JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The high school football regular season is in the books. While we won’t know the playoff bracket until Sunday morning, quite a few teams made their closing pitch for the postseason.
Nease routed Tocoi Creek 47-27 behind five touchdowns from Cam Smith delivered the final remaining district championship to the Panthers (7-3). Nease needed to play flawless football down the stretch and did just that, headlined by last week’s 24-23 win over rival Ponte Vedra. Nease is all but assured to earn the No. 7 seed in Region 1-4S with another district champ Lynn Haven Mosley at No. 8.
Creekside on the cut line
Two Super 10 matchups headlined Week 11, with the Creekside-Ponte Vedra clash the big one. The Knights edged the Sharks 26-21 to make their final case for the playoffs. In a normal situation, Creekside would be in. But Nease’s surprise district title and Lynn Haven Mosley’s upset win over Niceville for a district title puts the Knights in the danger zone.
Creekside began the week in seventh place in Region 1-4S, but it will only make the playoffs if it can vault into the No. 6 spot. Pensacola Pace started the week in sixth position and it pummeled 6-4 Mayo Lafayette 35-7 on Friday night. The Patriots had an 8.897 rating to Creekside’s 8.551. No. 5 Navarre lost to Niceville, but the Raiders already have a district title to get it in the postseason, making it imperative that Creekside leaps Pace. The quality of win favors the Knights (Ponte Vedra is a 7-3 team in Class 4S. Lafayette is a 6-4 team in Class 1R. Pace subbed out Jacksonville’s Hollis Christian Academy (1-6) for Lafayette in its Week 11 matchup, a move that could prove a season saver for the Patriots.
Bartram Trail beat Mandarin 24-14 in the other Super 10 matchup, using three Laython Biddle touchdown runs to stay perfect in program history over the Mustangs. The Bears (6-4) will likely jump to No. 3 in the Region 1-4S rankings.
How the Super 10 fared
1. St. Augustine (9-0), beat Palatka, 41-6. Next: State playoffs.
2. Bradford (10-0), beat Suwannee, 35-3. Next: State playoffs.
3. Mandarin (7-3), lost to Bartram Trail, 24-14. Next: State playoffs.
4. Raines (9-1), beat Westside, 53-0. Next: State playoffs.
5. Ponte Vedra (7-3), lost to Creekside, 26-21. Next: State playoffs.
6. Bartram Trail (6-4), beat (3) Mandarin, 24-14. Next: State playoffs.
7. Riverside (8-2), beat Ribault, 32-23. Next: State playoffs.
8. Bolles (5-5), lost to Berkeley Prep, 42-7. Next: State playoffs.
9. Trinity Christian (7-3), beat Specially Fit Academy, 47-21. Next: State playoffs.
10. Creekside (6-4), beat (5) Ponte Vedra, 26-21. Next: TBA.
They’re perfect!
St. Augustine’s 41-6 rout of rival Palatka in the 105th meeting between the schools wrapped up a 9-0 regular season for the Yellow Jackets, the 10th unbeaten regular season in program history. The Yellow Jackets were just one of two area teams to finish with perfect regular seasons. Bradford was the other. The Tornadoes were denied an unbeaten regular season last year in Week 11 by Suwannee. This year, it wasn’t even close. The Tornadoes crushed the Bulldogs 35-3 to cap off a 10-0 year. It was the 100th career win for coach Jamie Rodgers. According to Josh Wilson of FloridaHSFootball.com, it was Bradford’s first unbeaten regular season since 1990. The Tornadoes are a state championship contender and will start with the No. 1 seed in Region 2-2S.
Bradford Head Coach Jamie Rodgers @Jrod2245 received a special game ball for his 100th win as a head coach! Comes full circle against the program that gave him his first head coaching job which was Suwannee! #flhsfb @BHSTornadoFB @JustinBarneyTV @CFreemanJAX @BothSidesSports… pic.twitter.com/YqEDbdEFm3
— FloridaHSFootball.com (@FlaHSFootball) November 4, 2023
Disappointing finishes
Parker ended the season on a two-game winning streak, closing Mike Holloway’s first season as head coach strong. They did it at the expense of Englewood in Week 10 and Sandalwood on Friday night. The Braves beat the Saints 34-20 in their annual rivalry showdown, handing Sandalwood a stunning 0-10 season. The Saints managed just 82 points all season. Also wrapping up a winless season was Westside, which lost 53-0 to Raines. The Wolverines have dropped 17 straight games dating back to last season. Sandalwood and Westside were the only winless teams in the area this year. That’s not the kiss of death for 2024, though.
Look no farther than teams like Atlantic Coast, which was 0-10 last year, and Stanton (0-9 on the field). The Stingrays went 4-6 this year under first-year coach Step Durham and contended for a playoff spot until the final week. And Stanton won two of its final three games this season before a tough 26-21 loss to Lake Weir in the Sunshine State Athletic Association’s Atlantic Class 2A championship game. Factor in a one-point loss to Wolfson and Stanton had a massive turnaround on the field.
Major turnarounds
Atlantic Coast is one of the better stories this season. So, too, is that of Impact Christian. The Lions were 1-8 in coach Bobby Ramsay’s first season in 2022. Impact beat Hilliard 28-22 on Friday night to cap a 7-3 season. For a program just getting started, that’s major progress. Kevin Johnson’s start at Englewood was excellent, too. Last week’s 24-14 loss to Parker prevented a seven-win season that would have been one of the best in program history, but a six-win season, capped by a rivalry win over Wolfson on Friday night delivered Englewood’s first six-win season since 2006.
☀️ Florida results, Week 11 ☀️
- Thursday’s games
- Keystone Heights 27, Gainesville P.K. Yonge 22
- SSA playoffs, consolation: Cocoa Beach 28, Interlachen 7
- Class 3A bracket, championship: Oxbridge Academy 35, St. Joseph 0
- Atlantic League bracket, championship: Sebastian River 15, Paxon 14
- Friday’s results
- Berkeley Prep 42, (8) Bolles 7
- (2) Bradford 35, Suwannee 3
- DeLand 58, Flagler Palm Coast 23
- Dixie County 12, NFEI 0
- Episcopal 10, Lakeland Victory Christian 7
- Fleming Island 28, Orange Park 27, OT
- Fort White 77, Santa Fe 13
- Impact Christian 28, Hilliard 22
- Matanzas 33, Winter Springs 0
- Middleburg 32, Fernandina Beach 0
- Oakleaf 43, Clay 7
- Ridgeview 42, Crescent City 18
- (8) Trinity Christian 47, Specially Fit Academy 21
- Union County 42, Ambassadors Christian 0
- Vero Beach 31, Columbia 10
- Yulee 18, Menendez 0
- OFF: Baker County, Hollis Christian, Joshua Christian, West Nassau, Young Kids in Motion.
SSAA playoffs
- Championship bracket, semifinals
- Master’s Academy 47, Zarephath Academy 36
- 5A bracket, semifinals
- Mount Dora Christian 35, Bishop Snyder 0,
- Class 4A bracket, semifinals
- Lighthouse Private Charter 21, Eagle’s View 18
- Class 2A bracket, championship
- Harvest Community (3-6) vs. Canterbury (3-6), late
- Atlantic Class 2A, championship
- Lake Weir 26, Stanton 21
Television coverage
- Recruit spotlight: Ponte Vedra’s Jake Guarnera
🍑 Georgia results, Week 12 🍑
Friday’s results
- Camden County 34, Lowndes 23*
- Coffee 28, Ware County 5*
- Effingham County 31, Brunswick 28*
- Glynn Academy 50, Evans Lakeside 7*
- Lanier County 32, Charlton County 28*
- Pierce County 31, Tattnall County 0*