GREEN COVE SPRINGS - Clay High wide receiver Antonio Thomas had 174 receiving yards but could not stop the slow-starting Blue Devils from falling 24-7 to First Coast in a non-district contest on September 20.
The first half was a disaster for Clay, especially on offense. First Coast scored all of its points in the game’s first 21 minutes, while the Blue Devils did not earn a first down until the 5:44 mark of the second quarter. Blue Devils head coach Kyle Kennard had no explanation.
“We just came out real flat. It’s very shocking on Homecoming,” Kennard said of the loss, coming against a Buccaneers squad whose only win to date had been over winless Class 1A KIPP Bold City. “We had a great week of practice and our performance did not reflect that.”
What had been a defensive stalemate turned when First Coast scored two touchdowns in 11 seconds to take a 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. First, facing a third down and 22, Buccaneers slot receiver Cortez Gordon caught a middle screen pass from sophomore Hans Price and followed three blockers into the end zone from 46 yards out. The First Coast’s Lenorris Linder lofted a shallow kick that landed on the 20-yard line and backed up a yard like a well-struck pitching wedge. Thomas and his fellow Blue Devil return man, J’vian Cobbert, hesitated before moving toward the ball. That allowed First Coast defensive end Aahron Williams to hustle down and cover the free ball, wrestling it away from Clay upman Aaron Stacy.
“The returner has got to have some urgency to come up and get on the ball,” said Kennard. “He just let it drop in front of him and was kind of lackadaisical about getting onto the ball. It was in a tough position for the upback.”
On the next play, senior Mike Hill, who alternated with Price at quarterback for the Buccaneers throughout the game, connected with Denzel Brown on a skinny post in tight coverage in the end zone for a 21 yard touchdown. Linder’s extra point extended First Coast’s lead to 14-0 with 11 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
“You get up a couple of possessions and we are not explosive enough on offense to come back from such a deficit,” said Kennard.
After a Clay three and out, Gordon weaved his way for 43 yards on another middle screen to reach the Blue Devils' 11-yard line. Three plays later, Hill threw a perfect pass to Denzel Brown on an out pattern in the end zone. The pass just eluded the outstretched arm of Clay cornerback/running back Lavaris Roberts. Linder added the PAT to give First Coast a commanding 21-0 lead.
On Clay’s next possession, Landon Martin dropped back to pass, but the ball slipped out of his hand as he started his throwing motion. First Coast Tackle Quinton Whigham pounced on the loose ball at the Clay 16-yard line. The Buccaneers converted the turnover to points four plays later as a low kick from Linder cleared the crossbar from 33 yards out to make the score 24-0 with 3:04 remaining until halftime.
A big play by the Clay defense, which forced three turnovers, led to Clay’s lone score. With First Coast poised to add to their lead with the ball at the Clay two-yard line, defensive tackle Omar Goosby, who had two tackles for loss, a sack and a fumble recovery, drove a shoulder into Buccaneer running back Justin Virgin, forcing a fumble that Blue Devil Oliver Pierre recovered in the end zone for a touchback. After gaining only 16 yards on their previous six possessions of the first half, the Blue Devils got 77 yards in their next three plays. Landon Martin connected with Thomas on a go route for 29 yards, then found Daylen Brown over the middle for a 21-yard gain. Thomas got behind the defense again for a 27-yard catch before falling out of bounds at the Buccaneer three yard line. On third and goal from the one-yard line, Martin rolled right, evaded pressure and lofted a throw to Brown in the back of the end zone. The 6’-3” sophomore secured the catch and got one foot in bounds to send the Blue Devils to the locker room with a little momentum despite trailing 24-7.
The Blue Devils came out with more fire in the second half, but a questionable spot by the officials and their own mistakes prevented them from cutting into their deficit. On the opening possession, Clay moved from their 33 into First Coast territory, where Roberts appeared to have made a first down at the 44 yard line on third down. But the ball was spotted short of the marker, and on fourth down, Goosby was brought in at running back but was stuffed for a loss by a blitzing Miguel Jimenez.
“I thought we had it [the first down on third down], but the officials did not see it that way,” said Kennard.
On their second third-quarter possession, Clay moved from their own 20 to the First Coast 24 but came away empty when a wobbly lob from a heavily pressured Martin was intercepted by Buccaneers safety Tyler Dow.
Clay had a final chance to draw within two scores early in the fourth quarter, but a 33 yard field goal attempt by Ethan Bellemare fell short after a 61 yard drive. Fittingly, the game ended with Williams sacking Martin, First Coast’s sixth sack. Williams finished with two and a half sacks, while Quinton Whigham added two.
“Give them credit,” said Kennard of the Buccaneers. “They were big and physical up front. They blitzed us and pressured us a lot.”
The Clay offense struggled to block Williams and Whigham. Roberts, who ran for 136 yards the week before against Tocoi Creek, mustered only 41 yards on 15 carries against First Coast.
Martin passed for 224 yards as Clay drops to 1-4 at the season’s midpoint. Eleven of his 17 completions were to Thomas, who turned several quick hitches into big gains.
“Antonio is a really good player— explosive,” said Kennard. “He plays his heart off, he loves Green Cove, he loves playing for Clay High.”
The Blue Devils travel to Ridgeview on September 27 for their first District 3-4A contest of the season. With difficult district games at St Augustine and at home versus Lake City Columbia later in the year, Friday’s matchup feels like a must-win game if the Blue Devils are to entertain playoff hopes.
“It will be the season,” Kennard summarized. “It will be mandatory to win this game.”
Gordon led First Coast with six receptions for 125 yards while Hill and Prince combined to complete 12 of 18 passes for 220 yards and three touchdowns. The Buccaneers go to Mandarin for their first District 2-6A game of the season on September 27.