First Coast Varsity Weekly: Bishop Kenny-Bolles memories strong from last Crusader win

Bob Fleming still remembers his golden moment in a Bishop Kenny uniform in the generations-old gridiron rivalry against Bolles.

He didn't imagine it would take 45 years for his alma mater to repeat the feat.

"We were pretty well balanced with them that year," he said. "Who would've thought that it would take that long?"

The dust is still settling around Jacksonville's high school football scene after Friday night's 14-13 Bishop Kenny victory at Bolles, a district clincher for the Crusaders that ended a streak of 27 consecutive losses against their rivals dating back to Nov. 18, 1977.

Fleming, now the swimming coach at Stanton, remembers victory against Bolles well — the Crusaders topped the Bulldogs back-to-back in 1976 (24-19) and 1977 (29-0). He intercepted a pass and helped secure a shutout win for a Bishop Kenny team that was then under the coaching of Mike Healey, who's still going strong in charge of Stanton's football squad.

"They had a really good running game and didn't throw the ball much, but we got three or four turnovers," he said.

After that, the rivalry — an even or nearly-even contest in many other sports — turned all blue and orange in football, with Bolles victories like 49-7 (1983), 65-0 (1995) and 69-0 (2004) up until Friday night.

Today's Crusaders, now under fourth-year head coach Tim Krause, have a chance to wrap up the school's first nine-win regular season since 2014 if they win Thursday against University Christian.

It's the opposite reaction for 11-time state champion Bolles, now in an unfamiliar position at 5-4 and in jeopardy of their first regular season not above .500 since 1988 if they lose Friday to state-ranked Gainesville Buchholz.

Still, the Bulldogs' big-picture prospects aren't so gloomy: In addition to Kenny, their other losses came to 9-0 Trinity Christian, 9-0 Brunswick and a Benedictine squad that won a 2021 Georgia High School Association championship. They're certain to qualify for the Florida High School Athletic Association playoffs, and might even get a shot at revenge against Bishop Kenny during the postseason.

Fleming has his own plans for this week. Stanton swimming competes Wednesday morning in Pensacola at the Florida High School Athletic Association Region 1-2A meet, the last stage before the Class 2A finals next week in Stuart.

Blue Devils swimmers Mitchell Chao, Mehdi Elaoufir, Gabriella Marim, Audrey Sturm and divers Rylie Darkatsh and Andrew Swiercek all won their events at last week's District 2-2A championship, and Stanton is coming off a milestone of its own: the program's first Gateway Conference boys swimming title of the 21st century. In a twist, though, it's Fleming's old school that stands out as the main obstacle between Stanton and a regional title.

"It makes the meet that much more interesting for the swimmers and coaches when you've got them in all the events," Fleming said. "I'm really proud of them."

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Middleburg's Prewitt closes volleyball career

The moist eyes were many inside Middleburg's gym Wednesday night.

After 38 years coaching Middleburg volleyball, Carrie Prewitt stepped away from the sidelines following the Broncos' four-set loss to Ocala Vanguard in the Region 1-5A quarterfinals.

She exits with more than 600 victories, the third Northeast Florida coach to attain that milestone, and four decades of volleyball memories.

"I like to say that my memories are my favorite, my sweetest souvenirs. That's what I'll take from here," Prewitt said.

Prewitt, who coached the Broncos for 38 seasons and reached a state final in 2002, is part of a short list of active coaches — particularly coaches in team ball sports — to lead a team for more than a quarter-century.

It's a list that includes just a handful of Northeast Florida coaches. Also among the area's longest-tenured volleyball coaches are Englewood's Cynthia Bateh, on the Rams' sidelines for nearly 40 years, and St. Johns Country Day's Traci Livingston, who won her 500th match two months ago.

In football, First Coast's Marty Lee — part of the school since its 1990 inception, in charge of the football program since 1997 — leads the gridiron pack, with Keystone Heights' Chuck Dickinson, Bartram Trail's Darrell Sutherland and Sandalwood's Adam Geis nearing the quarter-century mark in the next few years.

Others include Nease girls hoops coach Sherri Anthony, who begins season 38 this month; Providence girls basketball coach Gigi Bistrow, who won her 500th game last year; Clay softball coach Matt Lewis, who hit the 500-win mark in April; and Stanton boys soccer coach Steve Stone, a six-time qualifier for the final four. And several others, like University Christian's Keith Stroud, have led multiple different sports at the same school.

For Prewitt, the connections to Middleburg volleyball aren't ending with the final whistle.

"All the kids that I've had the opportunity to coach and interact with and all the kids that have made me a better person, because when you're in charge of a program, you have to be your best for them... Your impact and your influence on them doesn't end when the season's over," she said. "Having those kids stay in my world, you become a family. We support each other and encourage each other."

St. Johns rivals splash to wins

The wins keep on coming in the pool for both sides of the Battle of the Bridge rivalry.

Reigning Class 3A girls state champion Ponte Vedra repeated its Region 1-3A title during the week, while rival Nease came out on top in the boys standings in Ocala. Annabelle MacAdams and Annie Wohlgemuth, the latter in automatic All-American time in the 100-yard backstroke, raced to regional individual championships for the Sharks' girls. For Nease, Matthew Koziol swept the Region 1-3A boys sprint races.

Double victories for Raymond Prosinski in the 200 freestyle and 100 back, plus Luke VanDeusen in the 50 free, led Bartram Trail's boys to second place behind Oviedo in Region 1-4A. Creekside placed third in Region 1-4A girls, boosted by Leslie Dame's 100 breaststroke title.

In Class 2A, still in the district stage, reigning state boys champion Bishop Kenny needed victory in the closing 400 free relay from Evan Larson, Graham Evans, Owen Kerkezi and Zach Jones to edge Stanton by seven points in the team standings. Wins by Maria Candelora and Rachel Howard also helped Bishop Kenny top the District 2-2A girls list.

Tocoi Creek's girls won the District 3-2A meet in only their second year, holding off newcomer Beachside thanks in part to Brianna O'Neill's wins in the 100 and 200 free.

Bolles continued its traditional lockdown of District 2-1A, with Will Heck and Lila Higgo leading dominant victories in the boys and girls team standings.

Bolles, Ponte Vedra pick up speed

One round from the end of the cross country season, Bolles and Ponte Vedra aren't slowing down.

The Bulldogs captured both boys and girls regional team championships in Class 2A, and Ponte Vedra did the same in Class 3A as the march continued toward this weekend's state meet at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee.

The Bolles boys went 1-2 to win the Class 2A meet at Cecil Field, with Aidan Ryan and Chris Joost both inside 16 minutes to place just ahead of Wolfson's Andrew Marello. The Bulldogs' girls were even more dominant, recording 27 points with a 1-2-3 finish for Jillian Candelino (17:41), Ella Mickler and Elizabeth Csikai.

At Santa Fe College in Gainesville, Ponte Vedra's boys scored 42 points to edge Fleming Island (54 points) in Class 3A, while the Ponte Vedra girls placed Lindy White, Daisy Ross and Sofia Bushkell in the top seven to finish with 37 points. Fleming Island's Graham Myers ran 15:40 to capture the boys individual title, 10 seconds ahead of Ponte Vedra's Grant Doherty.

In Class 4A, Creekside also captured the boys team title with 55 points, placing five runners inside 16:25. Tanner Simonds led the Knights with an eighth-place 16:08, while Matt Ryan of Nease was the meet's fastest local at 15:21.

Creekside freshman Alyson Johnson finished third in the 4A girls race in 18:46 to lead the Knights to third overall behind Gainesville Buchholz and Niceville, while in Class 1A, Providence placed second in the boys team standings and third in the girls race.

CCA's Manley climbs national ranking

Circle Tyson Manley as a runner to watch on the First Coast.

The Christ's Church seventh-grader finished fourth in the Region 1-1A boys cross country meet with a time of 16:47, slicing nearly 40 seconds off his previous personal best.

Manley vaulted to No. 1 in the national MileSplit rankings for the class of 2028 among boys running 5K races against high schoolers. No other seventh-grader nationally has broken 17 minutes this year in high school competition.

He's the second local to reach the top of national class standings this year. Bolles sixth-grader Sofia Stam, who ran 19:17 at the Alexander/Asics Invitational in October, leads the nationwide list for girls in the 2029 class.

Smith, Mays juggle roles for Wildcats

Multiple threats win football games. It just so happens that Baker County has more than one of them.

Senior running back Cam Smith put together one of the most complete games of the season Friday against Fernandina Beach, scoring three different ways (rushing, passing and kickoff return) and adding a fourth score on the ground in the Wildcats' 43-17 victory in District 5-2A football.

Smith, who finished with 370 all-purpose yards on the night, has now gained 1,744 all-purpose yards on the season and is up to 4,549 for his Wildcats career.

But he wasn't alone in filling up the stat categories. Baker County senior quarterback Blake Mays did a little bit of everything as well, whether passing (7 of 9, 91 yards), rushing (136 yards, two touchdowns), punting (38.7 average) or kicking (a 38-yard field goal and four extra points).

Knight to remember: Daragjati on target

After a huge night in the kicking game, Creekside's Ronald Daragjati could be in line for a Sunshine State statistical championship.

The senior kicker booted five successful field goals Friday in the Knights' 36-7 victory over Atlantic Coast. That's a rare feat for an NFL kicker, and an exceptionally infrequent achievement in the high school game.

Although records are not complete, the National Federation of State High School Associations record book includes only seven confirmed instances of a high school kicker converting more than five field goals in a game. The record belongs to Dominic Gutierrez of Albuquerque (N.M.) Menaul, who nailed nine short field goals (distances of 26, 29, 23, 22, 19, 19, 20, 20 and 21) against Newcomb on Sept. 21, 1990.

For the season, Daragjati has converted 12 field goals, which leads Florida's MaxPreps standings and ties him for ninth in the nation.

Orange Park's Lester won't let up

In her new status as a top-100 national recruit in the 2024 class, things aren't changing much for Orange Park junior Eris Lester.

"I'm always staying hungry and trying to get better," she said.

Lester was named to the top 60 nationally in the ESPN HoopGurlz rankings earlier this month, checking in at No. 36. She led Orange Park to a 24-6 record and a berth in the regional final, where they lost to Pensacola Pine Forest.

She averaged 20.5 points last year, her second straight year above a 20-point average, with 8.3 rebounds and 3.0 steals per game. She's ready to compete in a tough Clay County girls hoops scene that includes proven quality trios at Oakleaf (Fantasia James, Kamiya Jones, Kaylah Turner) and Ridgeview (Nacoya Blocton, Nia Blocton, Paetyn Miller).

"I'm really not satisfied, though," she said. "I'm going to keep working."

Around the area

Atlantic Coast goalkeeper Gaby Rourke committed to Kentucky women's soccer. ... Bishop Snyder junior pitcher Aidan King committed to Florida baseball. ... Jackson infielder Zariyah Stripling committed to Allen softball. ... Nease pitcher Jake Larson committed to Lander baseball. ... Ponte Vedra pitcher Matt Hoag committed to Florida State baseball. ... Ponte Vedra goalie Jack Pelot committed to Penn men's lacrosse. ... Ponte Vedra's Parker Kemp committed to Lenoir-Rhyne men's lacrosse. ... Union County outfielder Hayley Burke and infielders Hailey Rivera and Hannah Rivera committed to Florida Gateway College softball. ... Zeke Griffin set a Middleburg school record of 1:06.38 in the boys 100-yard breaststroke at the Region 1-3A meet. ... Former Bolles runner Charles Hicks, racing for Stanford, repeated as Pac-12 men's cross country champion and broke the 8K course record at 22:30. ... Oakleaf promoted Shay Mensie to head track and field coach. ... Flagler Palm Coast forfeited its first three football victories, including one against Suwannee, for use of an ineligible player. The Bulldogs' district games against Nease and Ponte Vedra were not forfeited, and FPC remains District 4-4S champion. ... Bartram Trail, Bolles, Ponte Vedra and host St. Johns Country Day, with 28 combined FHSAA girls soccer titles, are scheduled to hold a round-robin mini-tournament at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. ... FHSAA boys wrestling practice begins Monday. ... The FHSAA board of directors is scheduled to hold its second meeting of the school year in Gainesville on Sunday and Monday.

Clayton Freeman covers high school sports and more for the Florida Times-Union. Follow him on Twitter at @CFreemanJAX.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: First Coast Varsity Weekly: Bishop Kenny, Bolles football series memories