First Coast Varsity Weekly: McDonald's All-American jersey is official for Taliah Scott
For Taliah Scott, the countdown to Houston is on.
Inside the St. Johns Country Day gym to the north of Doctors Lake, the Spartans' senior guard received her McDonald's All-American jersey Wednesday and officially became the fourth player in Northeast Florida girls basketball history — and the first for Clay County — to attain the honor.
"It's something I've been working toward my whole life," she said in an interview with the Times-Union for the Florida High School Athletic Association championships.
Scott will compete along with 23 other elite girls hoops recruits across the United States at the McDonald's All-American Game in Houston on March 28. She joins Palm Bay guard Emma Risch as Florida's representatives.
Northeast Florida's only previous McDonald's All-Americans in girls basketball were Shante Williams (2003), Erica White (2004) and Rennia Davis (2017), who all won state championships at Ribault.
"Making history and being one of only four to do it, it's just so surreal," Scott said. "I've seen the people who have come before me were great players, like Rennia, who's in the WNBA and was a McDonald's All-American, too. It's just showing me how high my ceiling is and where I could possibly go."
Closing her high school career with 2,735 career points, she's set to enter college basketball at Arkansas with the third-highest scoring total on record for Northeast Florida in a Florida High School Athletic Association-affiliated girls program. Only Keystone Heights' Monique Cardenas (2,805 from 1994-98) and Ribault's Williams (2,780 from 1999-2003) have scored more.
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Thrilling rally for B-Town softball
Softball season only started two weeks ago, but Northeast Florida might not see a wilder finish than Thursday night.
In a rematch of the 2022 Gateway Conference championship, Baldwin scored in the bottom of the seventh, eighth and ninth victories for a 9-6 win over Mandarin.
Baldwin trailed by two in the bottom of the seventh when Cali Hartung forced extra innings with a two-run homer, her second of the game. After Mandarin regained the lead in the top of the eighth, eighth-grader Amiyah Jones knotted the scores again with an RBI groundout in the bottom half.
End of the drama? Not yet: With two on board in the bottom of the ninth, Jazmine Ramos-Merced cracked a three-run home run for the winner. The long ball was the second of the game for the freshman infielder, who also doubled twice during the week and holds a 1.638 OPS thus far.
Baldwin is off to a 5-0 start entering Tuesday's game at Hilliard, which was one of only three teams to defeat them in 2022. They remain undefeated against Duval County opponents since the 2021 regional playoffs against Episcopal.
Nine is nice for Broncos' Clarida
Some numbers just don't show up often in box scores.
Like a 9 in the RBI column for softball.
Middleburg sophomore Kerra Clarida accomplished that uncommon feat in Tuesday's 17-0 shutout of 2019 state champion Trinity Christian. She went 3 for 4 with a two-run single in the first inning, a three-run homer in the third and a grand slam in the fourth.
Highlights aren't rare for Clarida, usually the Broncos' cleanup hitter and starter at first base. Last year, she hit .329 with three home runs and 22 RBI during Middleburg's run to the FHSAA Class 5A championship.
Golden Eagle quartet on soccer list
Fleming Island earned four first-team selections to the All-Clay County boys soccer squad after qualifying for the Class 6A playoffs.
Goalkeeper Peyton French, midfielder Nathan Ernst and wingers Matthew Male and William Kennedy all represented the Golden Eagles.
The first team also included Clay defender Nick Sciartelli, Keystone Heights forward Logan Spence, Middleburg midfielder Wade Mathis, Oakleaf attackers Drew Ammon and Akindele May-Parker, Orange Park midfielder David Sanchez and Ridgeview defenders Liam McDonald and Stone Perry.
Second-team picks were Clay's Easton Crain and Lorvens Joassaint; Fleming Island's Matthew Carlton, Taylor Suarez and Daniel Vizcarrondo; Keystone's Carson Eatmon and Skylar Kedgley; Oakleaf's Evan Bauman, Khiende May-Parker and Matthew Weisser; Orange Park's Lennox Dunkley; and Ridgeview's Yahya Adams.
Fleming Island girls soccer recognized
Six Fleming Island starters highlighted the All-Clay County girls soccer list following the Golden Eagles' run to the Region 1-6A final.
Selected to the first team were goalkeeper Macy Opp, defenders Katy Tamares and Natalia Ramdas, midfielders Kaitlyn Scherer and Taylor Tamares and forward Gianna Gardner.
Keystone Heights' 71-goal sophomore striker Kiersten Shaw also earned a first-team choice, with midfielder Faith Espino and forward Kirra Dodson from regional semifinalist Clay, midfielder Ryanne Robinson from Orange Park and defenders Alexis Frenenhagen and Rebecah Sein from Oakleaf.
On the county second team were Erika Martinez (Clay), Kennedy Johnsen (Fleming Island), Ella Hutchins (Keystone Heights), Addison Rogers (Middleburg), Lela Thomas, Baynee Matlock and Natalee Landry (Oakleaf), Grace Farley and Rylynn Robinson (Orange Park) and Ava Jackson, Paige McDonald and Aubrey Reedy (Ridgeview).
Oakleaf's James, Turner lead hoops team
After storming into the final four, Oakleaf seniors Fantasia James and Kaylah Turner wrapped up their high school careers with a county repeat.
Both James, signed with Florida International, and Turner, signed with Alabama A&M, won first-team selections in Clay County's girls basketball squad voted by county coaches.
Class 5A regional finalist Ridgeview also earned two first-team picks in junior forward Nia Blocton and senior guard Paetyn Miller, while Fleming Island's London Jenkins and Keystone Heights' Dezeray Bright completed the list.
Second-teamers were Clay's Teaghan Moses, Fleming Island's Victoria Noble, Keystone Heights' Kiley Channell, Middleburg's Brandy Mann, Oakleaf's Trista Brown and Ridgeview's Nacoya Blocton.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: First Coast Varsity Weekly: Taliah Scott officially McDonald's All-American
