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High school football ‘21: District play cranks up as season hits Week 4

St Augustine running back Devonte Lyons (19) breaks free from Bolles defenders for a long run in the second quarter of a Week 3 game. (Ralph D. Priddy, News4Jax)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It’s Week 4 of the high school football season and it’s a big one. District play begins for many teams across the state. Here’s a glance at our top four games of the week and the next four. All games are Friday at 7 p.m. unless indicated. District games indicated by an *.

TOP FOUR

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(5) Creekside (3-0) at Sandalwood (1-2), 6:30 p.m.*: The Knights jumped in to the Super 10 this week after drumming Fleming Island, 26-0. The Knights have been very balanced, with QB Jacob Dennie (460 yards, 6 TDs) getting more comfortable by the week and RB Preston Strope (322 rushing yards, 4 TDs). Sandalwood’s offense revolves around QB Chris Calhoun. He’s a far greater threat on the ground, where he leads the team in rushing (420 yards, 4 TDs). RB Jordan Bean had a breakout game last week (12 carries, 133 yards, 2 TDs) and will need to perform again to help create something for Sandalwood in the passing game. Creekside will put its talented defenders, led by LBs Vincent Approbato and Christian Yousefzadeh, at the line of scrimmage and force the Saints to beat them through the air, something it has struggled to do so far (one passing TD, five INTs in three games).

Nease (2-1, 1-0) at Atlantic Coast (2-1, 0-0), 6:30 p.m.*: A very intriguing matchup of vastly improved teams from last season. The Stingrays’ growth was evident last week when they ripped off 32 unanswered points to bounce Sandalwood, 39-21. Two big things in that game — RB Arthur Walker’s powerful running style wore out Sandalwood, and the Stingrays defense smothered the Saints after the break. Walker is making a case as the area’s top back. He went for 268 yards and four TDs against a very good Saints defense. The Panthers won just one game a year ago and matched that in Week 1. QB Marcus Stokes is a rising star (38 of 63, 506 yards, 5 TDs) and has a big target in WR Dom Henry (16 catches, 272 yards, 2 TDs). Nease already has a district win to its credit after beating Ponte Vedra in Week 1.

Suwannee (2-0) at White (1-0), 6:30 p.m.*: Another marquee district opener. The Commanders haven’t played since a Week 1 win over Wakulla. They’ve had a game scratched by COVID-19 protocols and a Week 3 bye, so they should be fresh. Ironically, White’s Week 2 opponent, Westside, went out to face Suwannee after their game was canceled and lost 43-13. This is a top-heavy district, with the Bulldogs, Commanders and Baker County equally in the conversation as the frontrunner. This game will go a ways in determining who takes the reins in that race. White has a multi-stacked offense, with RBs Christian Ellis and Jaquan Wiggins sharing carries. QB Isiah Teal will throw it and tuck it and run. This has the potential to be the most balanced Commanders offense in years.

(9) Oakleaf (2-1) at Camden County (3-1), 7:30 p.m.: Our News4Jax Game of the Week features two teams coming off tough losses. The Knights couldn’t close against Columbia in a 27-23 loss and the Wildcats collapsed in the fourth quarter (outscored 20-0) in a road loss at Marietta. Get ready for a whole lot of rushing attempts. The Knights have a potent ground game when everyone is healthy, but it’s been challenging as injuries have played a role early. RB Isaiah Shevchook has rushed for 299 yards and four TDs the last two games and has emerged as the lead back with an injury to Devin Outlaw. QB Drew Ammon has been solid (478 passing yards, six TDs) thus far. Oakleaf will have its attention focused on stopping the run game, led by backs Jamie Felix, Deonte Cole and Jacob Lindsey. Those three have combined for 789 rushing yards and nine TDs. This is the fourth meeting between the programs, with Camden winning 25-12 last year and 19-6 in 2017, and Oakleaf winning 27-13 in 2016.

NEXT FOUR

(4) Bartram Trail (2-1) at Mandarin (1-2), 6:30 p.m.*: Always a good rivalry game, especially when it’s the district opener. It’s been an offensive learning curve for both programs this year, but defense has typically been on point.

Fletcher (0-3) at Fleming Island (1-2), 7:30 p.m.*: Very disappointing starts for both teams, especially on offense. The Golden Eagles are averaging 6.7 points per game, while the Senators are clocking in at just 10.3. Expect a defensive battle, with points at a premium.

(6) Raines (1-1) at Jackson (2-1), 6:30 p.m.: The Tigers haven’t scored a point against the Vikings in their last five meetings, outscored 253-0 in those games. But they beat Fletcher last week for the first time since 2006. Could they pull off an upset of a Raines team that they haven’t beaten since 2009?

St. Augustine (1-1) at Middleburg (3-0)*: The Broncos are off to their best start since going 4-0 to open the 2010 season. To put in perspective how down Middleburg has been since then, it hadn’t been two games over .500 since Week 2 of the 2010 season. The Broncos have had two winless and two one-win seasons since 2012. Remarkable turnaround for coach Ryan Wolfe and Middleburg. Tough assignment this week against an always tough Yellow Jackets squad.

Week 4, Florida schedule

All games at 7 p.m. unless indicated; district games indicated by an *

Friday, Sept. 17

Baldwin (1-0) at West Nassau (0-2)

Bartram Trail (2-1) at Mandarin (1-2), 6:30 p.m.*

Bishop Snyder (1-1) at Cedar Creek Christian (0-2)

Bolles (3-0) at Fernandina Beach (0-3)

Christ’s Church (3-0) at Wolfson (0-3), 6:30 p.m.

Clearwater Academy International (3-0) at Trinity Christian (3-0), 7:30 p.m.

Cocoa Beach (0-2) at North Florida Educational (1-1)

Creekside (3-0) at Sandalwood (1-2), 6:30 p.m.*

Crescent City (2-1) at Trenton (1-2)

St. Joseph (0-2) at Deltona Trinity Christian (0-2)

Eagle’s View (2-0) at St. Edward’s (1-0)

Englewood (1-2) at Columbia (2-1), 7:30 p.m.*

Fletcher (0-3) at Fleming Island (1-2), 7:30 p.m.*

Gainesville (2-1) at Matanzas (1-2)*

Gainesville Eastside (0-2) at Menendez (1-2)*

Gainesville P.K. Yonge (1-1) at Union County (2-0), 7:30 p.m.

Hilliard (3-0) at Mayo Lafayette (3-0)

Holy Trinity (2-0) at Interlachen (0-2)

Keystone Heights (3-0) at Umatilla (0-3)

Nease (2-1) at Atlantic Coast (2-1), 6:30 p.m.*

Oakleaf (2-1) at Camden County (3-1), 7:30 p.m.

Paxon (1-2) at Baker County (2-1)*

Ponte Vedra (1-2) at First Coast (0-3), 6:30 p.m.*

Raines (1-1) at Jackson (2-1), 6:30 p.m.

Ridgeview (1-1) at Clay (1-1)

Riverside (3-0) at Orange Park (1-2)*

St. Augustine (1-1) at Middleburg (3-0)*

Sanford Seminole (3-0) at Flagler Palm Coast (2-0)*

Santa Fe (1-2) at Fort White (1-1), 7:30 p.m.

Stanton (0-3) at Providence (1-2)

Suwannee (2-0) at White (1-0), 6:30 p.m.*

Tocoi Creek (0-2) at Bishop Kenny (3-0)

University Christian (2-1) at Bradford (1-2), 7:30 p.m.

Westside (1-1) at Ribault (0-3), 6:30 p.m.

Young Kids in Motion (0-2) at West Oaks Academy (0-3), 6 p.m.

Yulee (2-1) at Parker (2-1), 6:30 p.m.*

Zarephath Academy (1-1) at Branford (1-0), 7:30 p.m.

Georgia, Week 5

All games at 7:30 p.m.; region games indicated by an *

Friday, Sept. 17

Brunswick (3-0) at Islands (1-2)*

Coffee (3-0) at Glynn Academy (1-1-1)

Oakleaf (2-1) at Camden County (3-1)

Pierce County (2-1) at Clinch County (1-2)*

Tiftarea (2-1) at Charlton County (3-0)

Ware County (3-0) at Bainbridge (1-2)


About the Author
Justin Barney headshot

Justin Barney joined News4Jax in February 2019, but he’s been covering sports on the First Coast for more than 20 years.

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