First Coast Varsity Weekly: Wild finishes, super stats in St. Johns County football week

Time to take a breath.

For one week, at least, St. Johns County became the wildest place in Florida for high school football.

The highlights were many and the quiet moments were few across the county throughout an eventful week on the gridiron, a schedule scrambled by Hurricane Ian and punctuated by fantastic finishes and wacky stats.

Just how wild? Here's a sampling:

• Ponte Vedra lost one buzzer-beater and won another just 96 hours apart. Last Monday, Flagler Palm Coast edged the Sharks 20-17 on Chase Magee's 23-yard field goal as time expired, but rallied from 14 points down Friday to beat Bishop Kenny 32-31 on Ben Burk's deflected TD pass to Cole Madson and Wyatt Rogers' two-point conversion with 2.3 seconds remaining.

• In a 72-hour span, Nease quarterback Marcus Stokes passed for 392 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 168 yards with three more trips to the end zone — and went 0-2. The Panthers couldn't put the brakes on opponents, losing 51-31 to Sandalwood on Tuesday and 58-41 to St. Augustine on Friday.

• Creekside won one of the most chaotic games of 2022, edging Oakleaf 49-48 on Wilson Edwards' touchdown pass to Ashton Reynolds with eight seconds remaining and surviving 566 yards of total offense by the Clay County school.

• St. Augustine collected huge offensive numbers in its 58-41 win against Nease. Devonte Lyons rushed for three touchdowns and sophomore quarterback Locklan Hewlett passed for 238 yards and five touchdowns as the teams combined to rack up more than 1,000 yards...

• ...but Hewlett somehow didn't even lead St. Johns County sophomores in passing TDs for the week. Beachside sophomore quarterback Brick Balcita needed only one half to pass for six touchdowns in a 65-6 win over Impact Christian, the Barracudas' last game at their temporary home at Bartram Trail.

• Tocoi Creek topped Menendez 20-6 for the Toros' first-ever victory against a county opponent not in its debut season. Running back Wendell Dean is already up to 12 rushing touchdowns this year.

• At the opposite end of the stat spectrum, Bartram Trail limited Fleming Island to 164 yards and zero points in a 17-0 shutout.

• Then, there's St. Joseph. Wins have been hard to come by in recent years, but on Friday, Duke Ridley passed for three touchdowns and rushed for another to lead St. Joseph over Gainesville St. Francis, 30-0. The Flashes earned their first shutout victory since topping Cocoa Beach on Aug. 30, 2019.

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Mustangs reign in Gateway cross country

The Gateway Conference's cross country trophy is staying in orange and green hands for another year.

Mandarin repeated its team championships in both boys and girls cross country, running away with the Duval County public school championships at New World Sports Complex near Cecil Field. The Gateway titles are the third in a row for the Mandarin boys and fifth straight for the Mandarin girls.

Mustangs senior Gavin Nelson won his second consecutive boys individual title ahead of Wolfson's Andrew Marello, while four other Mandarin runners — Dominic Geraci, Ethan Sharpe, Casey King and Moses Jaffa — placed in the top seven.

Nelson's winning time of 16:09 was the fastest in a Gateway meet since fellow Mustang Eduardo Garcia ran 15:51 to win the 2010 championship at Florida State College at Jacksonville-North Campus. He's also the first Mustang since Garcia to go back-to-back in the boys meet.

Fletcher finished second in the boys race with 86 points, followed by Wolfson at 89.

In the girls race, depth lifted Mandarin to first place with 28 points, ahead of Wolfson (44) and Fletcher (82). Mandarin's Sarah Conover (second), Drew Dillion (third), Ashlin Price (fifth) and Arianna Vializ (seventh) crossed in the top 10.

Wolfson sophomore Addison Sharp broke clear to win the individual girls championship in 20:15, a winning margin of more than 12 seconds.

Stanton, Fletcher win Gateway swimming

It's taken more than two decades.

But Stanton is back at the top of the boys swimming scene for Duval County public schools, after winning Saturday's Gateway Conference championship meet at Cecil Field.

The Blue Devils, who finished with 397 points, weren't assured of their title until the concluding 400-yard free relay. Stanton took first place in 3:22.63, while chief competitor Fletcher failed to score. Fletcher finished second in the team standings with 360 points, and Wolfson came in third with 347.

In his final Gateway meet, Stanton senior Mehdi Elaoufir left his mark on the championship with dominant victories. He led teammates Mitchell Chao and Matthew Chao in the 200-yard individual medley at 1:52.33, with no swimmers from other schools within 22 seconds. Elaoufir also raced away with the 100 butterfly in 50.53, a margin of more than six seconds.

Fletcher took first place in the girls standings with 505.5 points, followed by Wolfson (397) and Stanton (351). Ryland Zuniga won the girls 200-yard individual medley (2:12.12) and 100 freestyle (54.47), and Kate Cagle placed first for the Senators in an unusually tight 200 free. Only three-hundredths of a second separated Cagle (2:01.89), Fletcher teammate Sophie Morton and Paxon's Brinkley Watson. 

Other feats from the meet:

• Jayla Covington brought home a pair of wins for Atlantic Coast capturing the girls 50 free in 24.20 and the 100 backstroke in 1:01.63.

• Wolfson also had a double event victor in senior Nic Parnell, who won the boys 50 free in 22.52 and the 100 breaststroke in 1:00.87.

• For Paxon, Cameron Watson continued the Golden Eagles' strong tradition in the pool. He won the boys 200 free in 1:48.90, with a gap of more than three and a quarter seconds, and the 100 back in 55.45.

• The long-term picture looks strong for Stanton's girls team, which produced a pair of freshman champions. Gabriella Marim won the 100 breast in 1:09.47, and Nicole Avila placed first in the 100 fly in 58.87.

• Meanwhile, on the diving board, Sandalwood's Tayler Graham came out on top of a tight girls competition. The Saints' senior scored 429.15 points, followed by state champion Rylie Darkatsh of Stanton at 380.75. Fletcher's Travis Hardy earned the boys diving title.

Sharks chomp FSU Invitational title

Ponte Vedra topped the girls podium as Tallahassee provided a sneak peek of next month's cross country scene with the FSU Invitational, the annual Pre-State meet held at the same Apalachee Regional Park course set for next month's FHSAA championships.

The Sharks girls placed first with 177 points in the elite race, ahead of Niceville and Tallahassee Maclay. Lindy White placed ninth in 18:19.90, while Daisy Ross and Sofia Bushkell also broke 18:50 and Aide Trejo and Hilaree Vega came in under 20 minutes.

Episcopal (eighth), Bishop Kenny (ninth), Fleming Island (15th), St. Augustine (16th) and Creekside (24th) also raced among the state's best.

In the boys elite race, Creekside took second with 147 points in the team standings behind Belen Jesuit. Leading the Knights were Tanner Simonds (15:40), Jack Dravo (15:44), Jacob Harvey (15:55), Hudson Finocchio (15:58) and Mac Williams (16:07).

Fleming Island's Graham Myers was the fastest-ranking local in sixth place at 15:17.80, followed by Nease's Matt Ryan in eighth with a personal record-shattering 15:23.

Local boys team finishers were Fleming Island (seventh), Ponte Vedra (10th), Nease (14th) and Bishop Kenny (24th).

Bolles makes moves in New York

The Big Apple wasn't too big for Bolles cross country.

The Bulldogs girls finished fifth and the boys were seventh in the Eastern States Championship at the Manhattan Invitational, held on a 2.5-mile course at Van Cortlandt Park in The Bronx.

Just 24 hours after being named homecoming queen during Bolles' football rout of Miami Gardens TRU Prep Academy, senior Jillian Candelino came in fourth overall in the girls race with a time of 14:48.4. Elizabeth Csikai and Ella Mickler also placed under 16 minutes.

Aidan Ryan ran 13:12.3 for 29th place in the boys race, followed by Andrew McGraw (13:23.5) in 48th and Christopher Joost (13:33.5) in 63rd. Bolles also won both its boys and girls junior varsity races.

Bartram Trail placed 23rd in the boys standings for the Eastern States Championship, headed by Braden Motycka in 13:49.4.

Back in Jacksonville, Bolles also enjoyed cross country success at the New World Fall Spectacular at Cecil Field, where eighth-grader Kavya Patel edged Oakleaf's Sierra Barrera in 19:20 for girls individual honors. Both boys and girls team titles at the meet went to Flagler Palm Coast.

Hoops field set for November

The field for Jacksonville's largest high school girls basketball tournament is already taking shape.

More than 75 games are scheduled for the Insider Exposure Thanksgiving Classic, set for Nov. 21-23 at Bolles and San Jose Prep.

Local teams set to compete include Bishop Kenny, Bolles, Columbia, Jackson, Mandarin, Menendez, Nease, North Florida Educational Institute, Oakleaf, Orange Park, Parker, Paxon, Ponte Vedra, Ribault, San Jose Prep, Sandalwood and St. Johns Country Day.

Also expected are 2022 FHSAA final four qualifiers American Heritage, Cardinal Mooney, Faith Christian, Lake Highland Prep, St. Thomas Aquinas, Vero Beach and Westminster Academy, as well as Montverde Academy and numerous established power programs from both inside and outside the Southeast.

Knights' Robinson commits to UCLA

Eight months after making history in high school soccer on the First Coast, Creekside's Avery Robinson is setting her sights on the Pacific Coast.

The junior midfielder, scorer of two goals in Creekside's Florida High School Athletic Association Class 7A girls soccer championship, committed to continue her college soccer career at UCLA.

Robinson scored 13 goals and six assists last season for the Knights, despite missing close to two months of action due to injuries.

Her older sister, Brenna Robinson, won the Florida Dairy Farmers Miss Soccer award and is currently in her freshman year at the University of North Florida.

Robinson joins a short list of Jacksonville-area players to sign in the soccer-rich Pac-12, although she's not the only one to take the field in Los Angeles: Former Fleming Island striker Sade Adamolekun is currently playing her senior season at Southern California.

Around the area

Ponte Vedra senior linebacker Trooper Price committed to Colgate football. ... Bishop Kenny's Maria Candelora committed to Siena for women's swimming. ... Creekside junior Natalie Charyak committed to Kennesaw State women's lacrosse. ... Former St. Johns Country Day midfielder Carson Pickett was called up Saturday to the U.S. women's national team in soccer. ... Ponte Vedra finished in fourth place at the GEICO Invitational in Nebraska, going 0-2 against a selection of the nation's best volleyball squads. Undefeated Cathedral Catholic of California swept Ponte Vedra 3-0 in Friday's semifinal, opening a tournament broadcast by ESPNU, and in the third-place game, Ponte Vedra lost in four sets to Skyview of Idaho. ... Fernandina Beach's girls cross country team set a school record for fastest average 5K time, running 21:37 at the New World Fall Spectacular and placing third at the meet. ... Fleming Island's Andrew Boyer was the fastest freshman of the FSU Invitational cross country meet in Tallahassee, running 16:46. ... Middleburg gained 571 yards rushing in Friday's 41-12 win over Clay: 239 from T.J. Lane, 134 from Jaydan Jenkins, 117 from Mike Mitchell and 81 from Terrance Thomas. ... High school soccer begins practice on 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: Creekside, Ponte Vedra headline football week