JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The high school football regular season cranks up in full this week and News4JAX/Varsity 4 have you covered every step of the way. We’ll have four games to watch, the next four best and the full schedule in our Thursday coverage. All game times are 7 p.m. unless indicated.
(4) Raines at (3) Bolles, Varsity 4 Game of the Week, 7:30 p.m.
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It’s one of the best showdowns in the area and it comes in the first week. These teams have a combined 14 state championships (11 Bolles, three from Raines) and churn out major college prospects every year. This rivalry got a major infusion in 2011 when Raines pulled a 26-21 upset, a game that ended a 19-year, 91-game district winning streak of Bolles that remains a state record. The two rivals have played so many unforgettable games since then that it’s difficult to hone in on just one. So, let’s look at the last two clashes, both in the playoffs. Bolles used defense to beat Raines 14-7 in last year’s second round. A year earlier, it was more of the same in a 21-14 playoff win. Throw those two out the window because both teams are in far different situations than they were even less than a year ago. Raines has one of the best offensive linemen in the country in five-star Solomon Thomas. Its defensive front is headlined by a monster tackle in Jyon Simon. The Vikings are loaded elsewhere, including an infusion of transfers like QB Timothy Cole Jr. and LB Tony Williams. Cole has a receiving corps that runs six deep, with Adron Walker, Andreus Cox and Ziyon Butler three names to watch. Former Raines star receiver Rick Wells has been added to the staff and this position group is his bread and butter. This is head coach Donovan Masline’s best team by far. On paper, this Raines team is even better across the board than former coach Deran Wiley’s back-to-back championship teams in 2017-18. Looking the part and playing the part are far different things, and Masline knows the Vikings will be wearing a bullseye all season. For head coach Matt Toblin at Bolles, his sixth season begins with similar expectations as the previous five — a state title. The Bulldogs have reached no worse than the state semifinals in his tenure there. Bolles took its lumps last year, going 5-5 in the regular season. But the Bulldogs know how to turn it on. All those young players who were freshmen and sophomores in 2023 are now a year older and far more experienced. QB Ethan Drumm has plenty of varsity reps. RBs Emmett Grzebin and Ty Neal both return. JJ Sparks is one of the top OL in the area. WRs Naeem Burroughs and Chase Collier are two of the area’s best. LBs Troy Holloway and Simeon Caldwell headline the defense. Freshman DL Asher Ghioto will be in the conversation with Mandarin’s Brysen Wright as the top 2028 player in not only the area but in the state.
Bulldogs-Vikings history over the last 20 meetings
| Year | Result |
|---|---|
| 2023 playoffs | Bolles 14, Raines 7 |
| 2022 playoffs | Bolles 21, Raines 14 |
| 2016 playoffs | Bolles 60, Raines 20 |
| 2016 | Bolles 24, Raines 23 |
| 2015 playoffs | Raines 34, Bolles 8 |
| 2015 | Raines 35, Bolles 30 |
| 2014 playoffs | Bolles 20, Raines 13 |
| 2014 | Raines 34, Bolles 33 |
| 2013 playoffs | Bolles 35, Raines 28 |
| 2013 | Raines 45, Bolles 31 |
| 2012 | Bolles 24, Raines 21 |
| 2011 playoffs | Bolles 24, Raines 6 |
| 2011 | Raines 26, Bolles 21 |
| 2006 | Bolles 31, Raines 14 |
| 2005 | Raines 34, Bolles 21 |
| 2004 playoffs | Bolles 28, Raines 7 |
| 2004 | Bolles 21, Raines 8 |
| 2003 | Bolles 27, Raines 14 |
| 2002 | Bolles 31, Raines 6 |
| 2001 | Bolles 10, Raines 6 |
Week 1 predictions | Week 1 Super 10 rankings | Georgia week-by-week schedules, results | Florida week-by-week schedules, results | Team schedules for 2024
Top four games
(7) Bradford at (8) Baker County
The annual clash is always a must-see game. Jamie Rodgers has turned Bradford into a powerhouse. In his two seasons, all the Tornadoes have done is go 26-3 and play for a state championship behind the area’s best defense. Included in those two seasons are four wins over Baker County, Rodgers’ alma mater, including back-to-back playoff wins. There are questions on defense this season, a natural concern after a boatload of graduation losses, but don’t expect a massive slide. Back are players like two-way stars Jeremiah McKenzie and Duke Lewis, two names you’ll hear like they’re on repeat this season. It’s a similar vibe at Baker County, where Kevin Mays has the foundation in place to keep rolling out playoff teams annually. This Wildcats team will be strong defensively. S Rhett Rhoden had seven interceptions as a freshman. S Davion Dean is a major college prospect (Liberty commit). DE Phillip Jackson led the team in sacks in 2023. LB Seth Chestnut is one of the area’s top backers. Both of these teams have expectations for a deep playoff run and the talent to get there, too.
(9) Creekside at (1) Mandarin, 6:30 p.m.
This series has been back and forth. The Knights are 5-4 all-time against Mandarin, including three straight wins. The Mustangs know that stat all too well. The decorated senior class, led by four-year players WR Jaime Ffrench Jr. and QB Tramell Jones, brought that dubious note up at high school media day and said this game is personal. Mandarin is perhaps the most talented public school team in the state. The Mustangs are the first area team to boast two five-star seniors in the same year in Ffrench and reigning All-News4JAX defensive player of the year Drake Stubbs. That recruiting prowess has typically been reserved for private school powers like Bolles and Trinity Christian, although neither the Bulldogs nor Conquerors have had senior 5s in the same season since the star system was introduced in the early 2000s. Trinity came close, with S Tyreke Johnson (2018), S Shaun Wade (2017) and S Kevin Toliver II (2015) all five-star prospects who overlapped. Nease had something similar with QB Tim Tebow (2006) and OT James Wilson (2007). But Mandarin is the area’s first with a pair of five-star seniors in the same season. ...
Creekside can’t be discounted to pull an upset. They clearly know how to win against the Mustangs. Coach Sean McIntyre has built a consistent program in St. Johns County. Offense is what the Knights do best, and they have an excellent group returning. QB Sean Ashenfelder, RB Harrison Garrido and WR Kaleb Taylor-Burch are excellent playmakers. Creekside has held Mandarin in check three games in a row, can it do it a fourth time? McIntyre the second-longest tenured head coach there, hired in late 2016 to take over Creekside. Only Brian Braddock at St. Augustine (nine seasons), McIntyre’s former colleague at both Mandarin and the Yellow Jackets, has been a head coach longer currently in St. Johns than McIntyre (eight).
The Mustangs-Knights series history
| Year | Result |
|---|---|
| 2023 | Creekside 23, Mandarin 22 |
| 2022 | Creekside 37, Mandarin 27 |
| 2021 | Creekside 20, Mandarin 16 |
| 2016 | Mandarin 54, Creekside 3 |
| 2015 | Mandarin 47, Creekside 29 |
| 2012 | Mandarin 28, Creekside 14 |
| 2011 | Creekside 28, Mandarin 22 |
| 2010 | Mandarin 41, Creekside 28 |
| 2009 | Creekside 24, Mandarin 21 |
(10) Ponte Vedra at Nease
This series has been dominated by the Sharks, but the Panthers have added a new wrinkle to this rivalry with wins in two of the last three games. Still, there’s a lot of catching up to do for head coach Collin Drafts and Nease. The last two games in this rivalry have been epic, down-to-the wire battles. Nease scratched out a 24-23 win last year in the Game of the Week over the then-No. 3-ranked Sharks. That denied Ponte Vedra a district crown. Ponte Vedra has a lot of talent on the defensive side of the ball, including LB Talan Babin and DEs Ryker Kemp and Robbie Grieco. If fans don’t know those names, they will very soon. WR Maddox Spencer was a first-team All-News4JAX selection as a junior and he is exceptionally fast with sticky hands. RB KJ Perry and two-way player Brayden Felder provide Nease with some get up and go on offense.
The Panthers-Sharks series history
| Year | Result |
|---|---|
| 2023 | Nease 24, Ponte Vedra 23 |
| 2022 | Ponte Vedra 35, Nease 34 |
| 2021 | Nease 14, Ponte Vedra 7 |
| 2020 | Ponte Vedra 24, Nease 7 |
| 2019 | Ponte Vedra 21, Nease 14 |
| 2018 | Ponte Vedra 35, Nease 14 |
| 2017 | Ponte Vedra 24, Nease 13 |
| 2016 | Ponte Vedra 27, Nease 14 |
| 2015 | Ponte Vedra 17, Nease 3 |
| 2014 | Ponte Vedra 21, Nease 20 |
| 2013 | Ponte Vedra 52, Nease 17 |
| 2012 | Ponte Vedra 35, Nease 7 |
| 2011 | Ponte Vedra 41, Nease 0 |
| 2010 | Ponte Vedra 34, Nease 7 |
| 2009 | Nease 38, Ponte Vedra 20 |
Next four
Fleming Island at Clay
An always exciting Clay County rivalry. The Golden Eagles are a team to watch. They’ve got a proven interim coach in Derek Chipoletti (installed earlier this month after an unceremonious and quiet departure from Chad Parker) and return QB Cibastian Broughton. Fleming has won back-to-back games in this series. The Blue Devils will try and turn things around after two sub-.500 seasons in a row.
(6) Riverside at Oakleaf
Big things are expected at both of these schools. The Generals have thrived under coach Antwan Nicholas, including a 9-3 season in 2023. They have a pair of Super 16 recruits (Tae’Shaun Gelsey and Myles Kendrick) and return veteran QB Glenn Foreman III. Oakleaf had a tough first season under coach Christopher Foy, losing six of its last seven games. This should be a more consistent season for the Knights. They have a Super 16 recruit (DB Kaylib Singleton) and a capable WR in Mike Conner II.
(2) St. Augustine at Palatka
An unusual spot on the calendar for the state’s second-oldest rivalry. Only Arcadia DeSoto and Hardee have played longer. That series began in 1921. St. Augustine and Palatka met for the first time in 1922. The Yellow Jackets have won 10 straight in this series, which has typically been played in the final week of the regular season. Former St. Augustine Record sports writer Will Brown did an excellent perspective piece on this storied rivalry several years ago that explores the depth of this rivalry. Palatka has gotten into a rhythm under Patrick Turner as its head coach. The Panthers have gone 7-4 and reached the playoffs the last two seasons. Junior QB Tommy Offord was a very good player last season. He passed for 831 yards (11 TDs) and rushed for 1,002 yards (16 TDs). Offord is the catalyst for Palatka and remains the reason why the Panthers should contend in every game this season, including this one. It will be a steep climb against St. Augustine, which is one of the best teams in Class 4A. The Yellow Jackets are coming off a 13-1 season and loss in the 3S state championship game. They return almost intact in the aerial game, with QB Locklan Hewlett, WRs Carl Jenkins Jr., Trenton Jones and Somourian Wingo all back. Watch out for DE Mike Wright to emerge as the new leader of the defense. He’s a disruptor at the line.
Trinity Christian at White, 6:30 p.m.
Some questions for both teams, notably Trinity. After years of veteran rosters and major college prospects, it’s a bit of an unknown for the Conquerors. Young players dot the roster, so it’s going to be interesting to see how coach Verlon Dorminey and staff develop the younger players. The Commanders are always in the conversation for a playoff berth and would like nothing more than a win over their Westside rivals to open the season.
Florida schedule, Week 1
Friday, Aug. 23, all games 7 p.m. unless noted
Baldwin at Englewood, 6:30 p.m.
Bishop Kenny at Matanzas
(7) Bradford at (8) Baker County
Cedar Creek Christian (1-0) at St. Joseph (1-0)
(9) Creekside at (10) Mandarin, 6:30 p.m.
Crescent City at Deltona
Eagle’s View (1-0) at Bell Creek Academy (0-1)
Fernandina Beach (0-1) at Hilliard
Fleming Island at Clay
Frederica Academy (Ga.) (1-0) at West Nassau (0-1)
Frostproof at Providence
Harvest Community (0-1) at Christ’s Church (1-0)
Jackson at KIPP Bold City, 6:30 p.m.
Keystone Heights at Interlachen (0-1), 7:30 p.m.
Merritt Island at Impact Christian
NFEI at Hollis Christian
Orange Park at Ridgeview
Orlando Christian Prep at Beachside
Parker at Atlantic Coast, 6:30 p.m.
Paxon (1-0) at Wolfson, 6:30 p.m.
(10) Ponte Vedra at Nease
Port Orange Atlantic at Flagler Palm Coast
(4) Raines at (3) Bolles, 7:30 p.m.
Ribault at Fletcher, 6:30 p.m.
(6) Riverside at Oakleaf
(2) St. Augustine at Palatka
Sandalwood at Menendez
Seffner Christian (0-0) at Duval Charter (0-1)
Stanton (0-1) at Bishop Snyder (1-0)
Suwannee at Columbia, 7:30 p.m.
Sumner at Bartram Trail
Taylor County at Fort White, 7:30 p.m.
Tocoi Creek at First Coast, 6:30 p.m.
Trinity Christian at White, 6:30 p.m.
Union County at Yulee
University Christian at Newberry, 7:30 p.m.
Westside at Middleburg
YKIM at Windermere Prep, 4 p.m.
Zarephath Academy (1-0) at Episcopal
OFF: Old Plank Christian
Georgia schedule, Week 2
Friday’s games, all start at 7:30 p.m.
Brunswick (0-1) at Wayne County (0-1)
Charlton County (1-0) at McIntosh County Academy (1-0)
Coosa Christian (0-0) at Pierce County (0-0)
East Lake (0-1) at Camden County (1-0)
Richmond Hill at Glynn Academy
Ware County at Coffee