FLEMING ISLAND - Newly anointed starting quarterback Greyson Critch threw for 309 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score as Fleming Island High football tuned up during a spring game with a two-hour controlled scrimmage on May 15.

The Golden Eagles traveled to Jacksonville Beach Fletcher for their spring game on May 21.

Critch was sharp, completing 11 of 17 passes with one interception. The sophomore threw touchdown passes on the second, fourth and eighth possession. The first two were screen passes that the wide receivers Chase Donaldson and Jayden Counts turned into long scores, while the third one was a 50-yard fly pattern to Eric Gentry.

Critch also ran five times for 24 yards, including a seven-yard sprint into the end zone over right tackle after faking a handoff to running back Cedrick McNeil going left.

Critch is taking over as quarterback for Gentry, who was an able signal-caller last season but is moving to wide receiver and safety this season.

“We took the burden of playing quarterback off of Eric so he can help us in other spots as an athlete. I could not play Eric on defense if he was our quarterback,” explained Golden Eagles head coach Tom MacPherson. “Critch has a different style than Eric. Critch is more of a thrower. He should be able to get the ball to our receivers downfield in space. He understands defenses.”

Gentry’s scoring catch helped justify the decision. Gentry did play quarterback for the final two possessions, just in case he is needed to step in during the season. If MacPherson has his way, Jonathan Riley, who completed seven of 15 passes for 12 yards with one interception, will blossom into a dependable back-up quarterback.

The scrimmage was designed as a series of possessions with some special teams work mixed in. The possessions mostly featured either the first-team offense against the second-team defense or the second-team offense against the first-team defense. There were eight touchdowns scored— seven by the first team offense.

The Golden Eagles will look to improve upon their 6-4 mark from last fall, and having 16 starters returning is encouraging. Fleming Island appears to be loaded with skill position players on both sides of the ball.

Three junior running backs who got significant carries last season are back. Thursday, McNeal led the way with 93 yards and two touchdowns on just six carries. Zion Longmire saw the most action, rushing 14 times for 50 yards, while Brady Digman gained 38 yards on six totes.

As MacPherson embarks on his second year at the helm — he took over as head coach on July 13 of last year— one thing that will change is there will be more skill position players who see time on both offense and defense.

Tristan Stevenson and Donaldson will play wide receiver and cornerback; Gentry will play receiver and safet;, and Digman will play both running back and safety. Part of this philosophy is that MacPherson wants his best players on the field more often, and part of it is the Golden Eagles’ relatively small roster, which will carry approximately 70 players from all grades.

“Our numbers are down at Fleming more than they have ever been,” MacPherson said. “Outside of Keystone, we are the second smallest school in the county now. We have got to play our best players both ways, which is fine in games but in practice it gets really tough.”