hamilton and Luke Thomas were among the leaders of a strong UC defensive effort.
AMERICAN HERITAGE 27, TRINITY CHRISTIAN 14
Sophomore quarterback Dia Bell passed for 203 yards and two touchdowns, leading perennial South Florida power American Heritage (2-0) over visiting Trinity (1-1). ... Byron Louis rushed for 90 yards and two touchdowns for the Patriots.
Game of the Year? Mandarin defeats Bolles in historic comeback
FLEMING ISLAND 41, NFEI 6
Cibastian Broughton rushed for a 70-yard first-half score and threw touchdowns to Trace Burney and Demhir Jackson, leading Fleming Island past host North Florida Educational (1-1). … Tyler Beverly struck first with a rushing TD. … Sebastian Cruz added a pick-six for the Golden Eagles (2-0).
RIVERSIDE 33, PARKER 0
Tae'shaun Gelsey's two touchdown catches highlighted a dominant win for Riverside (2-0) at Parker (0-2). ... Larry Davis and Chavez Williams recorded sacks.
WHITE 26, SANDALWOOD 6
Jaylen Pettway's early touchdown pass to DJ Hampton started the Commanders (1-1) on the way toward victory over visiting Sandalwood (0-2). ... Pettway threw two touchdowns to Hampton and also rushed for a score, while Nick Roberson also scored for White before halftime. ... Javon Johnson added two sacks.
WILLISTON 53, FIRST COAST 36
Williston (2-0) outscored the host Buccaneers in a wild one as former University Christian champion coach Robby Pruitt made his Jacksonville return in charge of the visitors. … Auston Harris scored for the Bucs (0-2) to bring themback into contention in the second half, but Williston pulled away late.
ORANGE PARK 34, EPISCOPAL 19
Orlando Jackson's fumble return touchdown helped cap the Raiders' win at Episcopal (1-1). … Gabe Taylor rushed for a touchdown and connected on a 70-yard score to Jermel Brown. … Joshua Johnson scored first for Orange Park (1-1). ... For Episcopal, Omarr Dixon caught a touchdown pass and made an interception.
PONTE VEDRA 23, FLORIDA HIGH 22
Sharks quarterback Ben Burk led a winning drive in the final 1:58, capped by Brian Case's game-winning 4-yard score, to top 2022 Class 2S runner-up Florida High (0-1) in Tallahassee. … On the final drive, Burk connected with Griffin Owen on a key completion and Cole Madson on two more for Ponte Vedra (1-1) before Case punched it in with 18 seconds left. ... Florida State commit Micahi Danzy broke away on a long run on the game's final play, but Ponte Vedra's Ridge Richardson tackled him as the clock ran out.
Knight in shining armor: Harrison Garrido over 300 all-purpose yards, Creekside tops Nease
ENGLEWOOD 7, MENENDEZ 0
Tayshaun Solomon carried the Rams (2-0) into an early lead with a 17-yard touchdown and the defense did the rest at Menendez (1-1). ... Kevon Roulhac's sack halted a Falcons drive into Englewood territory.
JACKSON 35, WESTSIDE 7
The Tigers (1-1) broke loose after halftime to down the Wolverines (0-2), boosted by a 60-yard fumble return score. ... Darryl Bartley earned his first win in charge of Jackson.
TALLAHASSEE CHILES 31, FLETCHER 0
Fletcher (0-2) went down hard in a Panhandle trip to Tallahassee Chiles (1-1). ... Ronnell Moses Jr., Taylor Jacobs Jr. and B.B. Potter rushed for Timberwolves scores. ... The win was the first for the Timberwolves' Bill Ragans.
MATANZAS 20, TOCOI CREEK 14
Jordan Mills returned a fumble for a go-ahead touchdown, and his red-zone interception with less than two minutes to go sealed the win for the Pirates (2-0). … Braden Russell scored a pick-six and Landon Grover also booted two Matanzas field goals, one from 54 yards. … Tocoi Creek (1-1) tallied both of its touchdowns on first-half passes from Ryan Killmer to Julio Santiago.
BEACHSIDE 34, FERNANDINA BEACH 15
Cade Gines ran for two touchdowns and Beachside (1-1) won a battle of beaches at Fernandina Beach (1-1). … Sophomore quarterback Eddie Jordan connected on three touchdown passes, two to Cohen Beebe and one to Bryce Gee.
Bartram Trail-Seabreeze: Laython Biddle runs for four TDs, QB injury doesn't derail Bears
TITUSVILLE 27, YULEE 14
Josiah Allen connected on touchdown passes in each half as Titusville (2-0) defeated Yulee (1-1) on its Nassau County trip. ... Titusville forced a pair of key turnovers before the break. ... The Hornets got a late score on Nikao Smith's TD pass to Santonio Martin.
WEST NASSAU 22, CHARLTON COUNTY 20
Jackson Perry's touchdown pass to Grady Stevens proved crucial as the Warriors topped Charlton County (0-3) ina Florida-Georgia contest. … Skyler Freeman scored a pair of two-point conversions and Josh Bruton also ran fora score. … Gunnar Cox earned his first win as head coach of West Nassau (1-1).
EAGLE'S VIEW 22, HARVEST COMMUNITY 0
Cameron Brunelle passed for an 80-yard score and ran for a touchdown, and the Eagle's View defense stuffed Harvest (0-2). … Aiden Amos picked off two passes and Dominick Sportsman grabbed another for Eagle's View (2-0). … Kenny Berry tallied three of the Warriors' five sacks.
OAK HALL 34, BISHOP SNYDER 13
Oak Hall (2-0) rolled up 304 yards rushing, with two touchdowns each from Abram Jerkins and Dakota Brower,to win 34-13 against Bishop Snyder (1-1) in a game pushed back from Thursday. … Briggs Copeland rushed for 128yards and another score. … John Bishop threw for both Cardinals touchdowns, finding Joel Lowe and JosephMorales.
Tornado Watch: Balanced Bradford is more than just defense. Here's how Tornadoes football topped Baldwin
Around the area
Wolfson (1-1) rolled to a 34-0 shutout of Paxon (0-2) in the first win for head coach Jermaine Wilson. ... Clay (1-1) started fast to roll past 42-12 past Ridgeview (0-2) in Green Cove Springs. ... Chris Bishop and Zion Black caught two touchdowns apiece and Gainesville Eastside (2-0) rolled to an 35-0 win at Keystone Heights (0-1). … Tommy Offord rushed for a 14-yard touchdown as time expired, his third score of the game, to lead Palatka (2-0) to the 19-14 win at Port Orange Atlantic (0-2). … Providence (1-1) scored four first-quarter touchdowns on its way to its first win of the year, 44-0 over visiting Interlachen (0-2). … Isaiah Nell rushed for three touchdowns, including a 96-yarder, and Henry Rogers added two more to lead Windermere (2-0) in a 41-0 shutout of visiting St. Joseph (0-2). … Hilliard (1-0) won 28-13 in its trip to Tampa Cambridge Christian (1-1). ... Father Lopez (1-1) won 48-12 at Cedar Creek Christian (0-2). … Joshua Christian (0-1) lost 41-0 on a trip to Rocky Bayou Christian (2-0). …
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: High school football, Week 2: Jacksonville & Northeast Florida scores
