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TOP 10 Plays

Clay Today Sports
Posted 6/12/19

1. Glenn Rodgers wins 110 hurdles state titleFor Rodgers, who had the second fastest time in the nation at the Bob Hayes Invite; 14.22, the Class 4A field was loaded to the hilt."We worked on two …

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TOP 10 Plays


Posted


1. Glenn Rodgers wins 110 hurdles state title

For Rodgers, who had the second fastest time in the nation at the Bob Hayes Invite; 14.22, the Class 4A field was loaded to the hilt.
"We worked on two things this week; the start and the last three hurdles," said Rodgers. "I knew if I got a clean start, three steps and a clean first hurdle, I would be in the best position of the field. That's how it all starts."
Rodgers nailed the start and was even with the field with South Dade's Ulysses Grace on his right side and Miramar's Osaji Skyers on his left side sprinting toe-to-toe.
"We've been working on staying focused and low to the hurdles the last three hurdles to not give away precious seconds," said Rodgers. "After the last hurdle, I came down first, it was all about the lean."
Grace, who was slightly ahead of the torrid pace, tumbled after the last hurdle while Rodgers inched past Skyers to win in 14.20 with Skyers second in 14.21 and Grace reaching the line in 14.25 in one of the closest finishes of the day.
"Every little piece of the race came together today," said Rodgers.


2. Brooke Michael two run double beats West Florida, 5-1.
With the irony of Ridgeview High pitcher Brittany Michael's strong defensive finish of the previous inning, it was twin sister Brooke Michael, the Panther catcher, who delivered a rocket-launched two run double to left field that put teammates Hannah Foster and Sarah Anderson across home plate.
"I didn't even feel it go off the bat," said Michael.


3. Alex Collier dethrones nationally touted Tyrese Cooper
In Class 3A, Collier blasted the field in the Class 3A 400 meters for his gold medal but added to the drama of the day with a third in the 100 meters and a spectacular anchor leg on the Raiders fourth place 4 x 400 relay on the second day of the championship weekend.
Collier, who has chased Miami Norland senior Tyrese Cooper, the top ranked sprinter not only in Florida, but nationally, the 400 meter showdown was a second shot at Cooper for Collier after a thrilling second place finish at the Bob Hayes Invite.
"He's the guy I've been gearing all of my training for," said Collier, who surged in the final 80 meters to nail his elusive sub-47 second effort at 46.33 for the win. "I ran his race at Bob Hayes and he beat me. I ran my race today and I beat him. Period."

4. Oakleaf High defensive back Chrystian Sellers intercepts Bartram Trail pass that led to a 47 yard touchdown in the Knights' 69-53 win.

The Oakleaf defense decided to make a play as Chrystian Sellers would intercept a pass on the Bears next possession and return it to midfield and the "big boy" of the neighborhood seemed to be shell shocked by the Knights.
"Our defensive guys had cramps and rolled ankles all night. We even had to put a guy at middle linebacker that had never played there before. We just kept being positive with the defense and they made some big plays especially in the second half" said Garis.
King would then deliver a knockout blow with a 47 yard touchdown run to break the game wide open at 62-39 with 10:30 left in the contest.
However, Bartram Trail would answer with a two minute drive to pull back to within 17 points at 62-45.

5. Orange Park High defensive end stops a fourth and one on the goal line for Clay to seal a 29-28 upset win for the Raiders in a key district 5-5A clash.
In a classic slugfest between two Clay County rivals, Orange Park High got two monumental defensive efforts; one a stuffed fourth down run at the Raider six yard line, the other an end zone interception, as the Raiders held on to beat Clay 29-28 in a district clash that puts district 5-5A into turmoil with losses to early frontrunners Ridgeview and Pedro Menendez.
"This feels great," said Raider defensive end Kendy Charles, who stuffed a fourth down run play at the Raider six that thwarted a go-ahead score for Clay. "We've been working all week to get this one. No one believed in us and we just came together."
For Raider coach Tom Macpherson, the win was a big jolt for the Raider program, but the more important element of the night was the resolve of his team after suffering two seasons of sub-par play.
"You got to give hats off to Clay, they do what they do and it was up to us to stop them," said Macpherson. "They are very hard to get off track on offense. We just fought and fought. My guys are starting to believe in themselves."

6. Oakleaf High center Jalen Rivers hits a soft jumper, inches from the three-point stripe, to push Knights ahead of Fleming Island in the Knights' 46-34 district 2-8A championship win.

Ironically, the turning point of a game that saw fast-moving point guards Grafals and Sebastian Astor for Fleming Island and Kenny Thomas and Quintez Johnson for Oakleaf flying up and down the court all night was a soft jump shot by the biggest guy on the floor, Oakleaf High's 6'-6", 325 pound junior center Jalen Rivers.
"That shot could not have come from a better guy," said Price. "Jalen contributes in so many ways under the boards, but he is also a very good shooter and he showed out on that one."
Rivers took the shot with no hesitation.
"I practice that shot a lot in practice even though it's in practice without as much noise,' said Rivers. "Sometimes they just leave me out there alone, but I can shoot."
With 28 seconds left in the third, though, Rivers floated to a spot just right of the Knights' basket to grab a lead pass from Humbles and knock down a soft jumper that the entire Oakleaf bench watched slice the nets as the buzzer sound to push the Knights up to a 27-24 lead that was enough to hold off the frenzied Fleming Island attack in the fourth quarter. Fleming Island would advance and lose in the 8A Final Four. Oakleaf would lose to Robert E. Lee in the quarterfinals.

7. Keystone Heights High sophomore golfer Camille Jackson is lone state meet competitor from county.
Keystone Heights High sophomore Camille Jackson shot a 76 at the region 2-1A girls golf championships held Monday at the Gainesville Country Club to advance to her third consecutive Class 1A golf championship tournament. Jackson led the Lady Indians to a third place team finish behind Bolles and Providence while shooting their best region round in three years.
At the state meet, Jackson got two of her three goals for the 2018 season; the first being advancing to the Class 1A championship tournament, and came home with a 24th place finish at Class 1A championship tournament held Tues.-Wed., Oct. 30-31 at the Mission Inn Resort Las Colinas course in Howie in the Hills.
"I improved my scores from the last two times I came here, improved my place a lot from those past two years, but did not get my team here," said Jackson. "I want to get the entire team here next year."

8. Fleming Island High's Briar Jackson takes on early season losses to storm to second state wrestling title to become school lone two-time champion.
Fleming Island High senior Briar Jackson had been pointing toward the state championship since winning his first title just about a year ago and the premonition blossomed with a dominating performance a weight class up as the surly battler won his second Class 3A title; this time at 120, with a 10-2 decision over a guy that already beaten Jackson once.
"P.J. (Fleming Island coach P.J. Cobbert) wanted me to keep him on his feet because we wanted to wear him out," said Jackson. "At 10-1, I cut him and started thinking it was going to happen."
Jackson, seeded second this year as well as last year when he won the 113 title, was okay with the apparent snub of those who do the seeding.
"It gives me that little chip on my shoulder," said Jackson. "I use it to motivate. I have a great coach who knows what it takes to get repeat titles and we were all in from the start. I had the loss to Hines and one to the Southwest Miami guy (Melguizo) and I knew I had to focus in training on staying positive and not letting the losses bother me. I was very confident coming in."

9. Oakleaf High senior weightlifter Lexi Perez wins state title by just five pounds in nerve-wracking final round of lifts.

Perez, who won by just five pounds despite a 380 best total through the three championship events, bested Sunlake High's Juliette Pacheco, fifth last year at 139, with a 210 clean and jerk. Pacheco dominated the bench press with a 205 best while Perez, known more for her clean and jerk prowess, finished with just a 170 bench press. Perez was second last year with a 350 total.
Forced to win the event in her specialty, the clean and jerk, Perez did not disappoint as she equaled the best lift of the day; 210 pounds to take the title. Marr Desvarieux of New Smyrna Beach also cleaned 210, but only benched 160 to finish third. Desvarieux, with a 370 total at the state meet, was second to Perez in the region 3-2A championship with a 355 total off a 205 clean and jerk.
"I did get my best on the bench, but I knew Marr was going to be tough in the clean and jerk," said Perez. "She tried for 225 at regions and I think she did that to just put it out there. She hit 210 first and I had to respond. It was fun but nerve-wracking."

10. Maddy Moody head balls winning goal in St. Johns Country Day School's 1-0 win over Lakeland Christian Academy for eighth straight Class 1A soccer title for Lady Spartans. St. Johns held a 20-3 shots on goal advantage before Maddy Moody put a headball off a Paige Crews' corner kick into the net for the game's lone score.
The eight straight titles passes St. Thomas Aquinas's seven straight titles from 1993-1999.