JACKSONVILLE - Clay High sophomore athlete Wyatt Rapoza, who was filling in for slightly injured senior quarterback Landon Martin, also executed his linebacker tackling prowess by making big play after big play, orchestrated the Blue Devils to a decisive 30-14 non-district win against Andrew Jackson High Friday.

The win, plus Tuesday night 25-18 victory against Fleming Island in the resumption of a suspended game, put Clay coach Jeff Gierke in solid position for the 8-2 Blue Devils to be included in the upcoming Region 1-4A playoffs. The Blue Devils finished less than two quarters after their game was postponed on Oct.  9 by threatening weather.

"They played hard, they played hard, they played hard," said Gierke jubilantly after a midfield embrace with Jackson's iconic head coach Bobby Ramsay. "They came focused and wanted to finish the job. We got one more game to finish at 8-2 and be the sixth seed in the playoffs. They played their butts off."

About 30 miles north, Oakleaf was taking care of business at First Coast with a 31-8 district win that, according to Oakleaf coach Chris Foy, should keep them in the sixth spot in region 1-5A.

Other scores included a 48-0 season finale win for Ridgeview first year coach Jason Smith against Englewood; Flagler Palm Coast beating Orange Park, 63-18; Middleburg downing Terry Parker, 37-28, Bishop Kenny dropping Fleming Island, 50-28 and Keystone Heights losing, 56-0, to Liberty County in its inaugural Sunshine State Athletic Association playoff game.

Oakleaf was led by senior wide receiver Michael Conner, who scored four touchdowns with 200-plus receiving yards.

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Region outlooks

Region 1-4A: As of Oct. 31: 1. Columbia, 2. St. Augustine, 3. Ed White, 4. Choctawhatchee, 5. Mosley, 6. Rickards (4-5), 7. Lincoln (4-6), 8. Clay (8-2).  Rickards still has to play Leon (7-2) on Nov. 4. Lincoln lost, 50-10, to 3A-Godby last Friday.

Region 1-5A: 1. Mandarin, 2. Buchholz, 3. Nease, 4. Pace, 5. Bartram Trail, 6. Ponte Vedra, 7. Oakleaf, 8. Fletcher. (Pace still has to play Niceville on Nov. 4). Bolles beat Buchholz, 31-28, Creekside beat Ponte Vedra, 49-18, and Fletcher beat Atlantic Coast, 43-0, last Friday.

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For Clay, the top plays came from Wyatt Rapoza, who filled in for Martin and executed a game plan that leaned on fullback Kamari Davis, who attacked the middle of the Blue Devils offensive line.

"We have had to work to correct the offensive line work from the start of the season, because the past two years, the offensive line has struggled," said senior Touni Saoud. "I think this year, we a putting on a show for our running backs. They trust us to get them downfield. We get the gap and they are gone. We see them in the end zone."

Although the first quarter started out a little sloppy by both sides. Some slight rain and a handful of flags negated any momentum. Jackson struck first behind consecutive runs by junior running back Jaysahn Patton. He scampered from two yards out with two minutes in the first quarter after blitzing the Clay defense with a 37-yard sprint to the Blue Devils' 20.

Rapoza took control from there at quarterback, while there were periodic appearances by Martin and wideout Eric Gentry behind center. Rapoza set up his own touchdown from a yard out on the second play of the second quarter. He went left off a bounce for 27-plus. A penalty flag took the ball to the Jackson 26. Three plays later, Rapoza punched it in from one yard. A two-point conversion gave Clay an 8-7 lead.

"I knew I had to step up my preparation knowing what I got to do for the team," Rapoza said. "Landon was talking with me on the sidelines to keep me sharp. He was relaying what he saw on the sideline to help me run the offense."

Jackson persisted and Patton scored a second time to push the score to 14-8 with 8:55 to go before halftime.

From there, Saoud and his compadres along the line started their punishing ground assault to give Davis his first score just before the half. Rapoza sneaked outside of a push-tush formation to spring for two points and a 16-14 lead.

On the ensuing kickoff, Donnie "Donnie on the Spot" Ford came up with the onsides kick from kicker Andrew Riddling. The ball ricocheted off an unsuspecting Jackson front-line player.

"That's two big plays for Donnie in two games," said Gierke, noting Ford's recovery and return of a fumble last week against Middleburg. "He is filling in for Howard Hill who is injured as our middle linebacker and is making big plays."

With Jackson quarterback Hans Price trying to pass for a quick score before halftime, Clay defensive tackle Markeetis Pierce got a sack to end the half.

In the third, an interception off a deflected pass by defensive back Daylen Brown set up a quick Rapoza TD behind Saoud for a 23-14 lead just into the fourth quarter.

In the final five minutes of the fourth quarter, a chaotic chain of events unreeled with Rapoza picking up an apparent fumble on the Clay 5-yard line and returning it 80 yards only to have a facemask flag negate the play. After a lengthy discussion, the fumble was ruled not a fumble and Jackson took possession at the 4-yard line.

On the ensuing play, Clay linebacker Branden Mitchell punched the ball out of Patton's grip and Gentry fell on it in the Clay end zone.

Clay drove the length of the field before Rapoza followed Jay'Shawn McCloud into the end zone to end the scoring at 30-14.

Golden Eagles’ playoff chances take hit at Bishop Kenny

By Mike Zima, Correspondent

JACKSONVILLE - Fleming Island quarterback Greyson Critch threw two touchdown passes to Ryan Siliac, but the Golden Eagles could not overcome a five-touchdown performance by Bishop Kenny’s Caleb Mattison in a 50-28 non-district tilt on Oct. 30.

The team's playoff hopes took another hit when Clay defeated them 25-18 in a game continued Tuesday night after it was suspended on Oct. 9 by threatening weather.

Mattison, a 5-foot-10, 198-pound running back, gained 130 yards on 21 carries. He also caught two passes for 30 yards in three quarters. The senior’s four rushing touchdowns all came on runs of six yards or less. His fifth score came on a 22-yard reception on a wheel route from Crusaders (6-4) quarterback Aiden Smith.

Field position played a huge role on a misty night with a strong northerly wind. The average starting point for Bishop Kenny’s 11 possessions was the 50-yard line, while the Golden Eagles’ average starting position was their own 26-yard line. Beaten down by the wind, Fleming Island punter Noah Graston’s two first-quarter punts traveled only 22 and 23 yards. Bishop Kenny converted the short fields into points with a 48-yard field goal by Chris Leneave and a six-yard run by Mattison.

“They kicked touchbacks. Then we can’t get a first down, now you’re punting into the wind,” said Fleming Island head coach Tom MacPherson. “Obviously that is not how you wanted things to go. Nothing that happened tonight was diagrammed how I wanted it.”

When the wind didn't favor Fleming Island. Crusaders’ three-way star Andrew McCoy, Jr., made sure the hosts never started in a hole by averaging 40 yards on four kickoff returns. Fleming Island’s return team failed to field a third quarter kickoff, and it was recovered by Bishop Kenny’s Jack Sutter at the Golden Eagles’ 18-yard line. From there, Leneave kicked a 33-yard field goal. Six plays after McCoy set the Crusaders’ offense up at the Bishop Kenny 48 with an interception, Mattison bowled through the interior for a two-yard TD and a 47-14 lead.

The Golden Eagles scored twice in the second quarter to draw within 10 points, but each time Bishop Kenny responded with a score of their own to keep the visitors at bay.

The first time, Fleming Island senior Chase Donaldson picked up a rolling kickoff and returned it 91 yards to narrow the deficit, 17-7. Bishop Kenny answered in just three plays with a 47-yard kickoff return by McCoy and a 44-yard pass from T.J. Belton to tight end Will Alesch.

The second time, Golden Eagles starting nose tackle Zion Longmire entered the game at running back and accounted for 40 of 52 yards on a 10-play drive. He finished it by sweeping around right end from a yard out. Again, the Crusaders answered. Taking over with just 2:20 on the first half clock, McCoy gained 32 yards on a jet sweep. Mattison carried on three of the next four plays, finishing the drive with a one-yard run over right tackle to put the Crusaders ahead 31-14 at halftime.

Both touchdown passes from Critch-to-Siliac came on slant patterns in the second half. Siliac covered 32 yards on the first one, while the second was a quick strike from the seven-yard line.

Siliac led all receivers with 87 yards on seven receptions. Critch completed 15 of 22 passes for 151 yards.

Ventura rocks in Broncos' 37-28 win at Terry Parker

Chapman Sellars, Correspondent

JACKSONVILLE - Middleburg High football controlled the clock for much of the game, but Terry Parker kept it interesting. Broncos running back Brayden Ventura finished with 200 yards, as Middleburg beat Terry Parker, 37-28, in a non-district game on Friday.

Middleburg then posted a 29-13 victory Tuesday night against Orange Park in a game that resumed in the second half after the Oct. 9 game was stopped by threatening weather.

The Terry Parker Braves opened the scoring, but Broncos running back Braydon Ventura was too much to handle. He rushed for nearly 200 yards and three touchdowns, picking up third- and fourth-down conversions at critical times.

Middleburg held a two-score lead for the majority of the game, but its defense and special teams units were susceptible to big plays. Terry Parker hit for six plays of more than 30 yards, including a 69-yard kickoff return, a 41-yard touchdown pass and a 62-yard rushing touchdown by running back Tristian Mitchell, who did much of the heavy lifting.

Containing Terry Parker's mobile quarterback Travis Heard was another challenge, as Heard repeatedly escaped the pocket and made big plays. He finished the game with roughly 235 all-purpose yards.

Middleburg's running game was ultimately the deciding factor. It wasn't just the rushing yards, but also the Broncos' advantage in time of possession, which limited the Braves' offensive opportunities.

Middleburg resumed play in the second half Tuesday, down 15-13, but the Broncos rallied to win 29-13.

The win may give the Broncos a fifth region playoff spot in a row.

OPHS Bellamy and Page explosive in Raiders' loss

By Brandon Pajkuric, Correspondent

FLAGLER PALM COAST - Orange Park High’s football road trip to Flagler Palm Coast High School on Friday, Oct. 30, didn’t produce the result the Raiders were looking for, but a pair of seniors provided some fireworks in the 63-18 non-district loss to the Bulldogs. The Raiders had one remaining playing opportunity with a half left of a 15-13 district game with Middleburg that was set to finish on November 3.

Raiders senior cornerback and captain Derek Page III and senior receiver Amare Bellamy delivered two of Orange Park’s biggest plays of the night, turning special-teams opportunities into long touchdowns and providing bright spots for the Raiders on an otherwise difficult night.

The loss dropped Orange Park to 3-6 on the season with one game remaining.

The Bulldogs controlled much of the night and ultimately put 63 points on the scoreboard, but Orange Park’s return game gave them something to worry about.

Page, one of Orange Park’s senior leaders, provided perhaps the Raiders’ most exciting moment of the game when he fielded a kickoff and took it 89 yards for a touchdown.

And he nearly did it a second time.

On another kickoff, Page broke loose for a 40-yard return, putting himself within striking distance of another potential touchdown before the Bulldogs finally brought him down.

Page wasn’t the only Raider who created special-teams magic.

On a Flagler short kickoff attempt, Bellamy fielded the kick at the Orange Park 20-yard line, broke free and raced 80 yards for a touchdown, giving the Raiders their second long special-teams score of the night.

Bellamy wasn’t done. He added his second touchdown of the night on a 49-yard reception, hauling in a go route from junior quarterback Daeveon Williams.

“We’ve been undersized, and everyone runs the ball right at us,” head coach Marcus Wimberly said. “The future’s bright. We just have to get some more girth.”