'Our kids have grit': Creekside defense stands tall against Atlantic Coast, nears playoffs
Creekside’s last-ditch push to the postseason got the usual offensive firepower Thursday night, but a resurgent defense was the biggest difference in a 26-0 victory at Atlantic Coast.
“The most common trait among successful people is grit,” Creekside coach Sean McIntyre said. “Our devotional was about it today. Our kids have grit, and I’m proud of them for that.”
The Knights (5-4) received the normal stellar performance from junior quarterback Sean Ashenfelder, with 183 yards through the air and three touchdown passes to three different receivers. The first two came on Creekside’s first two series of the game for a 14-0 lead. From the Atlantic Coast 13, Ashenfelder scrambled toward the line of scrimmage, paused and threw a near lateral pass to the right sideline for junior wide receiver Kaleb Taylor-Burch who bolted into the end zone for the first score.
On the next series, Ashenfelder found senior Ashton Reynolds, back recently from an offseason leg injury, for a 5-yard score and a 14-0 lead halfway through the first quarter. Ashenfelder hit junior Eros Taufer on a 51-yard score on the second play of the second half to push the lead to 23-0.
The most encouraging aspect for McIntyre was the defensive effort for a unit that had yielded an average of 37 points per game and turned up with its first shutout since the 49-0 2022 season-opening win over Viera. That included a 49-48 victory over Fleming Island last Friday.
“We just tightened some things up in practice this week and it showed up in the game,” McIntyre said. “We challenged our defensive guys to go the entire 48 minutes tonight.”
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The Knights limited Atlantic Coast (4-5) to three first downs in the first half and forced Stingrays freshman quarterback Zachyri Phillips into 39 pass attempts as he was sacked six times on the night. The closest Atlantic Coast came to scoring was in the second quarter when it reached the Creekside 3-yard line, but two Phillips runs were stuffed, a personal foul penalty was called on the Stingrays and they went away empty.
Creekside had an interception by David Beasley, a blocked punt by Brody McGough for a safety and a forced fumble and two sacks from 6-foot-4, 210-pound junior linebacker Tyce Donnelly.
“Just playing together, having a good week of practice with your friends really contributed tonight,” said Donnelly, who had more experience as a volleyball player before recently excelling at football. “Having volleyball as a secondary sport definitely transfers some of the skills over to football, especially knowing how to use your hands.”
What’s next?
Creekside concludes its regular season next Friday at home against Ponte Vedra. The Sharks, 7-1 and the winners of seven consecutive games, host Nease on Friday with the District 4-4S title on the line. Creekside has won four consecutive games against Ponte Vedra after losing eight in a row.
Creekside is ranked eighth in Region 1-4S, which would be the last playoff qualifier, but wants to control its destiny with a final-week win.
“Playoff mode started two weeks ago when we dropped the game to Bartram Trail,” McIntyre said. “We felt like we needed to go on a run to get into the playoffs. That’s our goal.”
The seventh-year coach also indicated he hadn’t and won’t do the math on figuring out whether his team’s playoff bid is secure.
“If we’re 5-5, there are a lot of questions,” he said.
Atlantic Coast hosts Fletcher, which is 6-3 and coming off a 28-27 overtime loss to First Coast Thursday in the District 1-3M title game, in its regular-season finale next Friday.
Garrido’s transfer impact
Creekside junior running back Harrison Garrido has made a humongous impact on Creekside’s season. Garrido lived in the Miami-West Palm Beach area all of his life and rushed for 502 yards and five TDs last season as a sophomore at Lake Worth Park Vista. But his family opted to move to the Jacksonville area last summer, Garrido conducted some research on St. Johns County high school football and landed at Creekside in late July just as practice was beginning.
Garrido’s presence has been a blessing. Nicky Williams rushed for a school single-season record 1,417 yards last season as a junior but was sidelined by a knee injury sustained in practice before this season’s second game. In stepped Garrido, who has totaled 1,100 yards rushing (49 yards in just over a half Friday) and 12 TDs and has recorded two games with 250-plus all-purpose yards (rushing, receiving, returns). He could supplant Williams’ rushing mark with a strong finish and a playoff game, thereby passing by other former Creekside backs such as Preston Strope, Blake Morgan and Livio Hoxha.
It’s a family affair
Atlantic Coast’s defensive performance this season has been led by senior defensive end Camden Hardy, a 6-3, 225-pounder headed to Wake Forest next season. He was a bright spot for the Stingrays against Creekside, forcing a fumble, recovering a fumble and making numerous cross-field tackles.
Hardy is the younger brother of former Episcopal and Sandalwood defensive player Langston Hardy, who is a 6-3, 250-pound backup red-shirt freshman linebacker at Connecticut. Their father is Kevin Hardy, the Jaguars’ No. 2 overall draft pick in 1996 and a Pro Bowl linebacker during his six years in Jacksonville.
Hardy was preceded on the Atlantic Coast all-star lineup by current coach Step Durham, who played defensive back at Georgia Tech after leaving Atlantic Coast in 2014, and Pat Bryant, a junior wide receiver at Illinois and the 3-5 Illini’s top touchdown scorer this season (five TD receptions).
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Creekside Knights-Atlantic Coast Stingrays: High school football 2023
