First Coast Varsity Weekly: Trinity's Willie Green, 7-time champion, remembered

Northeast Florida's football world is remembering Trinity Christian outside linebackers coach Willie Green, a Ribault graduate who assisted Trinity Christian's rise to the pinnacle of Florida high school football.

A Marine Corps veteran who became the longest-tenured assistant coach for Conquerors football and an active community voice with a reach beyond Trinity, he died unexpectedly on Sunday at age 56.

Long at the heart of the Trinity program, he had worked on staff for 17 years under nine-time Florida High School Athletic Association champion Verlon Dorminey, including the Conquerors' five state championships in a seven-season span between 2010 and 2016 and two more in 2020 and 2021.

In a statement posted to Trinity Christian's Facebook page, Dorminey said, "Coach Green was a coach that was the epitome of a what all coaches should strive to be. He loved every young man in our program whether you were a 5 star or just learning how to put the gear on. He brought the best out of everyone around him. He was a Marine tough as nails and loved that he was, but he was kind and giving. He was what work ethic is supposed to look like."

Sophomore quarterback Colin Hurley, among multiple current and former Trinity players paying tribute on social media along with many others outside the program, dedicated the coming Conquerors season in his honor and proposed the formation of a Ring of Honor to recognize leaders in Trinity's football tradition.

"He was a great coach & an even better man," Hurley said.

A viewing is scheduled from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church, followed by funeral services at 11 a.m. Monday at the same location.

His loss came only three days after former Hilliard coach Paul Whittenburg, who won 200 games in a career that included 32 seasons at the Nassau County school.

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Bears lacrosse roars in tournament

One year after lifting a state championship, Bartram Trail's girls lacrosse squad knows not to panic under pressure.

"We had a really good start, and even when things got sloppy, we just had to regroup and stay composed," Bears coach Meghan Jackowiak said. "We had good ball movement at the end, playing our game and not worrying about the other team. They played really well as a team and everyone stepped up."

Reigning state girls champion Bartram Trail (10-1) has displayed that explosiveness all year, and it showed again with a second-half surge to down Ponte Vedra 19-12 in the third Rivalry on the River lacrosse tournament at Bolles' Skinner-Barco Stadium.

After Ponte Vedra had narrowed the gap to 9-8 shortly after the break, Ryann Frechette and Adri Ferrara ignited a string of seven unanswered Bears goals to put the game away in the marquee all-local contest of the 20-team annual showcase.

"It's such a great opportunity that they do this, and I think everybody appreciates it so much," said Frechette, one week removed from her selection as USA Lacrosse player of the week.

Maddie Stevens made seven saves, while Ava Allamon, Emily Barnette, Savannah Payne and Kaitlyn Williams each scored twice to join five-goal finishers Frechette and Ferrara. Bartram Trail remains unbeaten against Northeast Florida teams since a 14-13 overtime loss to Ponte Vedra on March 27, 2021.

The Bears' win wasn't the only significant area triumph of the two-day competition. Spencer Surface scored four goals to help the Bolles boys rally for a 13-9 win over Mount Pleasant (S.C.) Lucy Beckham, and junior FOGO Lad Harper dominated the faceoff battle to lead Ponte Vedra's boys past Winter Park, 12-7.

Jimenez shines in All-Star soccer

In four years of high school soccer at Bishop Kenny, Joseph Jimenez only once got to experience a hat trick.

Add one more in the finale.

The Crusaders' senior winger netted three goals in Sunday's Northeast Florida Senior All-Star Classic, the area's traditional postseason soccer exhibition at Patton Park.

"I'm blessed to have the opportunity to play with all these great guys," he said. "I just had a good time."

In a matchup of dark jerseys (players from Mandarin, Bartram Trail, Creekside and Nease) and light jerseys (nearly everybody else), goals from Jimenez helped tip the balance. His final goal, a slalom run through four defenders to cap a 7-5 victory for the light jerseys.

Ponte Vedra's Andres Villasana also curled in a bending free kick, to join goals from the Englewood trio of Zion Wise, Ngun Hu and Juan Jaimes Otalvaro.

That was enough to overcome five goals from Mandarin players, two each from Zack Kertesz and Adis Mesic and one from the Florida Dairy Farmers Mr. Soccer runner-up, Antonio Mancinotti.

Still, the scoreboard wasn't the primary focus for the players in their last competition on a high school soccer field, either in the boys contest or in a girls game with fully-scrambled rosters — placing usual teammates like Bartram Trail state champions Grace Ivey and Olivia Bori, among others, on opposite sides.

"It's really fun to come out to games where you can mess around a little bit, but also take it seriously and try to win," Mesic said.

Lebowitz leads way at FSU Relays

Double duty doesn't deter Ponte Vedra senior Nathan Lebowitz.

He began his weekend by winning the boys discus throw at the Toro Showdown at Tocoi Creek, throwing a season-best 172 feet, 7 3/4 inches for a distance that ranks second in Florida.

Fewer than 24 hours later, Lebowitz was at it again, some three-plus hours to the west at the FSU Relays in Tallahassee. There, he won first place with an attempt of 170 feet, 7 inches, enough for a title at the traditional Pre-State competition just ahead of Middleburg's Wyatt Underwood.

He wasn't the only local making moves on the track.

• Beachside's Alexa Bohanon shattered the meet record in the girls javelin with a throw of 137 feet, 5 inches. She surpassed the previous mark, set by Bolles' Emily Rohan last spring, by 10 feet.

• Nease senior Sasha Gregory picked up not one but two titles at the FSU Relays, winning the girls high jump (5 feet, 3 3/4 inches) and the long jump (19 feet, 1/2 inch).

• Ka'Myya Haywood of Bishop Kenny won the girls 400 in 54.94, and also took second in the 800 behind Montverde Academy's Michelle Smith.

• Mandarin senior Aliyah Robertson launched her best shot put of the season to win first place at 40 feet, 2 3/4 inches.

• Mandarin senior Gavin Nelson ran a Mustangs record 1:53.39 in the boys 800.

• Fleming Island's Mikayla Shavers surpassed her own school record with a triple jump of 38 feet, 8 1/4 inches.

• At the Toro Showdown, two young athletes continued their emergence. Tocoi Creek sophomore Jayden Dailey won the boys 100 (10.67) and 200 (21.85), and Orange Park freshman Nethan Verger captured the boys long jump (22-8.75) and triple jump (45-3.25).

Perfection (and more) for BK's Gilmore

Maybe it's time to designate Bishop Kenny's Kaitlyn Gilmore as the pitcher with the iron arm.

The junior pitched more than 30 innings of softball for the Crusaders — including a perfect game and two one-hitters — in a single week, including four games at the Doc4Life tournament in Ocala.

Monday: She pitched a one-hit shutout, striking out 17 to lead the Crusaders past rival Bolles 4-0.

Friday, early afternoon: Another one-hit shutout, this time against Ocala Forest, with two walks and 15 strikeouts.

Friday, late afternoon: Gilmore struck out 10 batters in six innings during a five-hitter against Ocoee, but Bishop Kenny lost 1-0 on an unearned run.

Saturday, early afternoon: A perfect pitching performance in a 10-0 win over Lake Weir, striking out 13.

Saturday, late afternoon: She pitched 6 2/3 innings, allowing six hits and five runs (one earned) with eight strikeouts in a 5-4 walk-off loss to Miami St. Brendan.

That's a grand total of 32 2/3 innings with six runs (only one earned) and 13 hits allowed, plus 473 pitches thrown for the week. For the season, she ranks fifth in Florida with 149 strikeouts.

Heavy workloads are nothing unusual for Gilmore, who pitched 16 shutout innings in last May's Class 4A regional playoffs before Pensacola West Florida broke through in the 17th.

Saints' pitchers march over foes

Dreaming of batting fireworks on the baseball diamond? Steer clear of Sandalwood pitching.

The Saints have mauled batters mercilessly during the past week, allowing only seven hits in their last four games.

Blake Pacheco hurled a one-hitter in Tuesday's 4-1 win over Ridgeview, Tanner Reed fired a two-hit shutout to halt the seven-game winning streak of Fleming Island 2-0, Cooper Whited pitched six innings of two-hit ball in an 11-1 victory over Tallahassee Lincoln, and Endy Sanchez and Jackson Phillips combined on Monday's two-hit, 10-1 win over Parker.

Sandalwood owns a team WHIP of 0.877 and a team ERA of 1.79, led by Whited at 0.75.

Weirdest softball of the year?

The final score for Monday night softball — Cedar Creek Christian 29, Seacoast Christian 27 — was wild enough. That was just the beginning.

As recorded on both MaxPreps and GameChanger, the teams combined for 56 runs on only seven hits, all by Seacoast. Thus, Cedar Creek Christian racked up 29 runs in a win despite technically being no-hit. It's not clear whether this is a record for most runs for a team on the wrong end of a no-hitter.

The game naturally produced some bizarre stat lines, perhaps none more unusual than the 0-5-0-5 for Trinity Villarreal at second base for Cedar Creek Christian. Her patience at the plate led to two walks and four hit-by-pitches, and since all four of the HBP and one of the walks occurred with bases loaded, she was credited with five RBI — without a single at-bat.

The game was listed as official after six innings, but still included more than 25 stolen bases and a grand total of 453 pitches.

Around the area

Mandarin running back Bryan Johnson Jr. committed to Concord football. … Hilliard's C.J. Hall placed third in voting for Class 1A boys basketball player of the year. Among area coaches, top finishers were Ponte Vedra's Ben Wilson (second in Class 6A), Columbia's Steve Faulkner (third in Class 5A), Ribault's Charles Showers (third in Class 4A) and Providence's Jim Martin (third in Class 2A). … Sebastian May of unbeaten Class 6A champion Viera was named Mr. Soccer, and John Quirk of Clermont East Ridge won boys soccer coach of the year. … Former First Coast linebacker Shaq Wilson is joining the New York Jets' coaching staff as a defensive line assistant. … Fleming Island named Amy Schermerhorn, previously an assistant at Bishop Snyder, as head volleyball coach. … Bartram Trail hired Kirsten Clement, who previously played center for the Bears and for the University of North Florida, as girls basketball coach. … Keystone Heights won the Clay County boys weightlifting championships in both traditional and Olympic competitions. … The FHSAA Foundation is seeking a current high school student to serve on its board of directors. Applications remain open through April 3 on the FHSAA's website.

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: Trinity Christian's Willie Green remembered