ORANGE PARK - In an exciting, thrilling, action-packed, and sometimes sloppy contest, Orange High School battled Ocoee High School (Orlando) to a 12-12 tie in a Spring Jamboree game under the lights at Hoyt B. Contey Stadium on Tuesday night.

If sophomore running back Damar Jackson, who took off on a barreling, physical run from the Raiders own 27-yard line on the game’s final snap all the way to the Knights’ the 40-yard line with 0:22 remaining, could have fully separated himself from Ocoee defenders, stayed inbounds, and ran to the end zone for the score, the young and talented Raiders could have upended Ocoee in the game’s final moment.

Nevertheless, the Raiders battled first-year head coach Sheddrick “Buck” Gurley, a former Florida Gators and Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2002 Super Bowl champion defensive end, and the Knights to the bitter end, providing plenty of promise for Orange Park fans heading into the season.

“They (learned) that work ethic and accountability goes a long way during spring practice, and they’re starting to turn the corner,” said second-year head coach Marcus Wimberly.

The Raiders (2-8, 3A-S, 2022) jumped out of the gate early with a 6-0 lead with 1:56 remaining in the first quarter on a long bomb from sophomore quarterback Gabriel Taylor to junior wide receiver Ryder Fulmer, but missed the two-point conversion.

However, the Knights (9-5, 4A-M, 2022), who nearly upended Columbus (Miami) to qualify for the state championship last season, were not to be deterred when they received the ball on the next drive, as quarterback Jackson Keillor led Ocoee all the way to the end zone to knot the contest at 6-6 in a drive that lasted over three minutes.

A big grab from Dylan Hoskins and yards after the catch allowed the Knights to set up shop inside of the 46-yard line of Orange Park with 1:20 remaining in the first quarter, which was sealed by Keillor, who ran to the end zone after being flushed out of the pocket with 10:21 remaining in the second.

The Knights finally took the lead with 8:11 remaining in the third, Ocoee taking advantage of an Orange Park ball carrier fumble, which was recovered by Devin Andrews and sealing the deal with a 15-yard reception from wide receiver Jaydon Wright.

But the conversion didn’t prevail.

Damar Jackson’s last dance that nearly sent the Raiders to victory wasn’t the only time that Orange Park marched inside Knights territory in the fourth quarter, with sophomore Dylon Ruiz earning a nine-yard run to advance to the Ocoee 43-yard line with 8:57 remaining, which was followed by another gain to the 34-yard line.

A holding call sent the Raiders back to their own 47, but they then advanced to the 38-yard line. However, a Taylor bomb attempt to Daniel Richardson was intercepted by the Knights Hoskins, who also plays defensive back.

The Raiders held Ocoee scoreless for the rest of the contest, but couldn’t quite come away with the scrimmage victory. Here were Wimberly’s thoughts following the game:

“It’s all about culture building this year. And we’ve been preaching to the guys all spring, just keep fighting, just keep giving effort, and everything will take care of itself. They see what they’re supposed to do, and they’ll always be in the fight with a chance to win,” the coach said of Orange Park’s effort.

“(Senior linebacker) Tyler Jackson played awesome on defense, (Taylor) played pretty well at quarterback, he made a couple of mistakes but led the team pretty well, and (senior wide receiver and defensive back) Jermel Brown played offense and defense the whole game, and he stepped up,” Wimberly said.