Middleburg magic: Here's how Broncos high school football charged back from 26-point hole
Looks like Trevor Lawrence isn't the only Northeast Florida quarterback leading his team back from four-touchdown deficits.
Add Middleburg senior Jaydan Jenkins to the list.
The Broncos turned Friday's game at Clay upside down, from a 33-7 second-quarter deficit to a 35-33 victory. Landon Nalepa's touchdown rush pushed Middleburg in front and the Broncos survived a late Clay drive for the win.
"Games like that, they're the reason we do this, making memories like this," Middleburg coach Ryan Wolfe said. "They'll remember that game the rest of their lives. I know I will."
Nine months ago, the Jaguars' Lawrence ignited an AFC playoff comeback against the Los Angeles Chargers. On Friday, it was Jenkins' turn.
Middleburg looked nearly down for the count after four first-half touchdowns by Clay sophomore Gino Addison (195 yards rushing) left them 26 points down. But Jenkins connected with Jarren Rosier on a touchdown just before halftime, and immediately after the break, Middleburg recovered a Clay fumble on the 20. The rally was on.
"That gave our kids a sense of, 'OK, we're not dead yet,'" Wolfe said. "It really breathed some life into us."
Wolfe also credited halftime adjustments to the defensive front and coverage schemes from defensive coordinator Ben Traywick, enabling the Middleburg defense to pitch a shutout the rest of the night.
For Middleburg, the comeback from 33-7 down is a microcosm of the season. The Broncos opened 0-3 against the state-ranked trio of Hawthorne, Bradford and Ponte Vedra, but they're now back to .500 and riding a wave of momentum entering Friday's likely District 3-3S decider at Alan Powers Field against Columbia.
"We knew we had a good team," Wolfe said. "It was just a matter of kind of being battle-tested and getting through that first part of the year."
Broncos, Panthers on collision course
In volleyball, a different Clay County countdown has begun.
Rivals Middleburg and Ridgeview didn't meet in the regular season, but chances are good that the Clay County volleyball rivals will face off in next week's District 4-5A tournament — and possibly again in the Florida High School Athletic Association's Region 1-5A competition.
Middleburg senior Connor Rahn has been counting down since at least last month's Fall Sports Media Day.
"I'm really excited to play Ridgeview in districts," she said. "It's always a really good game, getting to see all my friends on the other side of the net."
With Middleburg entering the week at No. 3 in the FHSAA Class 5A rankings, and Ridgeview close behind at No. 7, both enter with a serious chance to qualify for next month's state final four in Winter Haven. Beachside, Choctawhatchee and Tallahassee Lincoln are their chief threats in Region 1-5A.
This is the last chance for Wright State-committed middle blocker Haley Robinson and her eight senior teammates at Ridgeview. Among Northeast Florida's most powerful blocking forces for three years, she embraces her role as a finisher with every spike.
"I have to try to take someone's head off," said Robinson, likely to complete her high school career with more than 800 career kills, "or make it so powerful that they get scared the next time I hit."
Last year, Middleburg won the district final but Ridgeview ended up progressing further in regionals, qualifying for their second straight regional final.
Ridgeview took the next step in their growth last Thursday, becoming the first Jacksonville team to beat Trinity Christian in 2023. A career-high 27 kills from Katie Cole, along with big nights for Mariah Bostic-Jones (37 assists/17 digs), Sydney Little (48 digs), Brianna Adams (12 digs/13 kills) and Robinson (10 blocks/15 kills), secured the victory.
"You get to see how people progress, how they get better as they get older," Robinson said. "I just think that we'll come out as a top team this year."
Middleburg made its own statement with last Tuesday's road sweep at Bishop Kenny, becoming only the second area team (along with Ponte Vedra) to sweep the Crusaders in their own gym since 2019. Rahn belted 19 kills and Brooke Forkum added 17.
"I've seen a great trend in everybody getting more confident this year," said Rahn, committed to Tampa. "Everything's coming together, we're all jelling and it's really fun."
Senators soar in Gateway swimming
The Gateway Conference swimming championships are purple again.
Fletcher won Saturday's meet for Duval County public schools at Cecil Field Aquatic Center, the fifth consecutive championship for the Senators' girls team. On the boys side, Fletcher's win was the team's fourth in five years, reclaiming the trophy after Stanton came in first in 2022.
Fletcher's top-to-bottom depth made the difference. The Senators won all four freestyle relays and got two wins apiece from Michelangelo Porter (50 and 100-yard free) and Owen Williams (200 free and 100 backstroke). Maxwell Shaver and Travis Hardy went 1-2 in boys diving, Kate Cagle won the girls 200 free and Ryland Zuniga topped the standings in the girls 100 free.
Some other performances of note:
Rising fast is Wolfson, runner-up in boys and girls team standings. John McNamara dominated the boys 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke and newcomer Blakely Hammel won the shortest (50 free) and longest (500 free) girls races. The Wolfpack also swept the medley relays.
Stanton's Rylie Darkatsh, three-time FHSAA girls diving champion, easily won another Gateway title. The Blue Devils also picked up event wins from Gabriella Marim (girls 100 breast/200 IM), Nicole Avila (girls 100 butterfly) and Mitchell Chao (boys 100 fly), placing third in both boys and girls overall standings.
Paxon's Cameron Watson left no doubt in the boys 500 free, winning by 10 seconds.
Atlantic Coast's Jayla Covington, for years among the city's top sprinters, added a Gateway title in the girls 100 back.
The Gateway championships were the first handed out for 2023-24. On deck within the next week and a half will be girls golf and volleyball finals on Thursday, bowling on Oct. 18 and cross country on Oct. 19.
St. Johns squads scorch scoreboard
What's the Florida football capital for offense?
Draw the borders east of the St. Johns River, west of the Intracoastal Waterway, south of Julington Creek and north of State Road 206, where St. Johns County teams are lighting up scoreboards like few others in Florida.
The latest example: Last Friday's 49-30 scoring extravaganza with St. Augustine and Nease, in which the longtime rivals combined for 1,126 yards of total offense.
But the county's track record goes a lot deeper than one game. Consider:
Five of the county's nine teams are averaging more than 30 points: St. Augustine (44.0), Beachside (43.2), Creekside (35.2), Bartram Trail (33.2) and Ponte Vedra (32.2).
Nease junior Maddox Spencer continues to take aim at Northeast Florida's record book, after finding the end zone three more times Saturday against St. Augustine.
Beachside sophomore Edward Jordan leads all area quarterbacks with 1,605 yards, along with 21 touchdowns, in a passing attack that's both wide-open and deep: Six Barracuda receivers (Cohen Beebe, Bryce Gee, Drew Watson, Marco Lanza, Cade Gines and Brennan Monaco) have gained more than 120 yards.
St. Augustine quarterback Locklan Hewlett has topped the 1,000-yard mark passing despite playing only three games due to injury. Depending on the playoff run for the Yellow Jackets, ranked No. 2 in the USA TODAY Florida Network poll for Class 3S, the junior could make a run at a 3,000-yard season.
County rushing leader Laython Biddle, above 1,000 yards after pounding ahead for 172 against talent-laden IMG Academy, could be in the running for a 2,000-yard season at Bartram Trail depending on the Bears' playoff future. The Navy commit needs only 55 yards Friday against Creekside to surpass 3,000 for his career.
Fleming Island takes Alligator Lake win
At Alligator Lake Park, Fleming Island's runners stayed safely away from the gators… and clear of the competition.
John Keester IV (16:06) and Graham Myers (16:16) went 1-2 for the Fleming Island boys to win Saturday's cross country meet at the Alligator Lake Invitational in Lake City, holding off a collection of squads from across Florida.
Roman Mollicone also placed seventh in 16:53 for the Golden Eagles, who scored 39 points to easily outdistance runner-up Gainesville Oak Hall and third-place Fort Walton Beach.
Mandarin placed an area-best fourth in the girls team race at Alligator Lake Park, led by Alaysa Chipunov's sixth-place finish, while Madison Patchan led local individuals in second at 19:29, 15 seconds behind winner Mackenzie Klein of team champion Oak Hall.
Creekside swept the team titles at Saturday's Bronco Classic in Middleburg, scoring 30 points in the boys race and 34 in the girls event. The individual boys title went to Ponte Vedra's Miles Wicks in 16:30.
This weekend's schedule includes the New World Fall Spectacular near Cecil Field, the course's second large event after August's season opener.
West Nassau's Singley in swimming hunt
Bolles, Fleming Island, Ponte Vedra: Those are some of the schools that traditionally come to mind as Northeast Florida's podium contenders come postseason time in swimming.
This year, thanks to junior Brody Singley, add West Nassau to the list.
"I really want to win states more than anything," he said at the inaugural Fall Sports Media Day.
He's come close before. In 2022, he finished second in the boys 500-yard freestyle and second in the 200 free for Class 2A.
Singley, who has raced for about a decade in competitive swimming, could be in the running for Nassau County history. In a century of FHSAA swimming championships, the county has yet to place a swimmer on the list of boys champions.
"It's cool to put a school like West Nassau on the map," Singley said. "I want to kind of grow the program more and get it bigger."
Around the area
Creekside outfielder Riley Waters committed to Mars Hill softball. … Nease outfielder Miranda Harmon committed to West Florida softball. ... St. Johns Country Day pitchers Jack Ensell and Austin Stratmann committed to Barry and North Florida baseball, respectively. … Episcopal junior Bella Vitulli committed to Kennesaw State women's lacrosse. … Bartram Trail senior Savannah Payne committed to Palm Beach Atlantic women's lacrosse. … Fletcher's Avery McAlister committed to Georgetown College women's lacrosse. … Ponte Vedra junior attack Lamb Toole committed to Towson women's lacrosse. … Harvest Community has scheduled the Jack Wilcox Memorial Preseason Classic in boys basketball from Nov. 13-17. … St. Johns Country Day announced Casey Kelley as director of tennis. … Former Bartram Trail goalkeeper Bailey Dean, now at Jacksonville State, was named Conference USA women's soccer goalkeeper of the week. … Orange Park setter Hailey Revak reached 1,500 assists for her volleyball career. … Beachside outside hitter Adriana Jeanpierre scored her 500th kill Tuesday. … Bolles outside hitter Ashlyn Anderson reached 1,000 career kills Thursday. … Fletcher setter Keely Pou recorded her 500th assist Thursday. … Christ's Church's Julia Howard recorded her 500th career kill. … Bolles setter Gracie Arnett reached her 2,000th career assist Tuesday. … D.D. Banton broke St. Augustine volleyball's career record with 159 aces. … Practice begins Monday for high school boys and girls soccer across the FHSAA.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Middleburg magic comeback: Inside 26-point high school football rally
