St. Johns Spotlight: Tocoi Creek-Nease is a major rarity in Florida football. Here's why

Maybe the first rule of Florida football scheduling: District races are all wrapped up by the end of Week 10.

Well, aren't they?

Not this year, at least for District 4-4S, which remains in limbo pending Friday night's showdown between Tocoi Creek and Nease.

The reason: When the Florida High School Athletic Association bumped Tocoi Creek up to Class 4S during the offseason, citing a significant enrollment increase within the classification cycle, Tocoi Creek-Nease was already locked in as a planned non-district game for Week 11. That didn't change, even after the two became district foes.

So when Nease upset Ponte Vedra 24-23 last Friday, the effects extended well beyond the First Coast.

Nease would win the district by topping the Toros Friday, which would be the school's first district trophy since 2015. A Toros win, though, means a three-way tie to be settled by the FHSAA ranking formula, a scenario that likely benefits Ponte Vedra.

Meanwhile, the district's uncertain status turns several schools on the Class 4S postseason fringe into Tocoi Creek fans for a week: If Nease wins the district and the automatic playoff berth, it would remove one of the at-large berths available for schools like Creekside or Tallahassee Chiles. Those schools already saw their chances diminished last Thursday when Lynn Haven Mosley upset Niceville 29-28 to claim a surprise District 2-4S title, pushing Niceville into the at-large pool.

St. Johns teams dominate swim districts

St. Johns County's speedy swimmers are still going strong.

Reigning Class 3A boys champion Nease and defending 3A girls title-holder Ponte Vedra splashed to playoff-opening victories in District 3-3A.

Freshman Luke Zardavets led the Panthers with dominant swims in the 200-yard individual medley (1:56.69) and the 100 breaststroke (58.35), continuing his charge up the state standings. Brandon Gear swept the distance events and Jack Mainville, Walker Lanoue and Anatoli Monsalve all added individual district trophies for the Nease boys. The Panthers earned 477.5 points to 409.5 for Fletcher and 363 for Ponte Vedra.

Ponte Vedra's girls tallied 554.5 points to retain their district title ahead of Nease and Fletcher. Lily Doyle (500 freestyle), Kate Pelot (100 backstroke) and Penny Zarczynski (100 butterfly) won individual events for the Sharks.

In District 1-4A, St. Johns schools again topped the list. Bartram Trail's boys edged Creekside by 12 points, bolstered by wins from Thomas Frost (200 individual medley/500 free), Trevor Haskins (diving), Simeon Prosinski (100 breast) and Luke VanDeusen (100/200 free), while Creekside easily led the girls standings with wins for Leslie Dame, Anna Gavin, Danica O'Dwyer and Sophie Oldham.

Bolles stayed on course for yet another repeat in boys and girls swimming with a thoroughly dominant Region 1-1A triumph, while Bishop Kenny earned both the boys and girls team titles in Region 1-2A. Owen Kerkezi, Carter Wright and Rachel Howard captured individual wins for the Crusaders.

FHSAA softball may implement ghost runner

Two years ago, Bishop Kenny's Kaitlyn Gilmore (newly committed this week to Pensacola State College) and West Florida's Sydney Scapin faced off in a pitchers' duel that put up strands of zeros on the scoreboard for 16 innings.

Nights like that may be a thing of the past -- and professional baseball's much-debated ghost runner may be on its way to a high school softball diamond near you.

The FHSAA board of directors is scheduled to vote Monday on a proposal to introduce the rule for softball in Florida, aimed at reducing marathon extra-inning contests.

Under the rule, beginning with the eighth inning, each team batting would open the inning with a runner on second base. Major League Baseball installed the rule permanently before the 2023 season, drawing a mix of support and opposition from fans.

The National Federation of State High School Associations, under Rule 4-2-6, permits states to implement such a rule if they choose. In the board's agenda, FHSAA staff said that coaches support the measure for health and safety reasons, making interminable extra-inning deadlocks less likely.

The athletic directors advisory committee, normally influential in shaping FHSAA policy, recommended the proposal by a 13-0 margin.

The softball rule is the most significant policy move on the agenda in the first meeting for the new FHSAA board, which was largely reconstituted through appointments by Gov. Ron DeSantis following the signing of House Bill 225 in May.

The board is also scheduled to discuss reclassification plans and its amateurism policy, although no vote on either topic is scheduled at this time.

Around St. Johns

St. Augustine linebacker Drake Lusk committed to Bryant football. … Ponte Vedra junior defenseman Ryker Kemp committed to Utah men's lacrosse. … Florida Southwestern middle blocker Izzy Collier, formerly at Creekside, committed to Marshall volleyball. ... Nease outside hitter Hanna Virts committed to Chowan volleyball. ... In St. Johns County, St. Joseph stampeded for 424 yards to down Legacy Charter 56-14, advancing in 3A to travel for a Thursday game at West Palm Beach Oxbridge Academy in Sunshine State Athletic Association football. ... Harvest Community announced the field for the Jack Wilcox Memorial Classic basketball tournament, including Atlantic Coast, Baker County, Bartram Trail, Creekside, Fletcher, San Jose Prep, St. Augustine, Trinity Christian and West Nassau. … JAXUSL's inaugural Soccer Media Day is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 2 at the Winston Family YMCA in Riverside from 9 a.m. to noon.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Tocoi Creek, Nease play district game in high school football finale