JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Seven weeks of the high school football season are nearly in the books — the Northwest Classic is up on Saturday — and things are coming more and more into focus.
There are eight unbeatens left in the area — Bartram Trail, Bradford, Brunswick, Interlachen, Palatka, University Christian, Trinity Christian and Ware County.
There were a slew of spectacular games across the area in Week 7, including four one-possession games on Friday night.
Baldwin edged Yulee 20-17 in our Football Friday game of the week and moved a step closer to clinching a district championship.
Sandalwood won its second game in four days, clipping Parker 20-19. The Saints (3-3) clobbered Nease 51-31 on Tuesday night and roar into next Thursday night’s District 1-4M opener against winless Atlantic Coast on a tear.
Episcopal (5-1) surged back in the final minutes to edge Englewood 36-29.
And Ponte Vedra knocked Super 10 No. 9 Bishop Kenny from the ranks of the unbeaten with a 32-31 win. Receiver Wyatt Rogers caught a two-point conversion pass from Ben Burk with 2 seconds to play to give the Sharks (3-3) the winning points. They trailed 31-17 late in the fourth quarter before a dazzling comeback over the Crusaders (6-1).
Those games joined Creekside’s wild 49-48 win over Oakleaf a night earlier to give Week 7 a nod as one of the best weeks of football in 2022.
No. 1 Trinity Christian overcame a tough battle from Riverside to notch a 30-14 win, spoiling the Generals’ dedication of their new turf football field. Superintendent Diana Greene cut the ribbon on the first turf field for a Duval County Public School on Friday night and the Generals muscled their way into a 14-all game with the Conquerors (6-0) in the fourth quarter.
Trinity pulled away late to set up a de facto District 1-1M title game against fifth-ranked University Christian (7-0) next week. UC got four touchdowns from Orel Gray in a 42-6 rout of North Florida Educational.
No. 2 Bartram Trail blanked No. 10 Fleming Island, 17-0, essentially eliminating the Golden Eagles (3-2) from the district playoff race.
Fletcher stayed hot and turned in its best win of the season with a 22-8 win over No. 6 White. The Senators are 5-2 in coach Ciatrick Fason’s second season.
St. Augustine’s Locklan Hewlett lit up Nease for 274 passing yards and five touchdowns in a 58-41 win over the Panthers in a St. Johns County showdown. Devonte Lyons added 276 yards and three rushing touchdowns for the Yellow Jackets (4-3). Nease’s Marcus Stokes, a Florida commit, passed for 242 yards and rushed for 80 in the loss, but the Panthers couldn’t slow St. Augustine on defense. They gave up a combined 109 points in games against Sandalwood and the Yellow Jackets this week.
Friday night scoreboard, Florida, Week 7
District games indicated by an *
Baldwin 20, Yulee 17
Bartram Trail 17, Fleming Island 0*
Cedar Creek Christian 34, Eagle’s View 20
Columbia 26, Orange Park 7*
Crescent City 38, Keystone Heights 18
Eau Gallie 35, Flagler Palm Coast 20
Fernandina Beach 39, Paxon 8
Gainesville Eastside 35, Ridgeview 10
Gainesville Oak Hall 41, Harvest Community 3
Gainesville St. Francis (1-4) at St. Joseph (1-4), late
Hilliard 46, Providence 14
Interlachen 44, Taylor Pierson 0
Palatka 61, Space Coast 8
Ponte Vedra 32, Bishop Kenny 31
St. Augustine 58, Nease 41
Spruce Creek 38, Atlantic Coast 7
Suwannee 40, Santa Fe 0
Tocoi Creek 20, Menendez 6
Trinity Christian 30, Riverside 14
Union County 42, Dixie County 6
University Christian 42, NFEI 6*
Westminster Academy 35, Bishop Snyder 6
West Nassau 24, Gainesville PK Yonge 12
Young Kids in Motion (2-2) at Christ’s Church (0-5), late
Zarephath Academy 33, Hollis Christian 6
Friday night scoreboard, Georgia, Week 8
Brunswick 44, Lakeside Evans 10*
Camden County 21, Richmond Hill 14*
Charlton County 35, Turner County 0*
Glynn Academy 13, South Effingham 9*
Ware County 42, Jenkins 14 *
Saturday, Oct. 8
Off: Baker County, Bradford, First Coast, Jackson, Matanzas.
Television coverage
Football Friday Game of the Week preview: Yulee at Baldwin
Football Friday Game of the Week on the Morning Show: Yulee at Baldwin
Football Friday Game of the Week: Baldwin 20, Yulee 17
Week 7 All-Star of the night: Baldwin QB Jalen Hitchens
Week 7 Play of the night: Brunswick’s Ivan Johnson with a defensive TD
Super 10: How our Super 10 fared in Week 7
Football Friday: Bartram Trail 17, Fleming Island 0*
Football Friday: Bolles 42, Tru Prep 12
Football Friday: Brunswick 44, Lakeside Evans 10
Football Friday: Episcopal 36, Englewood 29
Football Friday: Fletcher 22, White 8
Football Friday: Mandarin 28, Westside 0
Football Friday: Middleburg 41, Clay 12
Football Friday: Ponte Vedra 32, Bishop Kenny 31
Football Saturday: Raines 30, Ribault 19*
Football Friday: Sandalwood 20, Parker 19
Football Friday: Trinity Christian 30, Riverside 14
Football Friday: University Christian 42, NFEI 6*
Football Friday: Wolfson 35, Stanton 7
Week 8 schedule, Florida
Monday, Oct. 10
Taylor Pierson (1-4, 0-0) at Crescent City (2-3, 0-0)*
Thursday, Oct. 13
Atlantic Coast (0-6, 0-0) at Sandalwood (3-3, 0-0), 6:30 p.m.*
Matanzas (2-4, 0-1) at Gainesville (0-7, 0-2)*
Wolfson (3-3, 0-1) at Bolles (4-3, 1-0), 7:30 p.m.*
Friday, Oct. 14
Baker County (4-2, 1-1) at Yulee (3-2, 0-1)*
Bartram Trail (6-0, 1-0) at Creekside (5-1, 1-1)*
Christ’s Church at Providence (2-4, 0-1)*
Eagle’s View (1-4) at Bishop Snyder (4-2)
Episcopal (5-1, 0-1) at Bishop Kenny (6-1, 1-0)*
Fort White (3-3) at Dixie County (2-4), 7:30 p.m.
Fletcher (5-2, 1-0) at Englewood (3-3, 0-1), 6:30 p.m.*
Gainesville Oak Hall at Cedar Creek Christian (4-1)
Gainesville PK Yonge (1-5) at St. Joseph
Hawthorne (4-1) at Union County (5-0), 7:30 p.m.
Harvest Community (2-3) at Aucilla Christian (4-2)
Hilliard (4-2) at Hamilton County (1-3), 7:30 p.m.
Hollis Christian at Faith Christian (3-3)
Interlachen (6-0) at Bell (4-3)
Madison County (2-4) at Suwannee (4-3), 7:30 p.m.
Mandarin (4-2) at Fleming Island (3-2), 7:30 p.m.
Menendez (3-4, 1-1) at Clay (2-4, 1-0)*
Middleburg (3-4, 1-0) at Columbia (3-3, 1-0), 7:30 p.m.*
Nease (1-6, 0-0) at Flagler Palm Coast (4-3, 1-0)*
Oakleaf (3-3, 1-1) at Gainesville Buchholz (5-0, 1-0), 7:30 p.m.*
Orange Park (1-5, 0-1) at Ridgeview (1-6, 0-1)*
Palatka (6-0, 1-0) at Keystone Heights (1-5, 0-1), 7:30 p.m.*
Parker (1-6, 0-1) at First Coast (4-1, 1-0), 6:30 p.m.*
Paxon (1-5) at Beachside (4-1)
Ponte Vedra (3-3) at Trinity Catholic (4-2)
Port Orange Atlantic (1-6, 1-0) at Crescent City (2-3, 1-0)*
Riverside (2-5) at Jackson (5-1), 6:30 p.m.
Tocoi Creek (4-2, 0-1) at Bradford (6-0, 1-0), 7:30 p.m.*
University Christian (7-0, 2-0) at Trinity Christian (6-0, 1-0), 7:30 p.m.*
West Nassau (2-5, 0-1) at Fernandina Beach (2-3, 0-1)*
Westside (1-5) at Baldwin (5-1), 6:30 p.m.
Young Kids in Motion at Impact Christian (1-4)
Zarephath Academy at Chiefland (5-0), 7:30 p.m.
Off: North Florida Educational, Raines, Ribault, St. Augustine, Stanton, White
Week 9 schedule, Georgia
Friday, Oct. 14
Camden County (5-2, 1-0) at Colquitt County (7-0, 0-0)*
Charlton County (4-2, 1-0) at Atkinson County (2-4, 0-0)*
Grovetown (3-4, 0-3) at Glynn Academy (3-4, 1-2)*
Toombs County (4-3, 1-2) at Pierce County (5-1, 1-1)*
Ware County (5-0, 1-0) at Bradwell Institute (0-6, 0-1)*
Off: Brunswick