First Coast Varsity Weekly: Gridiron star Orel Gray powers University Christian basketball

Orel Gray racked up more than 3,000 all-purpose yards on the gridiron this fall.

He isn't cooling down for basketball season.

A regional champion on the football field and a rising force on the basketball court, the senior's last-minute steal secured a key victory for University Christian boys hoops, downing Impact Christian 55-52 in Monday's Bernard Wilkes Classic at Ribault.

Gray leaped high near halfcourt to intercept an Impact inbound pass with 8.4 seconds to go and scored on the ensuing fast break to seal the win for UC. For Gray, who reeled in 16 football picks during his UC career, those gridiron techniques came in handy once more.

"I stayed close, I looked at his eyes and I knew they were going to try to throw it over the top," he said.

Since swapping his football pads for basketball gear in December, Gray has been on fire for UC hoops, averaging 23 points and seven rebounds in his first seven games.

Monday's victory capped an excellent week for Gray, who came in second in Class 1M voting across the state for the Florida Dairy Farmers football awards to place highest among Jacksonville-area players in the annual honors.

Gray scored 47 touchdowns and amassed more than 3,000 all-purpose yards while leading UC to the Region 1-1M championship in the first year of the Florida High School Athletic Association's Metro/Suburban system.

He finished behind only Chaminade-Madonna's title-winning junior quarterback Cedrick Bailey Jr., while Trinity Christian running back Treyaun Webb came in third in Class 1M.

Jackson linebacker Grayson Howard came in fourth among Class 2M players, and Suwannee receiver Javarion Smith took fifth place in Class 2S.

Among area coaches, six placed in the top six of balloting in their respective classes: Bartram Trail's Darrell Sutherland (third, 4S), Bolles' Matt Toblin (fourth, 2M), Bradford's Jamie Rodgers (third, 2S), Columbia's Demetric Jackson (third, 3S), Union County's Andrew Thomas (third, 1R) and University Christian's David Penland III (third, 1M).

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Robinson leads Nease in Tampa

What's better than scoring 1,000 career points?

Scoring that 1,000th point while winning a tournament championship.

Nease senior guard Cami Robinson hit quadruple figures for Panthers girls hoops while leading her team to the Lido Key Beach bracket at the Tampa Bay Christmas Invitational on Saturday.

The Panthers won 70-38 against The Villages Charter, 59-48 against Winter Garden Horizon and 63-60 against Tampa Bay Tech, which had been ranked in the state's top 10 with only one defeat entering the event.

Robinson, averaging 17.3 points on the season, scored 60 during the tournament for Nease (11-3) and 24 in the title game.

More notes from tournament action around Northeast Florida:

• Bolles' Anakin Brown was named to the first team All-Tournament squad at the Kelleher Law Holiday Hoopfest. The 6-3 junior averaged 25 points per game as the Bulldogs defeated North Fort Myers and Naples Golden Gate but lost to Lakeland during the three-day competition in Naples.

• Creekside's Jaylen Boyer earned all-tournament recognition at the Bobcat Classic boys tournament in Bluffton, S.C. After an OT loss to Greer (S.C.) Riverside, the Knights downed Cincinnati Summit Country Day and host school Bluffton.

• After incurring its first loss of the season against Winter Haven, the Providence boys bounced back for third place at the Kingdom of the Sun tournament in Ocala. Jacksonville University-committed point guard Chris Arias earned a berth on the all-tournament team.

• The Bishop Kenny boys came in fifth at the St. Pius X Christmas Classic in Atlanta, losing to Belen Jesuit before defeating Benedictine of Georgia and Holy Cross of Louisiana. Barrett Baker scored 23 points in the 57-52 win over Benedictine.

• Kent Jackson nailed 33 points off eight 3-pointers to lead Episcopal's boys past Somerset Prep 67-55 at the Sunshine State Basketball Explosion.

• Ridgeview's girls basketball team came in second at the Hilton Sandestin Beach Blowout, with junior Nia Blocton and sophomore Nacoya Blocton netting all-tournament honors. The Panthers beat Freeport and Barbourville (Ky.) Knox Central before losing to Alabama's Hewitt-Trussville.

Bowers steps down at Creekside

A Creekside original is leaving the sidelines.

After 15 years, Megan Bowers is stepping down as head coach of Creekside volleyball. Bowers led the program for 15 seasons since the school's inception in 2008.

She compiled a record of 218-145 with five district championships, including back-to-back district tournament titles in 2021 and 2022, and a trip to the Florida High School Athletic Association final four in Creekside. Before taking over at Creekside, she coached St. Augustine volleyball from 2005 to 2007.

Bowers is the second Northeast Florida volleyball coach with 15 or more years of experience to step away this winter, following longtime Middleburg coach Carrie Prewitt's retirement at the end of the Broncos' season.

Bears' Ivey holds national lead

As soccer prepares to kick off the second half of its season, several Northeast Florida players are taking aim at the leaderboards for Florida and beyond.

• Bartram Trail senior midfielder Grace Ivey, already the defending Gatorade Player of the Year for the state, leads the national MaxPreps girls list with 23 assists to go with her 11 goals. Committed to Texas A&M, Ivey now has 51 career goals and 47 assists for the Bears, who top the U.S. MaxPreps rankings.

• Close behind Ivey is University Christian's Abbey Mehm, up to 20 goals and 21 assists through nine games. UC is quietly off to a 9-0 start, two years removed from a 1-13-2 campaign in 2020-21.

• From the Very Busy file: Fort White goalkeeper Elisa Nixon leads girls soccer statewide in saves with 156.

• It may not be a traditional boys soccer hub on the First Coast, but Baldwin is the home of the area's most prolific scoring combination of the first half. Kevin Pardo ranks third in Florida with 21 goals, and Noah Stevenson tops the statewide list with 17 assists.

• No discussion of soccer stats achievements would be complete without Keystone Heights sophomore Kiersten Shaw. With 46 goals in 14 games, Shaw stands third in the national MaxPreps list for winter girls soccer and now has 171 goals in three and a half seasons against high school opposition.

Jackson earns top Gateway girls seed

Jackson's Tigers earned the top seed for the Gateway Conference girls basketball tournament, which tips off Monday with the opening round. Atlantic Coast plays Stanton and Fletcher takes on Sandalwood in a Monday doubleheader at Sandalwood, while Raines also holds a doubleheader with First Coast meeting White and the host Vikings challenging Riverside.

Jackson, Paxon, Ribault and Mandarin received opening-round byes and will enter the competition with Tuesday's quarterfinals.

Last year, Jackson defeated Sandalwood 48-27 in the title game, the Tigers' first Gateway championship in girls hoops since 2010.

Gateway Conference girls basketball tournament schedule

Monday, Jan. 9

First round

At Sandalwood

Atlantic Coast vs. Stanton, 5:30 p.m.

Fletcher at Sandalwood, 7 p.m.

At Raines

First Coast vs. White, 5:30 p.m.

Riverside at Raines, 7 p.m.

Tuesday, Jan. 10

Quarterfinals

At Mandarin

Atlantic Coast-Stanton winner vs. Jackson, 5:30 p.m.

Fletcher-Sandalwood winner vs. Mandarin, 7 p.m.

At Ribault

First Coast-White winner vs. Paxon, 5:30 p.m.

Riverside-Raines winner vs. Ribault, 7 p.m.

Wednesday, Jan. 11

Semifinals

At Paxon

Atlantic Coast-Stanton-Jackson winner vs. Fletcher-Sandalwood-Mandarin winner, 5:30 p.m.

First Coast-White-Paxon winner vs. Riverside-Raines-Ribault winner, 7 p.m.

Friday

At Jackson

Championship, 6 p.m.

Around the area

Potter's House senior guard Cameron Johnson committed to Notre Dame College men's basketball. … Brunswick senior guard Camarion Johnson scored his 1,000th career point for Pirates boys basketball Tuesday against Glynn Academy. … Lakeland football coach Bill Castle, Florida's all-time leader in victories, announced his retirement Tuesday after 47 seasons in command of the Dreadnaughts. Castle, a former Columbia assistant, went 473-98 at Lakeland and surpassed the state record 465 wins of former Lee and Bolles legend Corky Rogers earlier this year on the way to Lakeland's Florida High School Athletic Association Class 4S championship.

Gateway Conference boys soccer tournament schedule

Thursday, Jan. 5

First round

Parker vs. Westside, at Baldwin, 5:30 p.m.

Riverside at Sandalwood, 7:20 p.m.

Fletcher at Baldwin, 7:20 p.m.

First Coast at Wolfson, 7:20 p.m.

Tuesday, Jan. 10

Quarterfinals

Fletcher-Baldwin winner at Mandarin, 7:20 p.m.

First Coast-Wolfson winner at Stanton, 7:20 p.m.

Riverside-Sandalwood winner at Englewood, 7:20 p.m.

Parker-Westside winner at Atlantic Coast, 7:20 p.m.

Wednesday, Jan. 11

At Losco Regional Park

Semifinals

Riverside-Sandalwood-Englewood winner vs. Parker-Westside-Atlantic Coast winner, 5:30 p.m.

Fletcher-Baldwin-Mandarin winner vs. First Coast-Wolfson-Stanton winner, 7:20 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 13

At Losco Regional Park

Championship, 7:20 p.m.

Gateway Conference girls soccer tournament schedule

Thursday, Jan. 5

First round

Englewood vs. Riverside, at Paxon, 5:30 p.m.

First Coast at Wolfson, 5:30 p.m.

Ribault at Sandalwood, 5:30 p.m.

White at Paxon, 7:20 p.m.

Tuesday, Jan. 10

Quarterfinals

Englewood-Riverside winner at Mandarin, 5:30 p.m.

First Coast-Wolfson winner at Stanton, 5:30 p.m.

Ribault-Sandalwood winner vs. Fletcher, at Englewood, 5:30 p.m.

White-Paxon winner at Atlantic Coast, 5:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Jan. 11

At Losco Regional Park

Semifinals

Ribault-Sandalwood-Fletcher winner vs. White-Paxon-Atlantic Coast winner, 5:30 p.m.

First Coast-Wolfson-Stanton winner vs. Englewood-Riverside-Mandarin winner, 7:20 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 13

At Losco Regional Park

Championship, 5:30 p.m.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: First Coast Varsity Weekly: Orel Gray leads University Christian basketball