ST. AUGUSTINE - Clay High defensive back and kick returner Jarvis Lee gave Clay a lead with two early touchdowns and the visiting Blue Devils hung on to edge St. Augustine Pedro Menendez 21-16 in a key District 4-5A tilt on October 15.

Clay, who will face the vastly improved Middleburg High Broncos (4-3) with a 36-27 loss to Gainesville on Friday, improves to 5-2 overall, 3-0 in district play, with their lone remaining district game coming at North Marion on October 29. The North Marion game will be for the district championship, a second in a row for Kennard who finished the regular season 9-1 last year. Middleburg overcomes an 0-10 finish last year but with a new head coach, former Fleming Island High offensive coach Ryan Wolfe, who coached with Kennard at Fleming Island High School.e loss was the first in 4-5A play for Menendez, which falls to 1-1 in the district, 3-4 overall.

Despite the significance of the win, head coach Kyle Kennard’s enthusiasm was tempered by his frustration with five Blue Devils turnovers.

“I am happy, but as we get more into the season or into the playoffs, we cannot do that [lose the turnover battle 5-0],” said Kennard. “If we execute like we should, this game is not close.”

Lee, who starts at cornerback on the Clay defense and performs spot duty as a receiver on offense, opened the scoring when he hauled in a perfectly thrown bomb from Billy Mobley for 59 yards with 0:15 remaining in the first quarter. The junior ran past Falcons cornerback Tomas Jones on a go route up the left sideline. In the second quarter, Lee fielded a punt in the middle of the field, took started forward, cut left and followed several blockers down the sideline, and then cut back inside to evade Menendez punter Bryce Addison. The 36 yard return gave Clay a 14-0 lead with 0:39 to go until halftime.

“He is just a great athlete,” Kennard said of Lee, who totaled 106 return yards. “He had one [a punt return for a touchdown] called back a few weeks ago on a holding penalty, and he finally got one tonight. We are trying to get him more involved on offense.”

Clay’s lead was cut to 14-3 when Addison nailed a 46 yard field goal for Menendez as the first half expired.

Running back Chris Goldstein was the offensive star for Clay. The senior rushed for 178 yards on 29 carries, most of them straight up the middle.

“Goldstein is tough and physical, and he runs downhill,” said Kennard. “He is not going to make guys miss, but he runs over safeties.”

Goldstein broke a tackle at the line of scrimmage, shook off a tackle attempt by Jones in the secondary and scooted 40 yards for a touchdown on the Blue Devils’ first drive of the third quarter. When Tristan Haack’s extra point pushed the advantage to 21-3, it appeared Clay would win handily. But the Blue Devils did not score again, and interceptions on their next three possessions allowed the Falcons to creep back into the game.

Menendez responded to Goldstein’s score with its best drive of the game, a 65 yard march that quarterback Noah Lawless capped with a 10 yard run.

Mobley began the game hot, completing his first five throws for 124 yards and the touchdown to Lee. But he completed only three of his final 11 passes, with three interceptions. Jaydan Jenkins replaced Mobley after Mobley’s second pick, but Jenkins’ first pass was intercepted by the Falcons’ Jones and returned seven yards to the Clay 10 yard line. Two plays later, Tabias Brown swept left with a handoff, cut upfield and narrowly outran Clay cornerback Brandon Combs to the end zone. The score remained 21-16 when an attempted two-point conversion failed, thrown off by a dropped shotgun snap.

A 61 yard drive on the Blue Devils’ ensuing possession produced no points when Menendez safety Julian Quintero intercepted Mobley in the end zone. The Clay defense, buoyed by a tackle for loss by tackle Blake Thompson, forced a punt after a three-and-out to preserve the visitors’ lead.

The Falcons got the ball back one last time, but went backwards thanks to a tackle for loss by D’Maurion Frazier and a pass break-up by sophomore defensive back Erick Fryer. A decision to punt with 2:11 remaining backfired on Menendez when Lee returned the kick 37 yards. Goldstein converted a third and one from the Falcons 11 yard line with a four yard gain, and Mobley took a knee three times to run out the clock.

“We are 3-0 in the district,” said Kennard. “In two weeks we go play for a district title, and that was the goal.”

Regardless of how North Marion (currently 4-3, 2-0) fares against Menendez on October 15, the winner of the Colts’ game against Clay will be the District 4-5A champion. Prior to their district showdown, the Blue Devils host Class 6A Middleburg on October 22.

“We will focus on Middleburg,” Kennard promised. “We have a lot of things to clean up.”

Frazier led all pass catchers with 69 yards on four receptions.

Defensive end Seth Stamps had four tackles for loss for Menendez.