GREEN COVE SPRINGS – Clay High coach Joshua Hoekstra wondered out loud if his newest ball carrier for 2017, senior Aundre Carter, would be able to transition from Class 4A football to the ruggedness of Class 5A football.

In a sentence, Carter sure did and the All-State first teamer for Class 4A Bradford County a year ago, put up the same impressive efforts for the Class 5A Blue Devils to earn the Clay Today Offensive Player of the Year.

“I think a couple of keys were the offensive line (only one Senior) coming together and Aundre getting down to 225 pounds, he was around 238 when he showed up in June.” said Clay coach Joshua Hoekstra. “It’s a credit to Coach Keller and Aundre working out on his own.”

Carter’s combination of size, power and speed caused mayhem for opposing defense. Tack on a little persistency in the continuation of forward motion and Hoekstra had a bulldozer with acceleration that broke many 8-10 yard off tackles into 40-60 yard runs in a blink for the region finalist Blue Devils.

“He loves football and is a great teammate,” said Hoekstra. “He runs with a lot of heart and practices how he plays, full speed and to the finish.”

Along the way, Carter picked up 2,348 yards rushing on a 9.2 yards per carry average, 24 touchdowns off 10 100-plus yard games with games of 308 yards vs. 2A runnerup University Christian, 313 yards from region semifinalist Zephyrhills and 200-plus yards against Menendez, Oakleaf and Ridgeview.

Carter’s breakaway runs including jaunts of 71 twice; against Menendez and against Ridgeview on the first series of the game; 74 against University Christian on a rumble that came after a strong defensive stand by the Blue Devil defense; and a 42 yarder against region quarterfinalist Hernando that set up a winning second half for Clay.

For the Clay Today All County first team offensive squad, Clay senior quarterback Caleb Eason leads the highly potent weaponry of skilled ball-movers that include Oakleaf High junior Keshawn King, who slashed and dashed his way to 1,427 yards with an incredible 449 yard effort against Creekside High, and a equally dominant three scores off kick returners including two kickoff returns. King’s ability to cut on a dime and explode to top speed got him to green grass in a blink of a defender’s eye and will only make him that much more dangerous next year as national colleges await the show.

Alongside King is Keystone Heights’ rugged Blake Sanders, who got a slow start with the Indians who played one of the stronger schedules in the area, but responded later in the season with 979 yards and 11 touchdowns with five 100-plus games to end the regular season and put the Indians into the playoffs. Sanders also contributed on defense with 31 tackles as a linebacker with an interception, a fumble recovery and a fumble caused.

Eason has orchestrated the offense for Hoekstra the past two years with great results; a Final Four finish and a region championship this year with 1,715 yards passing, 29 touchdowns and just four interception. His quarterback IQ was evident with a 121.7 quarterback rating at season’s end.

“Caleb was an outstanding player who made others around him better,” said Hoekstra. “Caleb is one of the smartest players I’ve ever coached. He leads by example and is a winner!”

The third potential playmaker for the Clay Today first team offense is Ridgeview High’s Kiaran Turner, a slot back/receiver and quarterback in a pinch for coach Cameron Porch who scored 10 well-timed touchdowns for the Panthers quick-strike offense with nine via air and one on the ground. Turner also passed for two scores.

In front of the excitement-makers for the Clay Today All County first team are linemen Jason Brooks, Clay High senior leader at one guard who led Carter to much of his first 8-10 yards downfield; Darius Gooden, Fleming Island’s senior attitude adjustment maker at the other guard; Mike Carns, Clay, junior, at center who kept Eason safe with clean snaps all season; Jalen Rivers, Oakleaf’s junior giant at tackle who cleared the corners for King to break out, and Fleming Island junior Sam Snyder, at tackle, who proved tenacity and strength sometimes trump size and girth.

At tight end, Fleming Island senior Nick Ferendo was a consistent corner blocker for coach Damenyum Springs while also being one of the more reliable first down catch-makers for either of the two Golden Eagle quarterbacks. Ferendo had 17 catches for 273 yards with two scores with a long score of 51 yards against Orange Park high. Ferendo stepped up to lead the Golden Eagle offensive punch in their thrilling region playoff win over Robert E. Lee High with five catches and a score.

At wide receiver, the two top pass catchers had nearly identical stats with Clay High senior Ajay Belanger and Oakleaf High senior Jakari Williams both having 46 catches on the year; nearly 800 yards apiece with Belanger snagging 13 for scores while Williams had three for scores. Williams went big against the best defenses with eight catches against Bartram Trail, 7A runnerup, and seven against Raines, 4A champions. Belanger on the slant pattern was the go-to play for coach Hoekstra and Eason when 10-12 yards was necessary for either a score or a first down.

“Ajay improved each week and was a huge weapon in the redzone the last two seasons, as evidence by his 24 touchdowns the last 2 years,” said Hoekstra.

For kicker, Clay High senior Liz Fogarty did get credit for a tackle in her final season, but the consistency of play proved to be more advantageous to the Blue Devils as her 35 yard line pooch kicks created plenty of field position opportunity. Fogarty also hit 60-64 point after kicks in the Blue Devils’ high-point offense with eight against Orange Park and seven against Zephyrhills not leaving points on the field. Fogarty also hit two of three field goals.

First Team

QB: Caleb Eason, CHS, SR. 1,715 Yds pass, 108-181, 29TDs, 4 INT, 121.7 QBR; 228 yds v Bartram Trail

RB: Keshawn King, OHS, JR

1,427 yards, 7.1, 16TD, 5 100+, 11 catches 129 Yds, 1 TD, 1 Fumble, 33 Yds on KO, 41 Yds on Punts, 20 TD total (2 KO TD, 1 Punt Td, 1 Pass TD), 449 yds vs. Creekside (38-35 win). 222 v OP, 205 v. CHS, 149 v. Bartram Trail, 150 v Buchholz.

RB: Blake Sanders, KHHS, Sr, 979 Yds, 6.0, 11TD, 5 100-+, 10 catches 137 yds. 16.8, 1 Fumble, 31 tackles, 1 INT, 1 Fumble recovery, 1 Fumble caused, (139 v Crescent City), 103 v Wildwood, 117 v Interlachen, 136 v Taylor, 156 v Bradford..last five games.

WR: Ajay Belanger, CHS, SR, 46 catches, 816 Yds, 13 TDs. 6 vs. Fleming Island, Bartram Trail, OP (4Tds).

WR: Jakari Williams, OHS, SR, 46 catches, 745 Yds, 3TDs, 8 vs. Bartram Trail, 7 vs. Raines, 6 v Buchholz

TE: Nick Ferendo, FIHS, SR 17 catches, 273 YDs, 2TDs, long 51OPHS, just 2 drops..3 v OP, Creekside.

5 v Lee, 43 Yds, 1 TD

2-19 v edgewater

2-27Yds v BartrramTrail, 22 Long

OL: Jason Brooks, CHS, S

OL: Darius Gooden, FIHS, SR

OL: Mike Carns, CHS, JR

OL: Jalen Rivers, OHS, SOPH 63 Knockdown blocks

OL: Sam Snyder, FIHS, JR

K: Liz Fogarty, CHS, SR 66 kick points, 60-64 PATs (8 v OP, 7 v Zephyrhills), 2-3 FG,

Utility: Kiaran Turner, RHS, SR 21 catches 399 Yds, 9TDs, 8Passes-2TDs, 21-244 rushes, 1TD. 10TDs total.

Second Team Offense

QB: Tyler Huff, Jr, RHS, 102-187 1623 yards 21 TDs/ 4 INTs/ also had 189 rushing and 5 TDs, 111.6 QBR

RB: Dwayne McBride, FIHS, JR 93-735 Yds 78 long, 7TDS, 2 Fumbles, 4 passes 47 yds 18 long.

RB: Zykiem Sermons, FIHS, OPHS 108 Rushes, 573 Yards 2 TDS, 7 Catches 70 Yards

OL: Dan Dodd, KHHS, SOPH

OL: James Rhodes, OPHS 10 Game Starter on Oline at Center and Tackle

OL: Mitch Romig, OHS SR 2 Yr starter, 20 knockdown blocks

OL: Jose Concepcion, FIHS, SR

OL: Josh Kuseck, RHS, SR 82% grade, 8 pancakes

WR: Marquise Brown, OPHS, SR 40 Catches 510 Yards 3 TDS, 18 rushes 110 yards 2 TDS

WR: Spencer LeSage, CHS, JR 43 catches, 667 Yds, 8TDs, 15.5 per catch, 13-64 rushes 1TD “tremendous hands and is very tough to cover, 15.5 yards per catch and 8 tds. Looking forward to a huge senior year” - Hoekstra

TE: Denaud Valmyr, CHS, SR - One of best corner blockers and a special teams fiend for Blue Devils. “Utility player of the year for us, he was outstanding on KO, relentless blocker at TE and was a weapon (6 touchdowns on 7 receptions. Not having him at full strength in Round 3 game really hurt us both on KO and Offense” --Clay coach Joshua Hoekstra

Utility: Terrance Johnson, OPHS 19 Catches 160 Yards, 121 Rushes 430 Yards 6 TDS, 19-40 Passing 224 Yards 4 TD Passes

K: Charlie Barrett RHS SR 37-42 PATs, 4-6 FG, 42 long. 49 points scored

HONORABLE MENTION

CHS: Jordan Collins OL; Christian Swilley RB; Ross Doan OL;

Joe Grelli OL; Chris Hancher P; Cedric Brown RB

FIHS: Anfernee McCaskill RB; Chauncey Garrison RB; Noah Hamlett K; Jared Ashe WR; Austin Abood OL; Josh Gessner OL

RHS: Brian Jackson WR; Caleb Plyler RB; Trent Coleman RB; Jaiden Turner RB;

OHS: Allan Adams OL; Jamaric Bonner RB;

OPHS: James Rhodes OL; Brock Winder OL; Marquise Brown WR

MHS: Andrew Thomas RB; Malik Ally WR; Garrett Blanchett QB; Matt Oliver K; Brandin Brockington; Cole LeClair

KHHS: Tyler Friedlin TE; Adrien Ciena QB; Alex Cruz RB; Joey Baxter OL; Nolan Sapp TE; Briar Smith RB/LB

Unsung players of year

MHS: Tyler Bryant RB/DB

FIHS: Max Michaels RB/DB

CHS: Ricky Bernabeu FB - “Ricky is very strong and is a great finisher. He is a true fullback and is a major reason why we avg 300 yards rushing a game. Ricky truly was a star in his role.” - Joshua Hoekstra, Clay coach

RHS: Rolando Gray WR/DB

OPHS: Ben Elliott OL

OHS: Walter Simmons QB

KHHS: Colton Crane RB/DB