Recruit-packed high school football superpower IMG Academy wears down Bartram Trail late

ST. JOHNS — Facing a nationally-ranked team requires all the breaks to go your way. Even though Bartram Trail started out strong against national No. 4-ranked IMG Academy, the college recruit dominant Ascenders eventually perked up to capture a 49-20 win in Friday night's high school football at Bears Stadium.

Bartram (3-3) relied on the run and stopped IMG’s potent offense for nearly one half. Liam Padron’s 45-yard field goal with 5:05 left in the first half gave the Bears a 3-0 lead and foretold a close game.

But on the ensuing kickoff, Alex Graham returned a shorter than normal boot 70 yards up the left sideline to the Bears 23. Three plays later, running back Jerrick Gibson, a Texas commit, scored on a 1-yard run. A three and out gave the ball back to IMG at its own 45. A 54-yard pass from Jayden Bradford (Liberty) to tight end Jonathan Echols (Tennessee) set up another Bradford pass, this time 6 yards to Adonis Moise with 1:04 remaining in the first half. That completed two touchdowns in the span of three minutes for a 14-3 lead for a 10-year school playing its 100th career game with a winning percentage of 93 percent.

“It’s a momentum game, and our guys feed off momentum,” IMG coach Billy Miller said.

Padron’s 28-yard field gave Bartram hope at the half, trailing 14-6. But IMG didn’t let up to start the second half, scoring on a 5-yard run by junior Anthony Rogers (Alabama) and a 7-yard run by Gibson just six minutes into the second half for a 28-6 lead. The second TD was set up by an interception and 55-yard criss-crossing return from superstar cornerback Ellis Robinson IV, the nation’s top player who is headed for Georgia. The Ascenders also got a TD from wide receiver Jerrae Hawkins, who is headed to Florida.

“Every player on their roster, it seems, has a Power 5 offer,” Bartram coach Cory Johns said. “I asked our guys this week to raise their hand if they had a Power 5 offer, and we had one, Riley Trujillo. I can’t say enough how hard they play and even their backups have big scholarship offers.

“I’m encouraged with how we played, especially up front. We got better this week on the things we focused on.”

Bartram’s star players hung tough. Running back Laython Biddle, bound for Navy, rushed for 135 yards and two second-half scores and threw a halfback pass 43 yards late in the first half to set up Padron’s second field goal. He did all this on Military Appreciation Night, with each Bears player wearing a jersey with the name of a military branch on the back. Quarterback Riley Trujillo couldn’t find much passing room but did run for 45 yards before exiting in the fourth quarter with a lower body injury.

IMG: A national team

Bartram basically faced a college team Friday night when IMG visited. The game came about when Tallahassee Lincoln canceled a trip to Bartram this summer, and Johns said IMG was the only school that would visit Bartram. Consider:

• The Bradenton, Fla., school has a 5,000-seat stadium and a Johns Hopkins-affiliated hospital for health services.

• It costs, on average, $75,000 annually to attend IMG, with tuition supported by sponsors Under Armour and Gatorade.

• 16 current players in ESPN 300 for 2024 & 2025 (’24 No. 1, CB Ellis Robinson IV, a Georgia commit, had an interception and long return).

• 75 on Power 5 college rosters, including seven at No. 1 Georgia.

• 14 on NFL rosters, including Jags DB Andre Cisco.

• The Ascenders are 93-7 since starting a National Team in 2013 for a program launched by former FSU Heisman winner Chris Weinke. They are 40-3 vs. Florida schools, including a 2013 loss at Trinity Christian.

• IMG, 5-0, hadn’t played in two weeks and this was its first game this season against a Florida school. They bussed four hours up to Jacksonville on Thursday, stayed overnight and returned after the game. IMG’s National Team is not FHSAA affiliated because of its global recruiting base (4- and 5-star players from Connecticut, Georgia, Texas, Mississippi, Washington DC, West Virginia and Oklahoma). The 2023 schedule includes games against schools in Florida, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Ohio, Virginia, Connecticut and Maryland.

• IMG has won 13 consecutive games, dating to a 2022 season-opening home loss to Miami Central.

Bears’ difficult schedule

Bartram Trail’s 3-3 record may seem disappointing for the perennially double-digit winning Bears, but the 2023 slate is ranked among the most difficult in the state and the three losses have come against teams with a combined 17-0 record and national and state recognition. IMG Academy, 5-0, plays a national schedule and is ranked fourth in the country. Daytona Beach Mainland (6-0) and St. Augustine (6-0) are ranked first and second, respectively, in Florida in Class 3S.

The Bears’ ultra-tough schedule continues for the remainder of the regular season, beginning next week when they host District 3-4S arch-rival Creekside (3-3). Creekside, which is is 1-15 vs. Bartram since opening in 2008, was off this week and is riding a two-game winning streak against Mandarin and Oakleaf. Then the Bears visit unbeaten Buchholz, ranked No. 1 in Class 4S, for a Thursday, Oct. 19 3-4S game, host Oakleaf and complete the regular season at 4M power Mandarin.

IMG has played its final road game of the season. The Ascenders return home to play Pensacola Pine Forest next week followed by home dates in Bradenton with Life Christian (Va.), St. Thomas More (Conn.) and St. Francis Academy (Md.).

Biddle running tally

Bartram Trail senior running back Laython Biddle has played a major role in the Bears’ offense since his sophomore year. The 5-foot-9, 200-pound Navy commit has totaled nearly 1,000 yards rushing this season and 3,000 for his career. That includes 298 yards rushing and three TDs at Fleming Island last week and 135 yards and two TDs and a 43-yard pass against a stout IMG Academy defense on Friday.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: IMG Academy at Bartram Trail: High school football takeaways