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School Sports

Botched punt, strip-sack put Blue Devils in early ditch in a 37-13 loss

ST AUGUSTINE - The Clay Blue Devils faced an uphill battle from the opening minutes Thursday night, and they could never fully recover, falling 37-13 to the No. 1 Class 4A St. Augustine Yellow …

SJCDS Berrang's first college goal a gamewinner

WINTER PARK — Embry-Riddle (5-0-4, 1-0-2) pushed its season-opening unbeaten streak to nine games as they defeated Rollins, 1-0, on the road Wednesday evening. The lone goal of the game came at …

Keystone Heights running back Trey Simmons broke for about 50 yards for a touchdown run in the Indians' 41-6 loss to Atlantic on Friday.

HS Football Highlights

Week Seven Friday, Oct. 2 Middleburg, Clay, Fleming Island, Orange Park BYE Ed White at Oakleaf: Ed White quarterback King Boylston was a definite impact player in last year's Oakleaf win. The …

The Keystone Heights High football cheerleaders successfully accomplished the Clay Today cheer challenge by having all of its members go airborne at the same time. See Keystone Heights football coverage, page 28.

Golden Eagles run over Orange Park

ORANGE PARK - Fleming Island running back Brady Digman ran for 156 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Golden Eagles to a 49-24 District 4-4A victory over host Orange Park on Friday, Sept. 25. Both …

Fleming Island High golfer Autumn Van Dellen blasts out of a bunker at Fleming Island Golf Club in a dual match with Oakleaf on Thursday, Sept. 17. Fleming Island won the match 203-239, led by senior Shayla Abbas, who shot a one-over-par 37. Oakleaf's Angeline Hawkins was second with a 51. In a dual anther match on Monday, Sept. 17, Fleming Island lost 172-187 to Bartram Trail, with Sophia Moody, ranked ninth in Class 2A, carding a 39 to finish third behind Bartram Trail winner Aspen Bikowski (37). Bikowski is ranked 17th in Class 3A. At Magnolia Point Country Club, Middleburg continued its strong season with a 182-211 win over Clay, led by 42s from Joshua Bork and Logan Wahlstrom. Clay's Jackson Hicks was a top finisher with a 41. At Glen Kernan Golf and Country Club in Jacksonville, St. Johns Country Day School senior William McGready played toe to toe with Bolles' Brendan Walrath but had one less birdie; two, to finish second 34-36 in a dual match won by Bolles with a 148-151 score. St. Johns is ranked 15th in Class 1A.

FIHS Eason blows up Bronco defense

FLEMING ISLAND - Fleming Island High junior hitter Lillie Eason hammered away at the Middleburg High front line defense with 21 kills as the Golden Eagles took a dramatic 3-1 non-district win over …

Clay High wide receiver Daylen Brown looked for an opening for the Blue Devils in their 42-14 win over Fernandina Beach Friday night. Clay traveled to take on unbeaten and Class 4A top-ranked St. Augustine on Thursday, Sept. 24.

OHS Delaune not enough against Bolles

JACKSONVILLE - Oakleaf quarterback Jaidan Delaune ran for two touchdowns and threw for a third, but it was not enough as the visiting Knights were outclassed by Jacksonville Bolles 42-24 on Sept. 18. …

Keystone Heights kicker Ryder Thomas (90) scored the game-winning field goal in overtime to beat previously unbeaten Bell, 16-13.

Thomas boots Keystone Heights to OT upset win

BELL - Keystone Heights kicker Ryder Thomas nailed a 21-yard field goal in overtime to finish off a 16-13 road upset win by the Indians over previously unbeaten Bell High Friday night in front of a …

Fleming Island defender Chase Donaldson got a hand on the Ridgeview punter in the Golden Eagles' 46-0 district win over the Panthers on Friday. Fleming Island hosts Ponte Vedra on Friday, while Ridgeview will be home against Ribault.

FIHS Digman, Longmire run roughshod on Ridgeview

FLEMING ISLAND - Fleming Island’s defense never gave Ridgeview a chance to get comfortable, while a dominant rushing attack allowed the Golden Eagles to control the game from start to finish in a …

Fleming Island High grad Braden Cunningham has been the starting center for Florida Atlantic University, which beat Navy, 38-30, on Sept. 12.

CHS's Goosby now a top-tackling player at Webber

Two Clay County football athletes are getting big reps at their respective colleges as former Fleming Island High offensive lineman Braden Cunningham and former Clay defensive lineman Omar Goosby are …

Fleming Island golfer Mason Blom blasted sand out of the bunker during the Randy Warren Memorial Golf Invitational Monday at the Fleming Island Golf Club. Providence won the team title, while St. Johns Country Day School finished third and Fleming Island wound up fourth.

Spartans finish third at Warren Golf Memorial

FLEMING ISLAND - With all five golfers posting 80s-or-less, St. Johns Country Day School boys golf team edged host Fleming Island at the third annual Randy Warren Memorial Golf Tournament held Monday …

Fleming Island senior swimmer Noah Stotler, the Class 2A 200 free champion last year while at Clay High, was selected to the USA Junior National Team after a stellar summer that included a fifth-place finish in the 200 freestyle at the USA SPEEDO Junior National Championships in California.

Fleming Island swims to close win over Beachside

Clay, Ridgeview and Middleburg almost got through a tri-meet on Thursday, Sept. 10, before rain and lightning forced the schools to reschedule on Sept. 17 at Rolling Hills. Before the storms, (No. 1) …

Fleming Island's top two finishers, Madison Moore and Eve Schlotthauer (in green), ran in identical times of 21:22.2.

Keystone's Tyre, Gray top Indians at Horse Farm XC

OCALA - Melody Tyre and Hunter Gray took top team honors for Keystone Heights High's cross country teams as they competed at the prestigious - and fast - Florida Horse Park Invitational held …

Middleburg High freshman Reese Forkum eyes the ball for a serve in the Broncos' win over Ponte Vedra. The Broncos had a tough 3-2 loss to Trinity Christian Academy and 3-0 loss to Beachside following the Ponte Vedra win. They faced defending state champion Tallahassee Chiles on Sept. 10.

Eagles, Spartans lose season firsts

GREEN COVE SPRINGS - n the story text. You can take out the entire fleming Island opening up until the Middleburg segment and replace with this. GREEN COVE SPRINGS - Fleming Island High's …

Orange Park senior Dakota Blake blasted from the starting blocks in the 50 free against St. Johns Country Day School. Blake finished second to Raiders teammate Zephan Leak.

Orange Park makes a splash against SJCDS

Orange Park makes a splash against SJCDS Orange Park got wins in all but three events to defeat St. Johns Country Day School in swim meet action on Thursday, Sept., at St. Johns. The host Spartans …

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Clay High's offensive line was anchored by senior center Touni Saoud, as the Blue Devils dominated Palatka, 35-0, on Friday. They will host an explosive Orange Park Raiders team on Friday, Sept. 11.

Blue Devils shut out Panthers

PALATKA - The Clay High School Blue Devils rolled past the Palatka Panthers, 35-0, in a lightning-delayed game Friday, Sept. 4, at Bennett-Cooper Field. The dominant shutout triggered a running clock …

The Middleburg AA 8-Unders football cheerleaders got hyped up on the sidelines as the Broncos took on the Fleming Island Dreadnaughts on Saturday. See pics, page 30.

Raiders bounce back to blast Stingrays

ORANGE PARK - Orange Park High football coach Marcus Wimberly emphatically stated that his halftime talk with his team was not as emotional as the talk some of his seniors gave to their Raiders team …

FIHS's Strombeck, MHS's Rosset get top finishes in XC openers

JACKSONVILLE - Fleming Island High cross country runner JP Strombeck and Middleburg's Lauren Rosset posted top area finishes at area cross country season opening races. Jacksonville and Flagler Palm …

New Fleming Island High boys golf coach George Sauer surveys the first hole at the Fleming Island Golf Club. Sauer took over after the Bruce Cloud era included two state titles, a runner-up finish and an individual state championship.

FIHS Moody's lighting-fast start included 5-under 30 for nine holes

FLEMING ISLAND - Fleming Island High sophomore golfer Sophia Moody opened lightning fast (pun intended) in her 2026 season with a record-setting 5-under-par 30 on her first nine-hole outing at …

Clay High defenders Kamari Davis, Howard Hill and Cooper Blackwood combine to take down Matanzas running back Christian Perkins in the first half of the Blue Devils' 29-10 win Friday night. Clay will travel to Palatka on Friday.

CHS Davis bullies Clay to win

GREEN COVE SPRINGS - Clay High running back Kamari Davis ran for 129 yards and one of the Blue Devils’ three rushing touchdowns as host Clay pulled away from Palm Coast Matanzas for a 29-10 victory …

Fleming Island's offensive line, here with Easton Isbell, Joseph Wilkey, Kaleb Thrasher and Noah Moreno taking a break, dominated an Atlantic Coast defensive line that featured two NCAA Division I commits en route to a 33-0 Golden Eagles win.

Longmire powers Eagles to shutout win; 2TDs

JACKSONVILLE - Fleming Island High running back Zion Longmire ran for two touchdowns, and quarterback Greyson Critch passed for two more as the Golden Eagles kicked off their 2026 campaign with a …

MHS LB Hanifen battling from horrific accident

MIDDLEBURG - Former Middleburg High linebacker great Kadin Hanifen, who graduated in 2025, is battling back from a horrific electric scooter accident on Aug. 14 that has left him nearly incapable of …

Fleming Island volleyball smasher Lauren Brosky scissors a shot in between two Bishop Kenny defenders in the Golden Eagles' 3-0 quasi-upset of the Crusaders in the season home opener. The Golden Eagles are now 2-0.

Eagles open home schedule with win over Bishop Kenny

FLEMING ISLAND - After the FHSAA changed the district lineups for area volleyball teams, Fleming Island High coach Amy Yoder made it very clear that Bishop Kenny, a 4A region finalist last year and a …

Oakleaf High's defense, led by Isaiah Pierre-Val (110), and Landon Nichols, corralled Raines quarterback Sa'mon Ellison-Morgan to keep the vaunted Vikings offense at bay for most of the game.

Blue Devils fall to Baker County, 31-19, in home opener

GREEN COVE SPRINGS - The Clay High School Blue Devils dropped their home opener Friday night, falling 31-19 to Baker County High. While the final score favored the visiting Wildcats, it did not tell …

Oakleaf High safety Quassim Swain (7) reaches back to deflect a long pass play attempt by Raines High in the Vikings' 21-7 win over the Knights on Friday.

MHS Craven rumbles in Broncos win

MIDDLEBURG - Middleburg High senior running back Sam Craven, after changing his mind from focusing on his state weightlifting goals, returned to the Broncos football practice field in July with coach …

Clay High blockers Leah Hamilton and Kai Longmire combine forces to thwart a scoring attempt by a Fernandina Beach hitter in the Blue Devils' preseason opener at the Baldwin Preseason Invite. Clay opened its regular season schedule with back-to-back road trips to Baldwin on Aug. 20 and to Keystone Heights on Aug. 25. Clay will be home on Aug. 27 against Baker County.

Area volleyball revs up season

FLEMING ISLAND - With area teams finishing off a week of preseason tournaments around North Florida, regular season games ramp up this week with new districts making county rivalries a bit more …

Orange Park High football cheerleader Makenzie Rocha displayed the Raiders' banner in a weather-shortened preseason game against Tocoi Creek.

High School Sports Week 1

Week One Friday, Aug. 21 Menendez at Middleburg: Middleburg (8-3 in 2025, region quarters) hosts Menendez (3-7), which has had a turbulent coaching scenario the past few years. Menendez lost its …

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