Sandy Creek (GA) and Plant (FL) Run Out Of Time, Literally

In a match-up of nationally respected and ranked teams Sandy Creek and Plant left it all on the field until the streetlights came on and momma said come inside. That was the case as Plant (0-0-1) and Sandy Creek (0-0-1) played to a 27-27 tie as the game was called with 1:50 left in the 4th quarter due to a school-night curfew of 11:30pm EDT in the season opener for both teams.

As the drama built there was only one clock on every ones mind, the game clock. With 2:21 left in the fourth quarter Sandy Creek’s Brian Miller blocked a 35-yard field goal attempt by Plant that would have given Plant the lead. Plant forced Sandy Creek to go three-and-out and Sandy Creek punted to the Plant 43 with 1:50 remaining, who knew that would be the last play of the game as the refs called the game and the two teams met at the fifty and shook hands.

Florida vs Georgia High School Football

Sandy Creek started slow committing two turnovers on their first two touches. Quarterback Cole Garvin was intercepted on the games first play and Demarre Kitt muffed a punt moments later. Plant would use the latter turnover to go up 6-0 on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Colby Brown to Clarke Miller ending the short 31-yard drive. Plant would extend their lead to 12-0 on 20-yard touchdown pass from Brown to Austin Hudson capping the 53-yard drive with 5:28 left in the second half.

“I don’t know what it was (the slow start), we just didn’t play good early and after we got down it was a lot better,” Sandy Creek head coach Chip Walker said.

Sandy Creek would wake up on offense as Plant had been dominating the time of possession up to that point. “Our defense had to play too much early, we couldn’t get them off the field early and that hurt us the rest of the night,” Walker said about his defense.

Sandy Creek did not register their first first down of the game until the 5:15 mark of the second quarter, two first downs later junior Delvin Weems raced 42-yards for a touchdown cutting the Plant lead to five, 12-7. Junior Brian Miller intercepted Brown on the next play from scrimmage and Eric Swinney finished it for the Patriots with 5-yard touchdown run with :45 seconds left in the half.

Plant had some threatening kickoff returns late in the first half so Jordan Reed decided to take one all the way back 98 yards for a touchdown to open the third quarter putting Plant back on top 19-13. Sandy Creek’s offense continued to build on their momentum when Delvin Weems broke loose for a 48-yard run and later took it in from five yards out finishing the 75-yard drive putting Sandy Creek ahead 20-19 with 8:06 left in the third.

The Panthers were on the move again but fumbled at the Sandy Creek 12 yard line and it was more Delvin Weems after that. Weems took the hand off, shot through the line, pulled away from a defender, outraced another one to the corner, stiff armed another near the sideline and then turned on the jets to race in for a 71-yard touchdown run and a 27-19 Patriot lead with 6:06 left.

“He played great tonight I mean he really did. He showed up and did some really really good things…heck ain’t no telling how many yards he had with all those big runs,” Walker said about his talented junior running back. Weems finished with 9 totes 182 yards and three touchdowns.

Plant was far from finished as the back and forth affair continued as Plant caused a sack-fumble on Garvin giving them the ball at the Sandy Creek 32. The Panthers would get points off the turnover on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Brown to Fletcher Barnes to pull them with in two points. After a time out Alexander Jackson scored the two-point conversion tying the game at 27 with seven seconds left in the third quarter.

“It was a great football game with two really good football teams going at it. They played good and I thought we played good at times… we just gotta go work and get better,” Walker said.

Even though they didn’t lose they did as Sandy Creek’s 39-game regular season winning streak was snapped by a tie because of the curfew. On the bright side they still have a 40-game unbeaten streak alive. We don’t make this stuff up.

4th Annual GDFL Gridiron Bowl National Championship Set

The Gridiron Developmental Football League will crown a brand new champion when they hold their fourth annual national championship game coined “The Gridiron Bowl IV” September 7th in Memphis, TN. The Oklahoma Thunder (10-0) won the Midwest Division and Impact Conference championships and are making their second championship game appearance in three seasons and are seeking their first ever GDFL National Championship. Oklahoma had their 53-game winning streak snapped in the 2011 national championship game losing to the Chambersburg Cardinals 19-14.

The Thunder enter the game scoring a league-leading best 207 points in the 4th quarter and average 44.0ppg in 2013 scoring 40 or more points in seven games. Quarterback Brandon Noohi has thrown for 2,622 yards 21 touchdowns and only two interceptions. Ex-NFL player and minor league veteran wide receiver Prentiss Elliot has rang up 1,107 yards receiving with 12 touchdowns, returned six punts for touchdowns in only 10 returns and has three kickoff return touchdowns for a total of 21 touchdowns this season. Running back Derrick Hunt leads the Thunder ground attack with 863 yards and 10TDs.

Wilson Youman (16 sacks) and CB Boyd (15 sacks) have combined for 31 sacks this season while Curtis Dawson and Kelvin Cato each has 5 interceptions this season for a Thunder defense that is allowing opponents on average 9.4ppg with five shutouts. Bill Perry has been solid in the kicking game going 24-24 on extra-point attempts.

Thunder and Storm face off for the GDFL National Championship

The Thunder will tackle the Lehigh Valley Storm (8-2). Lehigh is making their first GDFL National Championship game appearance and are the Keystone Division champs and Xtreme Conference champs. When opponents score on Lehigh Valley it usually means they win as has been the case in two-of-three games this season. On the other side the Storm have seven shutouts allowing opponents only 7.6ppg while putting up 26.2ppg in 2013. The most lopsided loss for the Storm was a 42-0 beatdown in the season opener to the 2012 GDFL defending champion Central Penn Piranha while their other loss came to the Lancaster Lightning 28-17.

This will be the first meeting between both teams as members of the GDFL and in recorded minor league football history. Tickets for the game can be purchased directly through the league website here.

Previous GDFL Gridiron Bowl National Champions:
2010 Carolina Warriors
2011 Chambersburg Cardinals
2012 Central Penn Piranha
2013 TBD

Stay tuned for further updates as the Gridiron Bowl IV approaches.

Georgia Prep Sports Academy Post First-Ever Victory

The upstart Georgia Prep Sports Academy football program opened their 2013 season with a 28-7 victory over LaGrange (GA) College JV team on Sunday. Brandon Thomas had several long runs and led the Lions in rushing with 163 yards on 7 carries and a touchdown. Lloyd Howard rushed for 118 yards on 8 carries and a touchdown, he also returned a punt for a touchdown. GPSA rushed for 322 yards in the win. Rico Johnson caught a touchdown pass for GPSA.

LaGrange’s only score came on a GPSA turnover when they returned a fumble for a touchdown in the third quarter.

“We made some mental mistakes and had some turnovers so there are things we need to clean up but it was good to get that first win,” head coach Michael Carson said. “Our defense played lights out especially in the secondary against a heavy passing team. Now it’s onto the next game so we can continue to become more of a cohesive unit.”

GPSA 1-0 in 2013

GPSA (1-0) will travel to Loretto, PA to take on St. Francis JV on Saturday August 31st at 1pm.

Colquitt County Opens Tough Schedule With Victory

Colquitt County’s schedule has been said to be one of the toughest in the state and maybe the nation because it’s stacked and loaded. Outside of the Georgia Region 1-6A slate the non-region slate is just as tough. The Packers took down the first foe, a rarity in recent year despite deep playoff runs, in defeating Grayson 21-6 on Saturday.

The Packers wasted little time in getting out of the gates quickly as Michael Sutton intercepted Hunter Schuessler in the opening moments returning it 28 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 Packers lead 35 seconds into the game. Turnovers would be the theme for Grayson who turned the ball over four times in the game.

“The pick six was huge, it was the play of the game to me,” Colquitt head coach Rush Propst said.

After a Grayson drive ended with a missed field goal, Colquitt drove it 80 yards scoring on a 6-yard touchdown pass from Daniel Mobley to Kiel Pollard capping the 9-play drive and Colquitt County lead 14-0 with 46 seconds left in the first quarter. The teams exchanged punts for most of the second quarter and Colquitt County led 14-0 at the half.

Michael Sutton, who Norcross picked on often in their scrimmage earlier this month, came up with another interception in the third quarter and returned it 17 yards to the Grayson 39. The Pack would cash it in going the rest of the way in 7 plays with Sihiem King scoring on a 2-yard touchdown run giving Colquitt County a commanding 21-0 lead with 6:05 remaining. King led Colquitt County on the ground rushing 23 times for 117 yards and the touchdown.

An inexperienced Grayson team continued to battle using a rushing game led by senior Aares McCall and sophomore Cameryn Brent to put together their most productive drive of the day going 83 yards in 8 plays for their lone touchdown on a AJ Stinson 7-yard touchdown run to pull within 21-6 after a failed extra-point. Brent had the big play on the drive racing 41 yards setting up Stinson’s touchdown. McCall led the Grayson ground attack with 91 yards on 17 carries while Brent finished with 89 yards on 17 carries of the Rams 202 yards on the ground.

Colquitt County used a fierce defensive line to give Grayson fits most of the day. Jamiyus Pittman, Mike Parrish, Quinton Hampton and Alex Williams combined for 12 tackles and 3.5 sacks, reserve Rickey Dunbar had a half-sack also.

“Our coach right here (pointing to defensive line coach Shelton Felton) keeps us together at all times and we spend a lot of quality time together and we all are basically like brothers,” lineman Jamiyus Pittman said. On the win Pittman said, “It’s a big boost for us, they took one from us (referencing the 2011 semifinal lost at Grayson 35-31 in the final moments) and it’s going to help us a lot.”

“They [the defensive line] have chance to be one of the best in the state. I think you win football games with defensive linemen and we got four of the best ones I’ve ever seen put on the field collectively across the front,” head coach Rush Propst said.

The Packers offensive struggled at times putting up only 261 yards of total offense. Daniel Mobley was 14-27 173 yards 1TD 2INT conducting an offense with only 3 returning starters so the defense will be called upon to carry the Packers in the meantime.

“We are going to have to win with our defense, offensively we just not there yet, it’s going to take some time,” Propst said.

The road doesn’t get any easier for Colquitt County as they travel to national powerhouse and former coaching spot of Propst, Hoover (AL), before coming home to host Lovejoy and Carver-Columbus before starting region play.

“It’s gonna be tough, they [Hoover] have one of the best programs in the country and then we have Lovejoy so ain’t no easy for us now,” Propst concluded.

North Gwinnett Soundly Defeats Camden County To Open Season

North Gwinnett and Camden County were squaring off for the second time in history and the Bulldogs evened the all-time series 1-1 after a commanding 34-14 victory over the Wildcats in the season opener. Camden County was opening a new era under first-year head coach Welton Coffey who lead Raines (FL) to a state title in 1997 as the head sideline boss and spent time on the staff at Valdosta prior to coming to Camden County in 2006.

The Wildcats broke out in front on a 37-yard touchdown run by Antiono Wimbush for a 7-0 lead capping a 64-yard drive set up by an interception on North Gwinnett’s second play. North Gwinnett would come right down the field led by first-time starting senior quarterback Hayden Sphire finishing a 58-yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Nate Brown to even the game at 7-7.

“I was really pleased with the way Hayden [Sphire] bounced back from [the early interception], they did a great job in their coverage, they disguised they jumped into underneath man coverage at the last second, they baited him into a throw and he put it right behind him and went right back out and ran the offense,” head coach Bob Sphire said.

CJ Leggett then capped a 47-yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown run to give North Gwinnett a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter. Leggett finished with 140 yards rushing and a touchdown on 12 totes for a 6.0 yard average leading the Bulldogs ground attack that put up 189 yards.

Camden County would hang momentarily as sophomore Harrison Poole ripped off a 60-yard touchdown 19 seconds later to knot it at 14-all with 11:06 left in the second quarter. Poole lead Camden County with 136 yards on 12 carries and the touchdown. That would be it for the boys from Kingsland as North Gwinnett would seize control the rest of the way.

“The game is four quarters and you can’t let up at any time and you got to play with a certain level of emotion and excitement throughout the entire game especially on the defensive side of the ball,” Camden head coach Welton Coffey stated.

Sphire hit Caleb Scott on a 21-yard touchdown pass making it 21-14 and Wesley Edwards raced 36 yards to set up an 18-yard field goal by Michel D’Angola as the half ended giving North Gwinnett a 24-14 lead at the break.

North Gwinnett continued to pour it on scoring on their opening two possession of the third quarter on a 40-yard D’Angola field goal and a 10-yard touchdown pass from Spire to Brown for the 34-14 margin that would hold until the final horn. Hayden Sphire, the son of head coach Bob Sphire, finished 15-27 206 yards 3TD 2INT while Brown led a deadly corp of receivers with 4 receptions 74 yards 2TDs. Despite two early turnovers and a third ending a drive inside the twenty in the third quarter, North Gwinnett racked up 395 yards of offense.

“I’m sure we can find some things on the video that we can do a whole lot better,” Bob Sphire said afterwards. “I’m pleased in three areas. Number one our kicking game was outstanding, anytime your good in the kicking game it gives you a chance to set the table. Number two I was really pleased with the new offensive line and the cohesiveness they showed and number three I thought our defense executed and was patient and adjusted and really played sound assignment football, you play well in those areas and you got a chance to have a pretty good night.”

For Camden County it’s back to the drawing board after suffering their worst margin of defeat loss since 2006 in a second round playoff lost to Warner Robins. The Wildcats were 1-6 passing for one yard and had 248 total yards of offense but were hit with 11 penalties for 113 yards.

“We didn’t execute well and I though we were undisciplined. We had a number of flags and that’s not characteristic of us. I don’t squabble about referees or anything like that we just didn’t get it done,” Coffey said. “You learn from this, you get out on the film you get out there and work, let them see it and you go on from there. We’ve got to get these young inexperienced guys experience and ready to go.”

For the Wildcats that will come next Friday against Baker County (FL) at home while North Gwinnett will travel to Grayson.

Grady Tops Mays In Scrimmage

The calendar read August, the weather made it feel like late October and the schedule said it was a scrimmage but the crowd and atmosphere was of a late October regular season contest as Grady hosted Mays at Grady Stadium in a scrimmage between Class 5A and 4A teams.

On their second possession Grady went 59 yards scoring on a 2-yard touchdown run by Hakeem Todd for a 7-0 lead. Mays would answer right back, getting a 23-yard run from DJ Langford setting up a 50-yard touchdown pass from Ayiende Russell to Tyshawn Brown two plays later cutting the Grady lead to one, 7-6 in the first.

Grady came right back down the field behind solid quarterback play from Isiah Jenkins and rushing game behind Todd and Martin Fleming. The Grey Knights would cap the 70-yard drive on a Todd 13-yard touchdown run and led 14-6.

Todd, who also plays linebacker, would find the end zone again in the third quarter on a 7-yard touchdown run and Grady would add a junior varsity touchdown in the fourth quarter for the final 27-6 margin.

“Hakeem (Todd) is a special player, a double threat guy on both sides of the football and we expect big things from him this year and moving Isiah (Jenkins) to quarterback gets both of them on the field at the same time and that’s plus for us,” Grady head coach Ronnie Millen said afterwards

Millen has had only one losing season entering his 13th year at Grady and is one win way from his 100th career victory. Although this game didn’t count in the standings, he’ll get that shot in the season opener against Decatur, he and his staff liked what they saw from their team in the scrimmage.

“I saw some good things, our offensive line stepped up tonight we were able to control the ball and play Grady Football. We had some mental breakdowns but for a scrimmage I think they did well. We have some things we still need to iron out but overall I’m pleased with the effort,” Millen said.

High School Football

Under the direction of former Duluth and ML King head coach Corey Jarvis, Mays is loaded with underclassmen talent that lacks in experience. Jarvis is 61-29 overall including 12-18 in three seasons at Duluth and is entering in his 9th year as a head coach and first at Mays.

Outside of their big-play touchdown, Mays struggled to move the ball and played close to the vest on offense. The Raiders punted twice, turned the ball over on downs twice, threw an interception and had two drives end at the end of the second and third quarters in varsity action. Defensively Mays forced Grady to punt three times and Jerome Smith intercepted a pass in the end zone to halt another productive Grady drive in varsity action.

“We’ve got some guys that just need to play. We are loaded with guys who haven’t played much and we’ll get better as the season goes,” Jarvis said.

Mays graduated 32 players from last season’s squad that went 5-5 playing in one of the toughest regions in Georgia, Region 6-5A with the likes of Stephenson, ML King, Tucker, Southwest Dekalb and improving Miller Grove and Arabia Mountian.

High School Football Scrimmage Action

The High School Football season is upon us even if it is more than a week away from officially starting around the region, a region where the weather in August has been historically kind. Before all the “classic” game action and bevy of TV games hits us in a week or so, reps and experience against live competition is underway via scrimmage action. It’s that time when booster clubs slowly begin to ramp it up because they support a team/school/program that may have a shot at winning a state title.

Here are some results and notes from scrimmages held on Friday.

High School Football

North Gwinnett 9 Stephenson 7: Stephenson’s defense was swarming to the ball most of the night but the North Gwinnett defense struck first scoring on a short fumble return for a touchdown when Bobby Young stripped the running back and scored.

Lovejoy 27 Peachtree Ridge 21: Lovejoy amassed 330 yards of offense in only two quarters. Junior Wide Receiver Preston Williams caught two touchdowns. Williams missed all of last season with a hip injury after having a productive summer on the 7-on-7 circuits.

Tucker 24 Marist 3: Dominic Sanders scored three touchdowns for Tucker including 71-yard TD run in the first quarter.

Byrnes (SC) 42 Erwin (NC) 26: Byrnes’ Shaedon Meadors had a 42yd touchdown reception and running back Isaiah Hill scored a 52-yard touchdown on a screen play.

Buford 47 Berkmar 0: Buford did well in the tune up and Berkmar will take morale victories and seek to improve as they play in the rugged Region 8-6A in Georgia. Buford plays in Class 3A.

Camden County 40 Milton 7: Harrison Poole scored touchdowns of 42 and 80 yards, he is a sophomore. Junior Antonio Wimbush scored on an 80-yard touchdown and recorded a sack. Ryan Johnson returned a punt 53-yards for a touchdown and Wimbush had a punt return over 30-odd yards as well. Camden threw the ball more than a couple of times meaning, it’s in their playbook, they’ll decide when to pull it out. Treyvon Paulk of Milton may have went over 70 yards on the ground but that is not official.

Gainesville (GA) 28 Grayson (GA) 27: Highly-touted and Clemson commit QB Deshaun Watson passed for 132 yards and 2 touchdowns. Aares McCall led Grayson on the ground with over 100 yards. Grayson scored a defensive touchdown in the game.

Valdosta 7 Ware County 6: Quarterback? Valdosta trailed 6-0 in the middle of the 4th quarter to the Georgia 2012 5A runner-up Ware County Gators before ending a drive, led by quarterback Jacob McMillan, in the end zone. Valdosta is searching for a quarterback since starter Cole Massengill went down with a season-ending injury in practice earlier this month.

Cedar Shoals 35 Oconee County 21: Senior QB Darius Jordan threw 4 TD passes for Cedar Shoals. Breon Mitchell had 2 scores, Tyler Hitchcock, Sam Hemphill and Ryan Huff also scored touchdowns.

Other scores of interest:
Mauldin (SC) 21 Greenville (SC) 14
Coffee County (GA) 21 Cook (GA) 7
Lowndes 41 Thomasville 0
Jacksonville (FL) 12 Brunswick (GA) 0
Walton 33 South Cobb 7
Hart County 44 Habersham Central 17
Gaffney (SC) 36 Woodruff (SC) 35
Mill Creek 20 Parkview 13
Hiram 26 Harrison 21
B.T. Washington (GA) 41 Douglass (GA) 0

Carson Leading Upstart Georgia Prep Sports Academy Football

Football and helping young men is in Micheal Carson’s blood. The Buford (GA) and Alabama State graduate compiled a 27-19 record in four years as head coach at Avondale (GA) and Martin Luther King (GA), led Avondale to the playoffs for the first time in 20 years in 2009, won two region titles at MLK, won various Coach of the Year honors and sent over 40 players on to the collegiate level in his last two years at MLK. Since resigning from MLK prior to the 2012 season, he got right to work on his next move. He decided to remain in the business of getting young men into college by way of the pigskin only now at the prep school level. Carson is the founder and first-ever football coach in the history of Georgia Prep Sports Academy football program, a prep school located in Atlanta, GA.

“I just wanted to continue to do what I’ve been doing for the past 17 years and that is impacting young kids lives,” Carson stated. “I’m strictly in this for the kids, it’s my passion. I love the game of football”

There will be no home stadium, tailgating or festive marching band for these Lions, they will play 11 road games in their inaugural season in 2013 with mainly Sunday and Monday game dates. The season opener against LaGrange (GA) College JV is Sunday August 25th. Six of the eleven opponents will be against JV teams from LaGrange College, St. Francis (PA), Point University (GA), Carson Newman (TN), Paine (GA) College and Maryville (TN) College. Also on the schedule is Gary Military Prep, Columbus State (GA) Club, Fort Benning (GA) Club, Greenville (SC) Tech Prep and Fork Union (VA) Military.

“We are trying to get kids exposed through this program, get them where they need to be academically and get them signed to go off to school somewhere and if we are able to do that it’s going to stand out more than winning games. Were just trying to prepare these guys for life,” Carson said about playing 11 road games this year.

Michael Carson addresses his team after a recent practice

Carson recruited all 38 players on the roster so far and oversaw an upbeat and disciplined practice in the shadow of downtown Atlanta at Cheney Park with the same focus, teaching and fire that yielded so much success at his previous stops. He sternly interrupted practice after a rep to get a point across to his players. Pointing to the top of the hill at the film guy to remind them everything they do is on film and when schools come ask about them and want to see their film it’s not going to lie.

GPSA has some recognizable names on the roster this season from around the recruiting world headlined by former Swainsboro (GA) wide receiver Rico Johnson. Johnson did not have two online classes approved by the NCAA preventing him from attending Georgia leaving him with two options, junior college or prep school.

Rico Johnson will be a big part of GPSA’s offense this season.

“Coach Carson reached out to me and told me about the program, I went and checked it out online, discussed it with my mother and let my high school guidance counselors know. Once we saw it was approved by the NCAA I came up for a visit, I liked what I saw and made my commitment and came on in,” Johnson said. “I approach this situation as a leader, guys look up to me since I was going to Georgia, highly recruited and all that so I try to do the right thing and become a better leader, win ballgames for coach and get back to where I need to be,” Johnson responded on how he’s using this experience.

Oshay Carter threw for 1,341 yards and 22TD last season at Trinity Christian (FL) and will be looking to hold down the quarterback position. Safety Mike Parker will be the leader in the secondary. Parker held offers from several D1 schools and was a 3-star recruit coming out of Kettle Run (VA) and is considering Miami after GPSA. Lloyd Howard rushed for 1,236 yards and 8TD last season at Palm Beach Central (FL) leading them to their first ever district title and regional semifinals appearance, will see plenty of action out of the backfield, he had committed to Florida Atlantic in high school.

As practice came to an end Carson continued to stress the more important things, academics and manhood. “You have got to get the academic piece together, without that you have no options. You gotta have a mission and purpose for being here. You are not in high school anymore and we are going to treat you like the young men that you are and challenge you to get better,” as he addressed the group that had his undivided attention. He ended practice outlining the study hall and tutoring schedule for the next day, loaded the squad back on the bus for the ride back to campus and is one day closer to Georgia Prep Sports Academy’s first-ever football game.

“This is just my way of giving back to these kids. We have to do a better job of giving them the understanding that education has to be first and foremost. I’m just excited about it and I love doing it. We want to prepare these guys for life and we want all of them to be successful,” Carson stated.

North Central Florida Football Media Day This Weekend

The 4th Annual North Central Florida Football Media Day will be held this weekend. 15 teams-only four made the playoffs, from around the area will converge on the Ocala Hilton hotel beginning Saturday morning at 10am continuing until 4pm. Full pad practice will begin on August 5th for most teams. Below is the schedule for Saturday with the team results from 2012 noted. All times are eastern.

10am- Trinity Catholic (8-5; lost in 3A regional finals), Vanguard (6-6; lost in 6A regional semifinal)s and Chiefland (5-5; did not make playoffs)
11am- Belleview (3-7; did not make playoffs) and Hawthorne (0-10; did not make playoffs)
12pm- Palatka (4-6; did not make playoffs), Lake Weir (3-7; did not make playoffs), Eastside-Gainesville (6-6; lost in regional semifinals)
1pm- West Port (5-5; did not make playoffs), Ocala Christian Academy (3-6; did not make playoffs), St. Francis (3-7; did not make playoffs)
2pm- Forest(3-7 did not make playoffs), Dunnellon (5-5; did not make playoffs) and North Marion (5-6; lost in 5A regional quarterfinals)
3pm- Santa Fe (1-9; did not make playoffs)

Currently there are no players that are being heavily followed or ranked highly by major recruiting services however North Marion’s running back James Allen and defensive lineman D “Money” Jackson are drawing interest from several ACC and SEC programs and transfer quarterback Jake Roddenberry has a chance to up his recruiting. Natrell Jamerson of Vanguard is prime for a breakout year and could draw the eye of some later in the season with a strong effort. West Port offensive lineman Christopher Hudson and Delroy Baker are on some recruiting services radar with favorable marks and will anchor the West Port line this season. They are committed to Alabama-Birmingham and Indiana respectively. Trinity Catholic tight end Max Linder is going to Middle Tennessee State and all-purpose Dominique Brown is drawing more interest. Palatka defensive back Ka’Tavis Jackson has some interest as well with some college programs. Keiwan Jones of Dunnellon has interest from mid-level programs at the defensive tackle spot.