FLEMING ISLAND - Fleming Island's boys soccer opened 2026 with a 5-0 win over Tallahassee Leon in a display of shooting prowess meant to impress head coach Roger Dailey who was in New York on a visit.

With the win, the Golden Eagles, now 4-2-3 and ranked 19th in Class 5A—but with a strong strength of schedule number—will be looking to battle for a second straight region final finish after losing a nailbiter last year to eventual champion Arnold High in the Florida Panhandle.

Arnold is currently ranked number one with a 10-1-0 record with Ponte Vedra third, Beachside fifth, Gulf Breeze sixth, Choctawhatchee 11th and Chiles 18th just ahead of Fleming Island in the region 1-5A lineup. St. Augustine sits at 20th as a threat as well.

In the district lineup, Clay and Fleming Island sit atop district 3-5A with the Blue Devils a 6-4-1 and ranked 27th. The difference is in the strength of schedule with Clay at a 3.3 and Fleming Island at an 11.2 with the top six in the Class 5A ranks all above 10.0.

Schedule wise, Fleming Island and Clay will not face each other with the Golden Eagles having Nease (9-4-1), Atlantic Coast, Middleburg, Creekside (10-3-1) and Oakleaf (7-3) to finish. The Blue Devils will have Oakleaf, Ridgeview and Ponte Vedra (7-0-2) followed by Creekside to finish.

Keystone Heights, 8-7-2, beat Newberry 5-1 on Jan. 6 and sits behind Santa Fe in the district 4-3A ranks right now with the large district playing tough games against each other all season. Santa Fe, at 7-1-3, did not and will not see Keystone Heights until a possible district final while others in the district—mainly North Marion (8-5-2) and Eastside (3-6-2)—stand as possible wild cards.

Keystone Heights has Trenton Noble as a top goal scorer with 13 tallies for the season with Kipton Spence adding nine.
Oakleaf, in district 2-6A, has yet to play a district team—Mandarin (9-2-2), Fletcher (4-6-1) and First Coast (5-7-0)—and will end a tough slate of four road games—Clay, undefeated (8-0-2) Bishop Kenny, Bishop Snyder—and a season finale at Fleming Island on Jan. 15.