First Coast Varsity Weekly: Jackson, Raines out of Gateway girls hoops after fight

Duval County Public Schools excluded both reigning champion Jackson and Raines on Monday from the bracket for the annual Gateway Conference girls basketball tournament, following a bench-clearing altercation that cut short the teams' Thursday night regular season game.

The incident eliminates the teams that have combined to win the last three Gateway titles (Raines in 2020 and 2021, Jackson in 2022), a major shake-up for the tournament before the opening tip.

In a statement to the Times-Union, Duval County athletic director Tammie Talley said, "We have high expectations for sportsmanship, and we will assess appropriate consequences when those expectations are not met."

The fight occurred with 2:07 remaining in the fourth quarter and Jackson leading 31-13. Video from the incident shows several players pushing after a foul in the lane, which quickly escalated to punches from members of both squads and dozens of spectators pouring onto the court for several minutes.

Officials halted the game, which did not resume. Talley said both teams remain suspended through the conclusion of an investigation.

In an e-mail to the Times-Union, Florida High School Athletic Association director of athletics Ed Thompson said that the FHSAA is currently investigating but has yet to determine specific action.

For Jackson (13-3) and Raines (7-7), the repercussions for the stretch run could extend beyond the Gateway tournament. Under FHSAA Policy 30.2.1.1, any player ejected would receive a Level 1 suspension of two games, but the association also may assess suspensions at Level 2 (up to 12 games) or Level 3 (one year) for particularly egregious actions.

Jackson entered the week at No. 7 in the FHSAA rankings for Class 4A.

All-First Coast: Swimming carried Ponte Vedra's Annie Wohlgemuth from therapy to titles

All-First Coast: No challenge too great for Ponte Vedra volleyball's Zeta Washington

All-First Coast: Bolles' Jillian Candelino makes it a three-peat in girls cross country

All-First Coast: Confidence helped Bolles' Aidan Ryan shine for boys cross country title

Sandalwood girls storm into semis

The exclusion of Jackson and Raines also scrambled the Gateway bracket, throwing the tournament wide open.

With Raines out, Riverside received a direct bye to Tuesday's quarterfinals against Ribault, while Stanton was reassigned to face Mandarin instead of Jackson after the Blue Devils' opening-round win against Atlantic Coast. Clutch free throws by Charlee Evoniuk and Gabrielle Fajardo helped Stanton pull away from the Stingrays, 48-41.

Sandalwood, the 2022 Gateway runner-up and the last team other than Jackson or Raines to win the tournament, saw its road through the tournament change drastically. The Saints received a second-round bye to meet Stanton or Mandarin.

The Saints left no doubt in their opening game, winning 60-29 against Fletcher in the latest strong start from Jada Jones. The senior center is averaging 15.3 points and 11.5 rebounds on the year.

White to lead Falcons football

Menendez hired Ben White, former defensive coordinator at Oakleaf, as their new football coach Monday. White takes the place of Matt Potak, who stepped down last month after two seasons.

The news was first reported by Michael Lischio of Bunnell radio station WNZF.

White had worked on the Knights' staff for the past six years, with additional stops on the First Coast including Bradford, Clay and Yulee. He has also served as head coach of girls weightlifting at Oakleaf, a program that produced a state record-breaker last year in Tamira Briley.

He becomes a second-generation head coach after his father, Reggie White, coached Bishop Kenny from 1998 to 2001.

A Bishop Kenny graduate, White earned honorable mention All-First Coast recognition at center during his playing career and signed in the 2001 class with Iowa Wesleyan in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.

White takes over at a Menendez program that has won at least five games for 10 consecutive seasons but has endured a coaching whirlwind of late. He becomes the school's sixth head football coach since the end of the 2017 season.

The Falcons' hiring is the second in a week in St. Johns Country Day, after Bartram Trail named Nature Coast Tech's Cory Johns as the successor to original Bears coach Darrell Sutherland.

Menendez will compete this fall in District 4-3S against Clay, Gainesville, Matanzas and reigning district champion St. Augustine.

Clutch Crusaders win nail-biting pair

After more than 300 victories on the sidelines of Bishop Kenny boys basketball, Jerry Buckley has seen plenty of wild finishes.

But for a combination of two wins in a single week, No. 318 and No. 319 have to rank pretty close to the top of the list.

"We've had lots of tight ones over the years, but I don't know if we've ever had two back-to-back that come down to the final second," he said. "It's definitely exciting."

First, on Wednesday night, senior Barrett Baker came through with one of the shots of the year. Trailing by a point with the clock ticking down, Bishop Kenny sprayed the ball around the perimeter rapidly, Diego Dionisio to Jackson Burnett and finally to Baker, who sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer to defeat Westside 46-44.

Then, on Friday night against St. Joseph, Bishop Kenny faced a seven-point hole with three minutes to play. But BK exploited St. Joseph miscues to tie the score, and as the horn sounded, Justin Gist drew a foul while attempting a 3-pointer. Presented with three free throws, Gist missed the first two before hitting the decisive third attempt for the 36-35 Crusader win.

Late-game heroics are becoming a habit for the Crusaders (12-3). In the past two weeks, they've won four games by five or fewer points, including Benedictine (Ga.) 57-52 and Holy Cross (La.) 54-53 at the St. Pius X Christmas Classic in Atlanta.

"Last year we had a very young group, but we've gone from having no returning starters to four, and that's key," Buckley said. "It's a very resilient group."

Super streak for Stallions hoops

Santa Claus has made two lists, and checked them twice, since any Northeast Florida teams last found a way past Providence boys basketball.

The Stallions showed off their explosiveness and extended their perfect mark against Jacksonville-area opponents to 13 months and counting, burying Ponte Vedra beneath a third-quarter Friday night avalanche.

In that eight-minute span, Providence scored 20 points. Ponte Vedra got five. When the dust cleared, Providence had obliterated a halftime deficit and danced away with a 60-45 victory.

The Stallions (13-1) are perfect against Northeast Florida opponents since Ponte Vedra topped them on Dec. 7, 2021. Only Winter Haven, ranked No. 1 in Florida, has beaten them in 2022-23.

Friday night's onslaught was par for the course. University of North Florida-committed senior Mason Lee started it off with a 3-pointer, then linked up repeatedly with junior Jaylen Robinson for a 12-0 run to pull away in a hurry.Providence is averaging 63.5 points per game, including 14.8 from Robinson, 11.2 from Lee and 12.0 from junior guard Chris Arias.

Class 6A state runner-up Ponte Vedra had carried a 30-26 lead into the break Friday, buoyed by composed backcourt leadership from senior Nathan Bunkosky and a dozen points from forward Israel Nuhu.

To keep the run going against area foes, Providence will have to clear several more hurdles over the coming month, including Impact Christian Friday, Orange Park on Jan. 16 and North Florida Educational Institute on Jan. 31.

Mandarin boys eye Gateway three-peat

Could 2023 bring an elusive three-peat in Gateway Conference boys soccer? Mandarin is cruising into the national top 10 entering Duval County's tournament.

The Mustangs turned up the intensity on offense last week against elite opposition, dominating possession for a 4-2 win against formerly-unbeaten Nease and following up by overpowering Tallahassee Chiles 5-0 on Saturday. At 11-0-1, Mandarin ranks seventh in the national MaxPreps rankings and third in Florida, behind only Tampa Jesuit and Miami St. Brendan.

Against Nease, Mandarin commanded the ball for most of the night, pressing Nease back through industrious midfield work from Kristian Palenik and invading along the flanks. There, Jacob Spencer and Antonio Mancinotti linked up down the right and Ben Hipp and David Garcia combined along the left, driving the Panthers ever deeper.

Mancinotti scored twice and Garcia once, while Resad Golic converted a second-half tap-in.

Only one Gateway Conference team, Englewood on Dec. 6, has remained within three goals to date in games against the Mustangs.

The Mustangs are aiming to become the first team to win three consecutive Gateway boys soccer championships since Mandarin earned four straight from 2010-11 through 2013-14.

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: Jackson, Raines out of Gateway girls basketball tournament