JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A glance at three of the top games in Week 11 of the high school football season, which is the final week in Florida. Georgia teams wrap up their regular seasons next week. All games Friday at 7 p.m. unless indicated.
Fletcher (6-3) at Mandarin (6-3), Thursday, 6 p.m.: A must-win game for both, but probably more so for the Mustangs. Mandarin nudged in to the No. 8 spot in RPI this week and can't afford a loss that would potentially knock them out of the final playoff position. Fletcher's situation is a bit more extreme. The Senators, ninth in RPI but 10th in actual playoff positioning in the region, would need to jump up two spots to qualify. The Senators have won three straight in this series, including 27-20 in OT last year. The Mustangs went on to win the Class 8A state championship. Fletcher RB Myles Montgomery is close, very close, to a 2,000-yard rushing season. He enters this game with 1,959. The last Senators back to hit 2,000 yards rushing in a season was Jamari Smith (2,178 yards) in 2011, although 635 of those came in the playoffs. Ciatrick Fason had a pair of 2,000-yard rushing regular seasons for Fletcher.
Recommended Videos
Palatka (2-6) at St. Augustine (5-4): The second-oldest continuous rivalry in the state plays its 100th installment on Friday night. The Yellow Jackets are ranked seventh in RPI entering this game and are poised for a state playoff berth. Palatka has had a down season, but this rivalry has seen its share of close games, and upsets, when it shouldn't have happened. This game is behind only Arcadia DeSoto County-Wauchula Hardee (its 100th was played last year) as the state's oldest rivalry. St. Augustine leads the series 53-43-3 and has won the last five games in it.
Raines (5-3) at Bartram Trail (9-0): One of the better matchups of the week comes between programs meeting for the first time. The Vikings lost an overtime heartbreaker to Trinity Christian last week, although they are playoff bound as the District 4-5A champ. The Bears are in contention for the top seed in Region 1-8A and have the small piece of unfinished business of trying to close out an unbeaten regular season for the first time in their 20-year history. The Vikings have a solid defense, with one of the area's top defensive backs in Treyvon Hobbs. Can Raines slow down the area's No. 1 team, a unit led by QB Chad Dodson and RB AJ Jones, the latter who is coming off of a career-best five touchdown game?
Thursday
- All games at 7 p.m. unless indicated
- Baker County (6-3) at Tallahassee Rickards (2-7)
- Dixie County (6-2) at Westside (7-2), 6 p.m.
- Episcopal (8-1) at Stanton (1-7), 6 p.m.
- Fletcher (6-3) at Mandarin (6-3), 6 p.m.
- Jackson (3-6) at First Coast (2-6), 6 p.m.
- Lee (6-3) at White (3-6), 6 p.m.
- Middleburg (2-7) at Baldwin (7-2), 6 p.m.
- Nease (1-8) at Atlantic Coast (2-7), 6 p.m.
- Ribault (4-4) at Tallahassee Lincoln (6-3)
- Wolfson (7-2) at Englewood (1-8), 6 p.m.
Friday
- Akelynn's Angels Christian Academy (1-7) at Joshua Christian (1-6)
- Bishop Kenny (1-7) at University Christian (8-1), 7:30 p.m.
- Bishop Snyder (1-8) at Seven Rivers Christian (4-5)
- Bolles (7-1) at Daytona Beach Mainland (6-3)
- Bradford (3-5) at Fort White (3-6), 7:30 p.m.
- Cedar Creek Christian (2-7) at Central Florida Christian (3-6)
- Crescent City (3-5) at Taylor (4-4)
- Hilliard (5-4) at North Florida Educational (3-6)
- Matanzas (3-6) at Menendez (6-2)
- North Marion (7-2) at Columbia (7-2), 7:30 p.m.
- Oakleaf (6-3) at Clay (1-8)
- Oviedo Hagerty (4-5) at Flagler Palm Coast (7-2)
- Orange Park (5-4) at Fleming Island (8-0), 7:30
- Palatka (2-6) at St. Augustine (5-4)
- Parker (6-2) at Yulee (4-5)
- Paxon (2-7) at Hamilton County (1-8)
- Ponte Vedra (7-1) at Creekside (4-5)
- Raines (5-3) at Bartram Trail (9-0)
- St. Joseph (3-5) at Interlachen (4-5)
- Suwannee (5-4) at Dublin, Ga. (8-0), 7:30 p.m.
- Union County (4-5) at Keystone Heights (8-1), 7:30 p.m.
- West Nassau (7-2) at Ridgeview (1-8)
- Windermere Prep (3-6) at Providence (5-1)
- OFF: Christ's Church, Eagle's View, Fernandina Beach, St. Johns Country Day, Sandalwood
- END OF REGULAR SEASON IN FLORIDA
GEORGIA - Friday, Nov. 1
- Appling County (7-1, 3-0) at Pierce County (8-0, 3-0), 7:30 p.m.*
- Bradwell Institute (3-4, 1-2) at Brunswick (4-5, 1-2), 7:30 p.m.*
- Charlton County (1-7, 0-5) at Clinch County (7-1, 4-1), 7:30 p.m.*
- Glynn Academy (3-4, 1-1) at Effingham County (2-6, 0-2), 7:30 p.m.*
- Ware County (5-3, 2-0) at New Hampstead (3-5, 0-2), 7:30 p.m.*