Northeast Florida high school football, Week 4: Friday night games to watch
Week 4 is here for high school football, as Northeast Florida's season rolls closer to the halfway point.
Key storylines to watch include Creekside's trip to Gainesville Buchholz, a potentially high-scoring battle involving District 3-4S playoff contenders; Nease's visit to Fletcher, a traditional meeting between the Duval and St. Johns segments of the Beaches; Middleburg at Ponte Vedra, where both teams have begun their seasons against state championship contenders (Bradford and Hawthorne for Middleburg, Bartram Trail and Florida High for the Sharks); and the one-of-a-kind Brain Bowl, matching Paxon against Stanton in a magnet-school matchup where the team records are the least significant part of the rivalry.
Atlantic Coast (3-0) at Mandarin (3-0), District 1-4M, 6:30 p.m.
What a start for Atlantic Coast. Winless last year, they're off to a perfect start in 2023, and quarterback Sean Speed produced four touchdowns in last week's rout of Westside. How long can they keep up this run? Friday's Principal's Cup meeting with Mandarin applies exponential growth to the degree of difficulty. The Mustangs, ranked No. 2 in Class 4M, are averaging more than 40 points and 500 yards per game, with Tramell Jones, Tiant Wyche and Jaime Ffrench connecting in one of the area's most complete offenses.
INSIDE THE RIVALRY: LAST 10 MEETINGS
Nov. 8, 2013: Atlantic Coast 13, Mandarin 7
Nov. 7, 2014: Atlantic Coast 28, Mandarin 20
Aug. 28, 2015: Mandarin 27, Atlantic Coast 14
Aug. 26, 2016: Mandarin 28, Atlantic Coast 7
Aug. 25, 2017: Mandarin 27, Atlantic Coast 24
Aug. 24, 2018: Mandarin 39, Atlantic Coast 7
Aug. 24, 2019: Mandarin 28, Atlantic Coast 12
Sept. 11, 2020: Mandarin 14, Atlantic Coast 0
Aug. 27, 2021: Atlantic Coast 27, Mandarin 24
Sept. 16, 2022: Mandarin 30, Atlantic Coast 0
Baker County (0-2, 0-0) at Baldwin (2-1, 1-0), District 5-2S, 6:30 p.m.
Last year, Baldwin snapped a half-century drought in the series, beating their U.S. Highway 90 rivals for the first time since 1968 only for the Wildcats to knock them out in the regionals. Octavius Barnes (three picks), Mason Carter and Christian Velvet shine on a tough Baldwin defense. Baker County has its own defensive dynamo in junior linebacker Seth Chestnut. The Wildcats' 0-2 start is the program's first since 2005.
Riverside (2-1) at First Coast (0-2), 6:30 p.m.
The stats are superb for quarterback Rodney Tisdale Jr. and the First Coast offense: 56 points and 706 passing yards through two games. But can the Buccaneers' defense slow opponents down? That's the challenge for the hosts at the Shipyard on Friday night when Riverside arrives. The Generals have quality receivers of their own in Tae'shaun Gelsey and Myles Kendrick, scoring 94 points so far. First Coast won 28-26 last year, with two touchdown catches by Adron Walker.
First Coast Varsity Weekly: Englewood rings in new chapter on artificial turf field
Fleming Island (2-0) at Oakleaf (1-0), District 3-4S, 7 p.m.
Even in Week 4, the winner in this clash of unbeaten rivals can likely claim the unofficial title of top team in Clay County. Watch for mobile quarterbacks (Cibastian Broughton for Fleming Island and Brandon Wallace for Oakleaf) and powerful line play with future college linemen like the Golden Eagles' Braden Cunningham and the Knights' Quory Ambrose in action. Linebacker Da'Jon Brown made two sacks and forced a fumble in last year's 26-20 Oakleaf win.
INSIDE THE RIVALRY: LAST 10 MEETINGS
Oct. 12, 2012: Oakleaf 22, Fleming Island 21
Oct. 4, 2013: Fleming Island 24, Oakleaf 7
Oct. 3, 2014: Oakleaf 44, Fleming Island 27
Oct. 2, 2015: Oakleaf 30, Fleming Island 16
Sept. 30, 2016: Oakleaf 59, Fleming Island 37
Sept. 29, 2017: Fleming Island 13, Oakleaf 7
Sept. 28, 2018: Oakleaf 48, Fleming Island 29
Oct. 9, 2020: Oakleaf 29, Fleming Island 22
Nov. 5, 2021: Fleming Island 49, Oakleaf 34
Sept. 16, 2022: Oakleaf 26, Fleming Island 20
Raines (2-0) at Daytona Beach Mainland (3-0), 7 p.m.
No, Atlantic Coast and Mandarin aren't the only unbeaten teams in the Gateway Conference. Raines' defense has opened the year in superb fashion, and they'll need more of the same against a Mainland squad ranked No. 1 in Class 3S. Mainland, with prospects including dual-threat quarterback D.J. Murray and two-way Tulane commit Rodney Hill, battled past Bartram Trail at the finish last week. The Vikings may need to force a turnover or two, and players like Jyon Simon and Nicholas Kilpatrick have shown in big games that they're able to do exactly that.
Leaders of the pack: Northeast Florida high school football statistics leaders, Week 3
Trinity Christian (2-1) at Bolles (0-3), 7:30 p.m.
The glass-half-full scenario for Bolles: All three of their losses have come by a single score against undefeated, state-ranked foes. Still, they're 0-3 for the first time since 1967, and with Trinity Christian invading Skinner-Barco Stadium, a daunting task lies ahead. Expect some fireworks. Trinity QB Colin Hurley, coming off a four-TD night against NFEI, now meets a Bolles defense allowing more than 200 passing yards per game. Bolles' O-line and hard-running tailbacks Ty Neal and Emmett Grzebin won't make it easy for Trinity. A 134-yard night from Darnell Rogers led Trinity to the 27-14 win in 2022.
Friday's games
FLORIDA
Atlantic Coast (3-0) at Mandarin (3-0), District 1-4M, 6:30 p.m.
Baker County (0-2, 0-0) at Baldwin (2-1, 1-0), District 5-2S, 6:30 p.m.
Bell (0-2) at Keystone Heights (0-2), 7:30 p.m.
Belleview (0-2) at Palatka (3-0)
Bishop Kenny (2-0) at Bishop Moore (0-3)
Christ's Church (2-0) at Bishop Snyder (2-1)
Columbia (0-2) at Madison County (1-0), 7:30 p.m.
Creekside (1-2) at Gainesville Buchholz (3-0), District 3-4S, 7:30 p.m.
Duval Charter (0-1) at Mount Dora Christian (1-2)
Eagle's View (2-1) at St. Joseph (0-3)
Episcopal (1-1) at West Nassau (1-2)
Fleming Island (2-0) at Oakleaf (1-0), District 3-4S
Gainesville (0-3) at Clay (2-1), District 4-3S
Gainesville Eastside (2-1) at Bradford (3-0), 7:30 p.m.
Hamilton County (1-1) at Fort White (2-0), 7:30 p.m.
Hilliard (1-1) at Branford (1-0), 7:30 p.m.
Interlachen (0-3) at Fernandina Beach (1-2)
Jackson (1-2) at Spruce Creek (3-0)
Joshua Christian (1-1) at Zarephath Academy (1-2)
Menendez (1-2) at St. Augustine (2-0), District 4-3S
Middleburg (0-2) at Ponte Vedra (1-1)
Nease (2-1) at Fletcher (1-2), 6:30 p.m.
North Florida Educational (1-2) at Providence (2-1)
Orange Park (1-2) at Melbourne (0-3)
Palm Beach Christian Prep (0-3) at Impact Christian (2-0)
Parker (0-3) at White (2-1), 6:30 p.m.
Paxon (1-2) at Stanton (0-2), 6:30 p.m.
P.K. Yonge (2-0) at Union County (1-1), 7:30 p.m.
Quincy Munroe (0-2) at Suwannee (2-0), 7:30 p.m.
Raines (2-0) at Daytona Beach Mainland (3-0)
Riverside (2-1) at First Coast (0-2), 6:30 p.m.
Sebastian River (2-1) at Beachside (2-1)
Tocoi Creek (1-2) at Eustis (2-1)
Trinity Christian (2-1) at Bolles (0-3), 7:30 p.m.
Westside (0-3) at Ribault (2-1), 6:30 p.m.
Young Kids in Motion (0-1) at West Oaks (0-2)
GEORGIA
Charlton County (0-4) at Pierce County (3-0), 7:30 p.m.
Savannah Islands (0-4) at Brunswick (1-1), 7:30 p.m.
Somerset Academy (2-1) at Camden County (3-1), 7:30 p.m.
BYE: Bartram Trail (2-1), Cedar Creek Christian (0-3), Englewood (2-1), Glynn Academy (3-1), Harvest Community (0-3), Ridgeview (1-2), Sandalwood (0-3), TDH Academy (0-2), University Christian (2-1), Ware County (3-1), Wolfson (1-2), Yulee (2-1)
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: High school football 2023: Week 4 Jacksonville top games, matchups
