JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It’s never not been a big game.
It always feels like a playoff atmosphere whenever Bolles and Trinity Christian get together.
Two of the best football programs in Florida — Trinity Christian and Bolles — are No. 1 and 2 in the area entering Friday night’s showdown, and Nos. 2 and 4 in state history in championships. The Bulldogs have 11 titles, while the Conquerors won their eighth last year.
And this time, they meet at midseason, a Week 6 headliner with both teams 5-0 and legitimate championship expectations again. Bolles has played for titles in both seasons under coach Matt Toblin. Trinity has won all eight of its crowns under coach Verlon Dorminey, who has 301 career wins. They meet on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Bolles with bragging rights on the line.
“It’s good for both schools. I mean it’s good for the student bodies in both schools. It’s good for parents,” said Dorminey, who is 4-6 against Bolles in his career. “I told our kids Friday night after we actually finished the game with Columbia, I said, ‘you know what, next Friday is one of the reasons you get to come to Trinity Christian Academy to play football, games like this.’”
“Like this” is a no-doubt-about-it, clear-the-schedule, must-see showdown.
When this rivalry resumed in 2017 after being dormant since 2000, Hurricane Irma had made a mess of the area and postponed almost the entire schedule of games. Bolles and Trinity met on Sept. 15, 2017 as one of the only games in town.
And that reignited a rivalry that had been shelved for far too long.
“Coaching in it makes you a little older,” Dorminey said. “But you know what, it is a football game that will be fun to coach in. It’s never any fun to lose, you know, but it’ll be a great opportunity for us as coaches to find out, because Matt and them do a great job
This is the fifth meeting since that night in 2017 — that game resulted in a Trinity forfeit — and the Conquerors have gone 3-1 against Bolles in that span. The one Bolles victory came last year, a 36-12 romp in Week 1 when much of the state had yet to resume regular season games due to the pandemic.
Both Toblin and Dorminey said that the spot on the schedule and how the season has played out makes this game
“Everything about it is designed to feel like a late, not an early playoff game, a late playoff game,” Toblin said. “And so, we were really excited to be in it.”
This marks Toblin’s second game in the series, but he knew all about that rivalry when he played at Mandarin.
It was the biggest private school showdown in the city, even when the teams first met in 1997 with Bolles as the heavyweight and Trinity trying to get a seat at the table. The Bulldogs won that game, and the next two after that, before Trinity managed its first victory in the series.
“I mean obviously you knew that look, these are the premier programs in the area, like Trinity’s constantly making a run through the championship, Bolles obviously has been doing it forever,” Toblin said. “And so, this is a big football game that we should play every single year. And obviously we’re fortunate that both of us are undefeated at the time going into it.”
Trinity has been the top team in the News4Jax Super 10 from the outset. It had a couple close calls, a 24-18 win in Week 1 over Raines, and a 53-50 OT shootout against Clearwater Academy in Week 4. Bolles has bulldozed four of its opponents, with just one tight game, a 32-27 back-and-forth against St. Augustine in Week 3.
“I’m excited to watch the stadium fill out and see this place get packed,” said Bolles linebacker Jack Pyburn. “And it’s going to be an amazing environment and I’m just excited for the team and the experience and go play a great game.”
While running back Kade Frew is the offensive headliner for Bolles — Frew eclipsed the career 3,000-yard rushing mark last week — it’s the Bulldogs’ defense that has choked offenses out. This is a Bolles team that has recorded four safeties this season and has three defensive touchdowns.
Anchoring the line is Nebraska commit Hayden Schwartz (29 tackles, 8 TFL). Pyburn (45 tackles, 12 TFL, 6 sacks), a Minnesota pledge, has been relentless. Safety Spencer Surface had a hand in three takeaways last week.
Trinity has no shortage of playmakers. Freshman quarterback Colin Hurley has thrown for 1,004 yards and 16 touchdowns, half of those to Fred Highsmith and five more to Darias James. Running back Darnell Rogers (658 rushing yards, 6 TDs) has been Trinity’s top back in the absence of Treyaun Webb. The Oklahoma commit made his season debut last week and rushed for 96 yards.
The impact players are all over.
“It feels great. Both teams have worked really hard, play some really good games, had some nailbiters this season,” said Trinity linebacker Keaton Thomas. “It’s just great competition, right? This is why you go to these schools, Bolles, Trinity because you want to play against the best and be the best. So, I think it’s a great atmosphere.”
Bolles-Trinity Christian series
2020: Bolles 36, Trinity 12
2018: Trinity 41, Bolles 13
2018 playoffs: Trinity 34, Bolles 7
2017: Bolles d. Trinity by forfeit
2017 playoffs: Trinity 24, Bolles 21, 3 OT
2000: Bolles 28, Trinity 21
1999 playoffs: Trinity 17, Bolles 7
1999: Bolles 28, Trinity 21
1998: Bolles 45, Trinity 20
1997: Bolles 50, Trinity 27