High school football second-round playoff preview: Northeast Florida Metro regionals

The Florida High School Athletic Association kicks off the second round of 2022 high school football regionals Friday for Jacksonville and Northeast Florida. The Times-Union previews regional semifinals in the Metro brackets.

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Region 1-2M

Riverside (5-6) at Raines (8-2)

6:30 p.m. Friday

Winner plays: Bishop Moore or Bolles.

Road here: Riverside defeated Jackson 20-13; Raines defeated White 34-22.

Glance: An eighth-seeded Generals team that fought back from a six-game losing skid stunned No. 1 Jackson last week to set up this Gateway rematch at the Graveyard. Raines won 34-14 the first time around on Oct. 3 thanks to a stifling defensive effort: Johnathan Fitzgerald and Gregory Townsend returned fumbles for touchdowns, and the Vikings limited Riverside to 40 total yards. Both defenses are among the best in Jacksonville. Kenton Kirkland, Nicholas Kilpatrick and Marcel Bowes make big plays in bunches in the Raines secondary, while JaMari Whitehead commands a tough pass rush. Riverside's strength is its front seven, where Jamal Harvey-Jackson, Zaire Moody and De'Avary Weeks have combined for 23 sacks and 50 tackles for loss. The offensive units aren't flashy but have been picking up enough points to get the job done. Raines' Roman Doles overcame turnovers to rush for two touchdowns in the previous meeting, while Riverside quarterback Devin Herring has emerged as the Generals' primary offensive threat with 657 rushing yards and seven touchdowns.

Bishop Moore (8-3) at Bolles (7-4)

7:30 p.m. Friday

Winner plays: Riverside or Raines.

Road here: Bishop Moore defeated Bishop Kenny 28-7; Bolles defeated Episcopal 38-6.

Glance: It's been a wild ride for the Bulldogs, but they're now on the verge of a regional final if they beat Bishop Moore. The offense has picked up new energy with the return from injury of QB D.J. Moore (66 of 122, 967 yards, 11 TD, 7 INT) and the emergence of sophomore tailback Ty Neal (130 carries, 855 yards) behind a mauling offensive front. That unit is averaging 29.7 points per game. The defense has stepped up, too, led by seniors Kavon Miller (4 INT), Spencer Surface (2 INT, 2 forced fumbles, 3 blocked punts) and wrecking-ball junior linebacker Trent Carter (87 tackles, 5 forced fumbles). For Bishop Moore, senior Riley Willis (118 of 167, 1,570 yards, 17 TD, 4 INT; 610 rushing yards, 9 TD) is the top threat, while power back Heath Hedrick (687 yards) and wingback Gabriel Diaz (351 yards) get plenty of carries as well. The visiting Hornets must steer clear of the turnover bug, after surviving three interceptions against Bishop Kenny last week.

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Region 1-1M

Orlando Christian Prep (6-4) at Trinity Christian (10-0)

7:30 p.m. Friday

Winner plays: Orlando First Academy or University Christian.

Glance: Trinity survived a real scare in last year's Class 2A semi against OCP, then a first-time playoff qualifier, riding a 99-yard Treyaun Webb run and a fourth-quarter fumble recovery by Jovan Nobles to rally to a 29-21 victory. OCP can't be ignored this year, either. Rutgers-committed Vilay Nakkoun is listed at quarterback but can turn up anywhere (708 yards passing, 550 rushing) and junior Demarion Jenkins has 1,218 all-purpose yards as rusher, receiver and returner. But Colin Hurley, who missed about a month near season's end, should be back, and that's excellent news for the Conquerors. Add the LSU-bound sophomore (68 of 126, 1,113 yards, 15 TD, 3 INT) to the dynamic running back pairing of Webb (913 yards, 16 TD) and Darnell Rogers (935 yards, 13 TD) and the Trinity offense is hard for anybody to contain. They've averaged 40.5 points this season, and as a bonus on the defensive side of the ball, Cameron Anderson ranks among Jacksonville's most active linebackers.

Orlando First Academy (8-2) at University Christian (9-1)

7 p.m. Friday

Winner plays: Orlando Christian Prep or Trinity Christian.

Glance: The nine-time champion Fighting Christians got an extra week to rest up for First Academy, and they're bringing a big-time weapon onto the field for what could be his final home game. Senior running back Orel Gray is a yardage-gaining machine this year. He's picked up 1,616 on the ground, 135 through the air and 620 on returns, all while scoring 29 touchdowns and raising his career mark in all-purpose yardage to 5,235. Stacking the line to stop Gray risks disaster at the other end with the sophomore pair of QB Dwayne Stuckey and wideout Jenoa Alford (31 catches, 677 yards, 9 TD). For First Academy, freshman Ryon Smith (627 yards) and junior Adryan Marayne (548 yards) are the top ball carriers, and the Royals' defense is limiting teams to nine points per game. They've forced 28 turnovers, including four picks each by Minor Smith and Trey Newsome. But First Academy hasn't often had to grapple with the speed of UC players like Gray or athletic defenders like Desirrio Riles, Kaydrick Robinson and Dah'kari Gilley.

Clayton Freeman covers high school sports and more for the Florida Times-Union. Follow him on Twitter at @CFreemanJAX, and sign up for the First Coast Varsity newsletter at https://profile.jacksonville.com/newsletters/first-coast-varsity/.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: High school football playoffs 2022: Jacksonville second-round Metro previews