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 teams have a bye on Oct. 2 before resuming district play a week later. The Golden Eagles improved to 3-3 and 2-0 in the district. They will host Clay while the Raiders, now 2-4 and 0-2, will travel to Middleburg.

“We absolutely had to have this one,” Fleming Island head coach Tom MacPherson said. “We know we have three tough district games coming up, so you are just trying to win district games however you can.”

Digman took an option pitch from quarterback Greyson Critch for a seven-yard touchdown on the game’s first possession. He bowled over Orange Park safety Derek Page III to score from the 4 to give the Golden Eagles a 21-6 lead in the second quarter. They also scored on runs of 20 and two yards in the third quarter to maintain a three-score lead. The junior also forced and recovered a fumble from his safety position on defense. He also averaged 6.8 yards a carry on 24 rushes.

Digman was half of a two-back tandem with fellow senior Zion Longmire, who gained 144 yards on 17 carries.

“They have both done a great job all year,” MacPherson said of the running back duo. “They are both physical backs, and our O-line is doing a really good job.”

As a team, Fleming Island ran for 328 yards and six touchdowns.

The Golden Eagles had all the momentum early. Chase Donaldson got Fleming Island off to a good start with a 40-yard return of the opening kickoff, and it took the Golden Eagles only 1:06 to take advantage of the good field position. Critch found Gavin Boysen for 18 yards on a hook route to put Fleming Island in the red zone. Three plays later, Digman scored on the option pitch.

Critch and Boysen connected again with 4:30 remaining in the first quarter. Boysin took a quick screen for 22 yards to the end zone, cutting off a downfield block by tackle Joseph Wilkey. Noah Graston converted the extra point to put Fleming island ahead, 14-0.

Xzavier Jones returned the ensuing kickoff 63 yards to the Fleming Island 28 yard line, then put the Raiders on the scoreboard with a 15 yard reception from quarterback Daveon Williams. Dustin Smith’s extra point attempt was tipped at the line of scrimmage and fell short of the crossbar, leaving the Raiders with a 14-6 deficit.

The turning point of the game came in the opening moments of the third quarter. Orange Park was poised to receive the second half kickoff but squandered the opportunity to draw within a single score when a front line man tried to retreat and make an over-the shoulder catch of Graston’s pooch kick. The ball was dropped and quickly pounced on by Fleming Island’s Michael Nesmith at the Raiders 28 yard line, giving possession to the Golden Eagles. Two plays later, Digman faked out linebacker Cace Puzie and safety Jayden Taylor on a 20 yard run that gave Fleming Island a 28-6 lead.

The Raiders battled back with a four yard touchdown pass from Williams to Amare Bellamy and an electrifying 96-yard kickoff return by Page that were sandwiched around Digman’s fourth touchdown run. Orange Park crept to within 35-24 early in the fourth quarter on Jones’ second touchdown reception, a 27-yard fly pattern.

But the Golden Eagles put the game away when Critch capped a 72-yard scoring drive with a 13-yard run with 5:15 remaining and put the finishing touches on the win when senior Antonio Watkins ploughed over the goal line from six yards out in the final moments.

Orange Park head coach Marcus Wimberly said special teams played a key role in the outcome, citing the fumbled kickoff and the ability to convert extra points. While Fleming Island’s Noah Graston was true on all seven of his extra point attempts, Orange Park failed to convert any of its four extra point kicks.

“We miss the first extra point, and that put us behind the eight ball,” said Wimberly. “We were going for two the rest of the night. At one point, it should have been 35-28 if we make all our extra points, and that’s a different ball game.”

Fleming Island’s reliance on their running game was similar to the way that Clay beat Orange Park on Sept. 11. The Blue Devils threw only 11 passes while running the ball 40 times in their 63-18 win over the Raiders.

“We are undersized. For everybody we play, the run game is their go-to,” Wimberly said. “We are going to have to find a remedy for that. If you can’t stop the run, you can’t win.”

Critch threw only 12 passes, completing six for 79 yards. Landon Howard had two of Fleming Island’s five sacks.

Austee’n Mills paced the Orange Park run game with 94 yards on 15 carries, while Williams completed 14 of 31 passes for 168 yard and three touchdowns. Bellamy had an interception for the Raiders and led all receivers with 51 yards on five receptions.

FIHS Strombeck, Janke 1-3 at Bartram XC

MHS Rosset fifth at Bobcat XC

By Randy Lefko, randy@claytodayonline.com

JACKSONVILLE - Fleming Island High senior cross country runner JP Strombeck earned some statewide recognition after a third-place finish at the rugged Wingfoot XC Classic in Cartersville, Georgia, on Saturday, Sept. 19, then doubled down on Saturday, Sept. 26 at Bartram Trails' Bale N Trail invitational with a resounding win.

"He was saying all week that he wanted to win the race at Bartram Trail," said Fleming Island cross country coach Dave Allen. "The added bonus was that Luke Janke was also having a great race at the same time."

Allen's reference to Janke was after Strombeck took the individual title in 15 minutes, 47.9 seconds to out-surge Bartram Trail's Bryce Motycka by three seconds. Janke edged Bolles' Aidan Chandler with a 15:56.3-15.56.5 split.

"Luke was in that front pack right from the start and had a pretty big final 800 meters in him," Allen said. "But, JP also has a pretty good finish and that top five was all pretty close."

For the effort, Fleming Island's boys finished third in team points behind Class 2A defending champion Bolles at 41 and Creekside second at 69. The Golden Eagles had 100. Ryder Muyres was Fleming Island's third runner at 16:43.5.

Strombeck, 20th at the Class 3A championship race last year in 16:17.30, opened his season with a 15:58 effort at the Cecil Field Summer Classic in August - barely missing his season best of a 15:46.90 split for third place at the Wing Foot Classic in Georgia two weeks ago. The top two times were Northgate's (Newnan, Georgia) Carson Dobur's 15:30.30 and Denmark (Alpharetta, Georgia) Luke Jordan's 15:39. Dobur was third in Georgia's 5A last year while Jordan, just a sophomore, was 19th in 6A as a freshman.

Fleming Island's depth is not as formidable as in past seasons, with Strombeck's wing man, Janke, just missing the elusive sub-16-minute mark with a 16:09 for a 14th place finish in Georgia. Janke finished in 64th at the 3A championship race in 16:56.30.

In Georgia, Richmond Hills won the team title with a 10-point split; 129-139 over Denmark. Fleming Island was ninth with 322.

In the girls elite race at Wing Foot, an astounding 16:51.60 by Bowdon High senior Averi Lowen gave her the win. The Fleming Island's girls team finished 24th in the 25-team field, led by sophomore Eve Schlotthauer in 84th at 21:07.

At Bartram Trail, the girls elite race featured a two-way battle with Bartram Trail's Avery Hartley and Creekside's Eva Delaney. Hartley won by two seconds with an 18:17.5 split.

St. Johns Country Day School sophomore Ella Rose Hanna was top county finisher in 10th place with a 19:40.3 split. Teammate Kate Staten was 13th in 19:46.2 to give the Spartans squad a 186-191 edge on Fleming Island for seventh and eighth places. Fleming Island was led by sophomore Eve Schlotthauer, with Ellie Strombeck, JP's sister, being the team's top-two finishers with times of 20:28.5 and 20:50.8. Strombeck is also a swimmer for the Golden Eagles. Middleburg's Lauren Rosset, running as a solo entry in the elite race, was 17th in 20:10.6.

Keystone Heights traveled to the Run Florida XC Invite in Lake City on Saturday, Sept. 26 and senior Ryder Thomas was the top finisher in 13th place in 17:30.10 after a Friday night football game as the Indians' punter.

For the Keystone Heights girls team, eighth-grader Ryleigh Thomas, sister to Ryder Thomas, was 11th in 22:51.8, while junior Melody Tyre finished 13th in 23:16.30. The Keystone Heights girls were third; the boys were fourth. Keystone Heights will host the Keystone Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 3.

At the Buchholz Bobcat Invitational at Santa Fe Community College in Gainesville on Sept. 12, Rosset finished fifth in 19:52.50. The Indians got a 32nd- and 33rd-place finish from junior Melody Tyre in 21:36.6 and eighth-grader Ryleigh Thomas in 21:44.80. Middleburg's Michael Breeding again was top Clay finisher in 13th place at 17:06.70. Oakleaf's Alejandro Rueda was 17th in 17:15.30, and Keystone Heights' Hunter Gray was 26th in 17:23.90. Oakleaf edged Middleburg and Keystone Heights with the three teams coming in at 11th (258), 12th (294) and 13th (322).

In Jacksonville on Saturday evening at the prestigious Katie Caples Invitational at Bishop Kenny, St. Johns Country Day School's Arlo Kistner finished 24th at 17:33 against premier runners from Ponte Vedra, Bishop Kenny, Creekside and St. Augustine .

Andrew Sides of Buchholz clocked the top time at 15:53. St. Johns' Judson Myers came in at 41st in 17:56.

St. Johns finished ninth with Oakleaf, led by Jelani Chester's 17:58 split for 45th, finishing 11th. Chester's Oakleaf teammate Clayton Buettner was close by at 50th in 18:01.

St. Johns girls team equaled the boys ninth-place finish with the one-two punch of Kate Staten at 25th and Ella Rose Hanna at 27th in at 19:55 and 20:04, respectively. The winning time was 17:24 from Bishop Moore Class 3A state champion Annabella Tomasic.

In the morning run at Bishop Kenny, the Katie Caples Varsity 5K, Middleburg's girls team won the team title with Temperance Brown finishing seventh, Sofia Philip in eighth and Erline Delia in ninth to edge Menendez, 59-61. Orange Park was fourth with 95 points with Abrielle Benoit and Briley Mulder taking third- and fourth-place overall. Menendez had the top-two finishers.

The Middleburg boys were led by Michael Breeding in second place at 17:45 and Cedric Wright in fifth in 18:39.2 to finish second in team points. Menendez won, with Orange Park finishing fifth. The Raiders' top finisher was Blair DiCarlo in fifth at 19:47.

In Fernandina Beach, at the Coach Hope Memorial Invitational, Clay High had William Rios and Theodore Devila in the top 15 - 11th and 13th in 20:06.90 and 20:07.80. The Blue Devils were fifth in team points.

For the girls, Annaliese Hovda finished ninth in 24:05.80 as a solo competitor.

FIHS/FSU Myers 14th in FSU Pre-Regional College XC

Former Fleming Island High cross country runner Graham Myers, recently a transfer from University of Florida, finished 14th for Florida State University at the FSU Pre-Regional cross country meet held Sept. 18 at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee.

Myers, who set a steeplechase school record at Florida before transferring, finished in 24:59.40 for the 8K (4.97 miles) course. FSU's Hudson Betts won in 24:28.20.

Also from Fleming Island, Marcos Serrano, now a freshman at University of Tampa, was 66th in 26:16.90, while Andrew Boyer, a freshman at Jacksonville University, was 171st in 28:52.50.

Keystone Heights High graduate Hunter Sheppard, now a freshman at Florida Gateway College, was 208th in 32:13.30.

FIHS Reynolds named Conference runner of week

Former Fleming Island High cross country, track and swimming standout Brooke Reynolds, now a freshman at Lenoir Rhyne University, was named South Atlantic Conference (SAC) runner of the week after being top finisher for Lenoir Rhyne in her first collegiate race with a 41st place finish out of 222 runners at the Queen City Invite in Rock Hill, South Carolina, on Sept. 14.

Reynolds finished in 19:07.7 which was five seconds off her personal best and got the Bears an 11th place team finish out of mostly NCAA Division I teams. Lenoir-Rhyne is an NCAA Division III program. Winning time was 16:18.9 by Marshall's senior Rachael Withrow.

A week later, Reynolds led the team again in a 6K (3.72 miles) race with a 35th place finish in 24:13.4 at the Converse Kickoff in South Carolina.

Also at the Queen City Race, University of North Florida senior Mei Chiang, a Fleming Island High and FSCJ graduate, finished in 18:48.2 for 34th place. Chiang was a state junior college champion and a junior college national championship race qualifier while at FSCJ.