JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The News4JAX high school football Super 10 will be published on Tuesdays throughout the high school football regular season.
New to football this year are the Metro and Suburban divisions. Those are marked by S and M designations in classifications. The Class 1A Rural division is unchanged. All games are Friday at 7 p.m. unless indicated.
Super 10 football rankings
Rank School, Record last season, Classification
1. Trinity Christian (10-4), 1M
This week: at No. 9 White, 6:30 p.m.
Notable: The Conquerors open the Super 10 in the top spot. That’s an easy decision for a two-time defending state champion with one of the most successful coaches in state history. Verlon Dorminey has led Trinity to all nine of its championships and can tie iconic Bolles coach Corky Rogers with another title. The pieces are there for a threepeat, including the area’s best backfield (Treyaun Webb and Darnell Rogers) and a national prospect at QB (Colin Hurley).
2. Bartram Trail (9-4), 4S
This week: vs. Ponte Vedra.
Notable: The Bears have become a model of consistency under coach Darrell Sutherland, the third-longest tenured public school coach in the area (First Coast’s Marty Lee and Keystone Heights’ Chuck Dickinson are in front of him). It was a young offense to start last year, but QB Riley Trujillo and Co. are going to be tough now. District 3-4S is brutal from top to bottom, with the Bears, Buchholz, Creekside, Fleming Island and Oakleaf making it arguably the area’s most challenging.
3. Bolles (8-3), 2M
This week: at St. Augustine.
Notable: The big challenge for coach Matt Toblin in Year 4 is replacing core players who guided the Bulldogs to a pair of state runner-up finishes and then the state semifinals last season. The offense will look different with no Kade Frew, but QB DJ Moore has developed nicely. And the Bulldogs always find playmakers on defense.
4. Columbia (6-5), 3S
This week: at Gainesville Buchholz, Thursday.
Notable: The Tigers struggled on offense last season, with five games of 17 points or less. Injuries played a big role in that. Columbia shouldn’t have nearly that much trouble this season. WR Camdon Frier (Florida State commit) and QB Tyler Jefferson should infuse this offense with some electricity. And defense, with LB/S Jaden Robinson (Florida commit) and Amare Ferrell (Indiana) will keep that unit humming.
5. Fleming Island (6-5), 4S
This week: at Clay.
Notable: The Golden Eagles reached the postseason a year ago and, on paper, have a much stronger team. RB Sam Singleton (Florida State commit) is a workhorse back and capable of 1,500 yards on the ground. That defense, coach Damenyum Springs’ specialty, is tough, too.
6. Nease (9-4), 4S
This week: vs. No. 10 Jackson.
Notable: The Panthers were the surprise team of the area last year, flipping back-to-back one-win seasons into a nine-win run to the regional finals. All-News4JAX QB Marcus Stokes developed into a headliner. The Panthers hadn’t been as deep in the playoffs as they were last year since Craig Howard’s final season in 2007. There are significant graduation losses to overcome (Player of the Year Dom Henry, for starters) so the challenges will be steep. District 4-4S is a tough one, too (Flagler Palm Coast and Nease).
7. Baker County (11-3), 2S
This week: vs. Bradford.
Notable: How do the Wildcats follow a run to the state semifinals last season? Coach Kevin Mays has to replace the bulk of his defensive secondary. Two huge pieces return, RB Cam Smith (1,339 rushing yards, 15 TDs) and LB Orlando Holland (27 sacks). And that’s a good place to start. The Wildcats will be the favorites in the new District 5-2S, with Baldwin, Fernandina Beach, West Nassau and Yulee.
8. Raines (8-3), 2M
This week: vs. Miami Monsignor Pace, 6:30 p.m.
Notable: It’s Year 3 for coach Donovan Masline with the Vikings. Raines lost a playoff heartbreaker to Wakulla last year. The expectations are large once again for Ichiban, a three-time FHSAA state champion and most successful Duval County Public School program.
9. White (5-5), 2M
This week: vs. No. 1 Trinity Christian, 6:30 p.m.
Notable: I went back and forth on this slot and putting in Fletcher, Parker or Riverside, but ultimately landed on the Commanders. While White graduated two-way star Christian Ellis, it returns enough horsepower to think that coach Lawrence Johnson could have his best team yet. DB Davaughn Patterson (Wake Forest) is the big name and the offense has QB Isiah Teal and WR Gabriel Garmon back, too.
10. Jackson (7-4 last season; 0-1 this season), 2M
Last week: LOST to Brunswick, 23-13.
This week: at No. 6 Nease.
Notable: The Tigers got a headstart on the regular season when they traveled to Georgia to open things up against the Pirates. I think the needle is pointing up for Jackson in coach Christopher Foy’s third season. He’s 11-9 in his time with the Tigers and led them to qualify for their first playoff berth since 2010 last season. LB Grayson Howard (South Carolina) is a mega recruit but the Tigers have some firepower outside of him.
On the bubble
Atlantic Coast (6-5, 4M); Baldwin (7-4, 2S); Bishop Kenny (8-3, 2M); Bradford (6-6, 2S); Clay (7-3, 3S); Creekside (8-3, 4S); Flagler Palm Coast (6-4, 3S); Fletcher (5-6, 3M); Mandarin (5-5, 4M); Middleburg (5-5, 3S); Oakleaf (4-6, 4S); Parker (7-4, Class 3M); Ponte Vedra (4-6, 3M); Riverside (10-2, 2M); Sandalwood (4-6, 4M); Union County (12-1, 1A); St. Augustine (6-4, 3S); University Christian (7-5, 1M).
Week 1 schedule
Thursday, Aug. 25
Columbia at Gainesville Buchholz
Friday, Aug. 26
Baldwin at Wolfson, 6:30 p.m.
Beachside at Tocoi Creek
Bishop Kenny at First Coast, 6:30 p.m.
Bolles at St. Augustine
Bradford at Baker County
Cedar Creek Christian at First Academy
Charlton County at Yulee
Chiefland at Crescent City
Christ’s Church at Episcopal
Eagle’s View at Branford
Fernandina Beach at Providence
Fleming Island at Clay
Harvest Community at Impact Christian
Hawthorne at Middleburg
Hilliard at Florida A&M
Hollis Christian at NFEI
Jackson at Nease
Lake Weir at Interlachen
Mandarin at Fletcher, 6:30 p.m.
Monsignor Pace at Raines
Oakleaf at Orange Park
Palatka at Umatilla
Parker at Atlantic Coast, 6:30 p.m.
Paxon at Englewood, 6:30 p.m.
Pine Ridge at Matanzas
Ponte Vedra at Bartram Trail
Ridgeview at Menendez
St. Joseph at Gainesville Oak Hall
Sandalwood at Ribault, 6:30 p.m.
Stanton at Bishop Snyder
Suwannee at Flagler Palm Coast
Taylor County at Fort White, 7:30 p.m.
Trinity Christian at White, 6:30 p.m.
Union County at University Christian, 7:30 p.m.
Viera at Creekside
Westside at Riverside, 6:30 p.m.*
Young Kids in Motion at Lighthouse Private Christian
Zarephath Academy at West Nassau
Off: Keystone Heights