FLEMING ISLAND - Oakleaf High defensive back Jordan Price’s interception in the end zone with 33 seconds remaining preserved a thrilling 17-13 victory for visiting Oakleaf over rival Fleming Island on September 6.
“Kings of Clay [County] again,” said a beaming Oakleaf head coach Christopher Foy afterward as the Knights ran their record to 3-0. “That’s what this win means.”
Oakleaf pounded Orange Park 42-0 on August 30 while Fleming Island defeated Clay 30-20 on August 23, leaving Middleburg as potentially the only other county school with a case to be made for the top spot. The Broncos are 3-0 with a 9-0 win over Clay Friday night. Oakleaf does not play Middleburg this season.
When Fleming Island quarterback Cibastian Broughton found receiver Oliver Piechota all alone along the left sideline for a 30-yard gain to convert a fourth and nine on the Golden Eagles’ final possession, it appeared destiny might be on the side of the hosts. But after marching 61 yards, the drive stalled at the 10-yard line. Sebastian Cruz was stopped at the line of scrimmage on a running play and a bad shotgun snap caused a quick pass to Trace Burney to gain nothing. On third down, Broughton overthrew a wide-open Damiano De Steno on a crossing pattern. De Steno likely would have scored had he made the catch. After a Fleming Island time-out, the Golden Eagles lined up with three receivers to the left.
Broughton took in the snap and looked to his left, then launched an arching spiral toward Burney, who was running a flag route from his inside receiver position. De Steno and Piechota ran inside slants from the two outside receiver spots, leaving Burney to work alone on the outside. Price had other ideas. Covering Piechota man-to-man as he ran to the interior, the junior released his man as he saw Broughton raise his arm to throw. Fading back towards Burney, Price high-pointed the ball, which was slightly underthrown, and corralled it in front of Burney. Price returned the interception from the end zone to the eight-yard line.
Foy said that on the play, the Knights played man-to-man coverage on every receiver and tried to chuck the Fleming Island receivers at the line of scrimmage.
“Their receiver, Burney, has a great connection with him (Broughton),” Foy explained. “We knew that if we put somebody there to redirect him a little, we would have an opportunity to make the stop.”
After Price’s interception, two kneeldowns by Oakleaf quarterback Jack McKissock ran out the clock. Foy gushed about Price, who started on offense as well and led all receivers with 64 yards on three catches, after the game.
“Jordan is like Sibastian [Broughton],” Foy said. “He is a freakish athlete, and we got him for another year. He has things that we haven’t tapped into yet.”
Christopher Foy, II, the head coach’s son, provided most of the offense for the Knights, rushing for 134 yards and both Oakleaf touchdowns on 19 carries. The senior seized the lead for the Knights on their opening possession, getting lost in a scrum in the interior of the line before bursting out of it and speeding untouched to the goal line from 42 yards out. Andrew McDaid’s extra point put Oakleaf in front 7-0.
A punishing 19-yard run by Foy, who at 5’9”, 210 pounds runs low to the ground, set up a McDaid field goal of 27 yards to push the Oakleaf lead to 10-0 with 5:26 remaining in the second quarter.
“Deceptive speed,” the head coach said of his son. “He is a one-cut guy. He puts in a ton of work in the offseason to get his body prepared for nights like tonight, and it shows.”
Fleming Island never got running back Dehmir Jackson untracked, so they turned to Broughton. The Golden Eagles righted themselves with a three-play, 75 yard drive that took only 37 seconds. First, Broughton gained 20 yards on a bootleg. On the next play, Burney broke several tackles to turn a quick screen into a 28-yard gain. Finally, Broughton rolled to his left and found Burney alone coming across the field. Burney secured the catch, turned upfield, and casually walked into the end zone. Parker Sirdevan’s extra point cut the Golden Eagles’ deficit to 10-7.
Senior safety David Smith set the Golden Eagles up for another quick drive, highpointing a deep sideline throw from Oakleaf’s McKissock for an interception at the Knights’ 44-yard line with 1:54 left in the first half. Three plays later, Fleming Island’s Jackson went in motion to the right side of the formation. Broughton took the snap, looked toward Jackson, but then took off up the middle. The Akron commitment’s sprinter’s speed was on display as he split the linebackers and took away oncoming safety Tyrone Early’s angle. The 37-yard score gave the Golden Eagles a 13-10 lead heading into the intermission.
Broughton led Fleming Island with 81 yards on 16 carries and completed eight of 12 passes for 132 yards, accounting for both of the Golden Eagles’ touchdowns.
Receiving the second-half kickoff, Fleming Island hoped to ride their momentum from the end of the first half to a commanding two-score lead. Instead, disaster struck when, on the first play from scrimmage, Broughton and Jackson failed to execute a handoff. The ball bounced away from them and was recovered by Oakleaf tackle Amare Thomas. From the Golden Eagles’ 16-yard line, it took Foy, II, just one play to cash in. The senior swept left, broke a tackle attempt by cornerback Chase Donaldson and swept into the end zone to take the lead back for Oakleaf just 28 seconds into the third quarter. McDaid’s PAT stretched the Knights’ advantage to 17-13.
For Fleming Island, the game was eerily similar to the close games that the Golden Eagles dropped on their way to a 3-7 record last year and the 48-39 loss at Riverside the week before. Turnovers doomed the hosts at the worst moments, with the fumbled exchange leading to Oakleaf’s game-winning points and the final interception sealing the win for the Knights.
“Our problem right now is missed assignments and critical mistakes in critical moments,” said Fleming Island interim head coach Derek Chipoletti, who as head coach of Oakleaf led the Knights to their most successful season ever, a 14-1 mark in 2014. “I am preaching hyperfocus, less emotion and concentrating on what our job is, and we did better on that today, so we are improving.”
Fleming Island cannot shake their propensity for getting off to slow starts. The Golden Eagles trailed 13-3 at Clay before coming back to win, trailed 14-0 at Riverside in a game they eventually rallied to take a lead in, and fell behind 10-0 on Friday.
Even the kicking game, which had been a bugaboo in 2023 but had been a strength so far this season, came back to bite the Eagles. Had Parker Sirdevan not missed the extra point after Broughton’s touchdown run, Fleming Island would not have been forced to go for it on the final fourth down. Instead, they could have tied the game and sent it to overtime with a short field goal.
Fleming Island will make the short bus trip down Kingsley Avenue for its next game, a District 3-5A game at Orange Park on September 13.
“We’ve lost two close games where if three or four plays go the other way, we are 3-0 instead of 1-2,” said Chipoletti. “Our real season starts this week. District play is where we are focusing.”
McKissock completed 10 of 18 passes for 148 yards for the Knights, who face a formidable challenge at Hawthorne on September 13. The Hornets are the two-time defending FHSAA Class 2A champion.