First Coast Varsity Weekly: Big win historic for Bolles

Just how unusual was Bolles' 24-point win against Trinity Christian on Friday?

The last time any Jacksonville team beat Trinity that decisively, no active high school players were yet born, and only two current area head coaches (Trinity's Verlon Dorminey and First Coast's Marty Lee) were in the same job.

The Bulldogs' 36-12 success was the heaviest win for a team inside Jacksonville's city limits since Oct. 30, 1998, a 45-20 Bolles triumph.

Conquering the Conquerors isn't easy. During the past decade, a 10-year span of five Florida High School Athletic Association titles, Trinity has proven nearly unbeatable for teams all across the area while sending dozens of players to Division I colleges.

The only teams in the region to walk off the field victorious against Trinity in the past decade are Baker County (34-27, Sept. 10, 2010, and 31-28, Sept. 9, 2011), Columbia (24-14, Sept. 29, 2017, and 38-7, Aug. 23, 2019), St. Augustine (27-18, Aug. 31, 2012) and Yulee (36-35, Oct. 28, 2011).

Ball, Barber lead cross country pack

Nease senior Anderson Ball captured a dominant first place and climbed to No. 2 in the state at Saturday's Craig Speziale Invitational in Ponte Vedra, the first large cross country meet on the Northeast Florida schedule.

He broke clear of the field to win in 15:36, followed by St. Johns Country Day's Matthew Stratton at 15:59 and Creekside's Jesse Benavides at 16:16. Jemesu Picone and Logan Sallas helped Bartram Trail to the team title.

Ball, the Class 4A runner-up last fall, now ranks second to only Satellite's Gabe Montague on the state list for 2020.

In the girls race, St. Augustine's Reilly Barber ran 18:46, ahead of Creekside's Elizabeth Ashlyn Iliff and Ponte Vedra's Lauren Bing, to move into Florida's top 10 for 2020. Creekside finished first in the team race.

Special moment for Warriors senior

It didn't count on the scoreboard.

But West Nassau's Max Lucovsky raced away with the play of the day Friday night when the Warriors took on Yulee.

Lucovsky, a senior with Down syndrome, got his moment in the spotlight at the evening's start. Before the official kickoff, the teams arranged to line up on the field as Yulee kicked the ball deep.

Then Warriors returner Chaz Davis handed him the ball, the path to the end zone broke wide open, and the whole West Nassau team raced alongside to celebrate.

"We always try to involve him," West Nassau head coach Rickey Armstrong said. "He's a great part of our student body and everybody loves Max."

Football isn't the only game for Lucovsky, who also participates in golf and swimming.

As it turned out, the unofficial touchdown was almost the only scoring on a muddy night. Jesse Rochay's second-quarter run held up for a 7-0 Warriors win.

Because of poor field conditions, West Nassau announced late Tuesday that Friday's game against Baldwin would move to the Indians' home field, with a 6 p.m. kickoff.

Sack attack for Baldwin pass rush

Two or three sacks in a game for a pair of defensive ends, and it's a pretty good night.

Tally 10 in a game and you have to come up with a new category.

"I thought we were going to be good," Baldwin head coach Robert Shields said, "but I didn't know we were going to be this good."

Defensive ends Tyson McClendon and Carl Nesmith combined for 10 — that's right, 10 — sacks during the Indians' 12-6, triple-overtime victory against Westside.

The pair repeatedly raided the Wolverines' pocket for solo sacks, combination sacks and everything in between. McClendon had 16 sacks last year, while Shields said Nesmith has grown into a formidable pass-rushing threat after bulking up by 30 pounds in the off-season.

Shields said the pair got further help from a push up the middle, led by defensive tackle DaleDarius Walker.

"It was a group effort," Shields said.

Football classes to realign Friday

Got a prediction on the district championship race for football? Time to punt it away.

After Friday, the deadline for schools to opt out of the state series, the Florida High School Athletic Association will draw up new classifications for the rest of the season, thus eliminating district football titles for 2020-21.

Schools in the largest two-thirds will be distributed among Classes 5A through 8A, with the smallest third in 2A through 4A.

Palm Beach County officials announced last week plans that may include opting out of the state playoffs, as reported by the Palm Beach Post, and could form a tri-county conference with Broward and Miami-Dade County schools. All of those counties have suffered delays from the coronavirus pandemic.

Why opt out? Schools that do so have the option of playing games outside the FHSAA's usual regular season window, which normally would end Nov. 6.

If South Florida opts out, many Jacksonville-area schools would likely bump up to a higher classification because of the number of heavily-populated schools in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade. Schools from those three counties make up, either entirely or with a large majority, seven of the 16 districts in Class 7A, compared to three districts in 5A and a mere handful of programs in 2A.

Venue shift for Katie Caples race

Running by the river, year after year.

Except for the autumn of COVID-19.

After more than two decades along the St. Johns River at Bishop Kenny, the Katie Caples Invitational is moving to the New World Sports Complex near Cecil Field on Sept. 26, a relocation prompted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Bishop Kenny cross country coach Kevin Curran anticipates the move will be "for this year only."

The scenic but tightly-packed confines for portions of the Bishop Kenny course aren't an ideal fit for 6-foot social distancing protocols.

Last year's meet included more than 1,900 finishers across elite, varsity, junior varsity and middle school races, plus countless additional coaches, officials, timers and spectators.

So the race's 23rd edition is moving south and west to the New World course, already a familiar venue for many area runners from the preseason Cecil Field Summer Classic as well as prior Florida High School Athletic Association regionals.

Mustangs' Mitchell is SEC-bound

For Mandarin's Nic Mitchell, the next stop is Starkville.

Mitchell announced Tuesday night that he is committing to Mississippi State, the latest Mustang to select a Division I college.

A 6-2, 215-pound linebacker, Mitchell has seen his stock rise rapidly, after helping Mandarin to the Class 8A championship in 2018.

He recorded six tackles and a sack in Friday's opening-night shutout of Atlantic Coast.

Lee's Smith commits to Memphis

DeDrick Smith is on the way to Conference USA.

The Generals' 6-1, 200-pound edge rusher, ranked as a three-star prospect by national recruiting analysts, committed Friday night to Memphis. As a junior, Smith recorded 43 tackles, two sacks and four fumble recoveries.

He joins Bartram Trail kicker David Kemp as a Northeast Florida commitment for the Tigers, coached by former Bolles lineman Ryan Silverfield.

Godfrey starts fast for Cavs

Lia Godfrey needed only minutes for a super start to a college career — with a high school classmate on the opposite end.

After a long delay due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Fleming Island graduate finally made her college soccer debut Saturday for Virginia, netting a goal and an assist in a 3-1 victory over Virginia Tech.

Godfrey, who has represented the United States at multiple youth levels and played at the 2016 Under-17 Women's World Cup, found herself taking aim at a net guarded by Virginia Tech keeper Alia Skinner — a fellow Fleming Island graduate and U.S. youth international member, also making her debut as a true freshman starter in the ACC.

Both Godfrey and Skinner entered the college ranks among the most highly-ranked prospects in the country.

Around the area

Nease junior Rheinhardt Harrison ran 4:08 in the men's mile at Saturday's Atlanta Track Club Classic, his latest bid to break the four-minute mark. On Aug. 15 in Nashville, Tenn., Harrison ran 4:01.34 to shatter the record for a Floridian high schooler and the U.S. record for 16-year-olds. ... West Nassau guard Dallan Coleman, ranked 34th in the ESPN 100 for boys basketball in the 2021 class, named 11 finalist colleges on Saturday: Auburn, Georgia Tech, Iowa State, Louisville, Memphis, Montana State, Ole Miss, Texas Tech, UCF, Virginia and Wake Forest. ... Fletcher senior setter Azra Mulalic currently tops the state MaxPreps volleyball stats with 11.6 assists per set, while Bolles sophomore Grace Albaugh ranks second in kills per set with 5.3. ... Mason Romero of Ponte Vedra and Tatum Register of Stanton were selected to the FHSAA's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee for 2020-21.