OAKLEAF - Middleburg High emerged from a rough weekend of Friday football for area teams as the lone, still undefeated team in Clay County with a dominating 51-16 win over Ridgeview to stay at 5-0 for coach Ryan Wolfe.

About 12 miles west, Oakleaf let a 21 point second quarter by Bolles bloom to a 38-6 first loss for the Knights. Both games were non-district games with area teams about to start serious playoff implication games in the second half of the season.

Broncos start hot 51-6 half to 51-16 finish

District games next; MHS v FIHS district title?

MIDDLEBURG - Middleburg opened sizzling with a 45-yard kickoff return by Jordan Avellino, then two plays later a 43-yard scoring blast from running back Gino Addison to open scoring against Ridgeview.

Ridgeview, though, was up to the task for a bit as running back Christian Felder ripped through the middle of the Bronco defense for his own 45 yarder to the Bronco 35 where the Panthers settled for a field goal in what looked to be a track meet brewing.

Unfortunately, only one side had the track spikes as Bronco wide receiver Jordan Williams took a slant pass from quarterback Mason Bacus for a 75-yard zigzag ride to the end zone for a quick 14-3 slate.

Ridgeview tried to slow the 'Burg roll with coach Merlin Smith pounding the line of scrimmage with Felder, but a punt set up a 69-yard pass and go for Avellino to a 22-3 lead before the Bronco defense caught Ridgeview quarterback Jordan Mesa in his end zone thanks to an errant center snap.

Now up 24-3, Addison struck again with a 50-yard jaunt as Middleburg was just about ready to put the game on autopilot with a 51-6 halftime score.
Middleburg starts a four-game stretch into the district 3-5A gauntlet with Orange Park, Ponte Vedra, Beachside and Fleming Island in the next four weeks, with a finale with a quickly improving 3A-North Marion team. North Marion plays a tough schedule with Ocala Vanguard, South Sumter, Dunnellon and Eastside on their schedule.

"We are about as ready as we can be for a stretch like that," said Middleburg coach Ryan Wolfe, who will be shooting for an unprecedented four in a row region playoff appearance. "We looked good in all phases, and we are healthy. Orange Park is a really good team and are well coached."

Orange Park lost 42-0 to Bartram Trail last Friday. Clay (0-5) lost 49-7 to 6A-First Coast (3-1) and Keystone Heights lost a tough 39-24 match with previously winless Dixie County. Fleming Island had a BYE week.

In district 3-5A, Middleburg' 5-0 is on top of the lineup with Beachside at 4-1, Fleming Island at 3-1, Ponte Vedra at 3-2 and Orange Park at 2-3.
On Friday, September 19, Ponte Vedra beat Menendez 48-6 after a 33-20 loss to Beachside. Beachside beat Bishop Kenny 35-31 with their lone loss their season opener to 1A-14th ranked Orlando Christian Prep; 20-14.

Fleming Island gets to skip through their district finish with Ponte Vedra and Beachside sandwiched around Creekside and Parker a game before Middleburg.

"We'll see how things play out between the district with everyone playing and hope that maybe that Middleburg game will be for a district title," said Fleming Island coach Tom Macpherson. "The next three weeks will be very treacherous for all five of the teams in our district with, I think, every game to be very competitive."

In district 3-4A, for Clay (0-5) and Ridgeview (1-4), the meat of their district is forthcoming with dates with undefeated Columbia (5-0, ranked seventh in 4A) and St. Augustine (5-0, ranked third in 4A) not making the season any easier. St. Augustine already has wins over previously undefeated Bolles and Nease with the Yellow Jackets winning 28-24 over Nease last Friday.

For Keystone Heights, 0-4, their already tough schedule does not let up with Bradford County (4-1, beat Eastside 28-7), West Nassau (5-1, lost to Yulee 17-0) and Santa Fe (4-0, beat 5-1 Fernandina Beach 37-27) on the way. Fernandina Beach will come to Keystone Heights on October 10.

Knights 15-0 season upended

For Oakleaf, who had one of the more arduous scheduled in all of Florida, running back Fareed Coleman ran for 102 yards and a touchdown, but it was not enough as the host Knights could not close the 21-6 halftime gap Bolles built.

Bolles, now 4-1 and ranked second in Florida’s Class 2A by Maxpreps.com, simply outmuscled Oakleaf. Running back Xander Edwards, who is 6’2” and weighs 215 pounds, ran through and around the Knights for 179 yards on 26 carries.

Tight end/defensive end Corbyn Fordham, who stands 6’4”, 225, had four receptions for 34 yards and had a sack. Defensive end Asher Ghioto, who is 6’5”, 240, and linebacker Thomas Green, who is 6’1”, 220, each had two sacks.

“They are a physical team. You play teams that have very good players to force you to play as hard as you possibly can,” said Oakleaf head coach Christopher Foy. “We fell short tonight.”

The Knights, now 4-1, must regroup for their next game, a District 2-6A battle at Fletcher (4-1) on September 26. With perennial power Mandarin (4-1), the only other team in the district, a win over the Senators appears critical.

“It’s tough to go to the beach,” said Foy. “We are a little banged up, but we have been battle-tested so we’ll know how to respond.”

Bolles came in hot with Edwards scoring touchdowns on the Bulldogs’ second and third possessions to stake the visitors to an early 14-0 lead. The sophomore powered his way over the goal line from a yard out to cap a 12-play, 79-yard drive that spanned the end of the first quarter and the beginning of the second.

After Oakleaf’s Sam Pena missed a 27-yard field goal attempt low and left, Edwards struck again, bolting through a crease up the middle and outrunning the Oakleaf secondary 76 yards to the end zone.

Oakleaf mounted a second consecutive drive, finding paydirt this time on an 11-yard run by Coleman. The senior darted up the middle, juked right, cut left and dragged safety Santana Starks into the end zone. Bolles’ Andre Tarrance blocked Pena’s point after the touchdown attempt, leaving Oakleaf trailing 14-6 with 2:51 remaining before halftime.

It appeared the Knights would have a chance to tie the game when an offensive face masking penalty left Bolles facing a third down with 21 yards to go for a first down at their own 19-yard line on the ensuing possession. Not risking an interception with a downfield throw, Bulldogs’ backup quarterback Luke Toland flipped a screen pass to Edwards. Oakleaf linebacker Kamauri Townsend read the play perfectly, flying in to hit Edwards at the line of scrimmage.

But Edwards wriggled out of Townsend’s grasp and gained 22 yards for a new set of downs. Two plays later, the Bulldogs fooled Oakleaf with a trick play. Toland handed the ball to slot receiver Naeem Burroughs on an apparent jet sweep, but Burroughs pulled up after a few strides and threw deep to Camden Tietze running all alone down the sideline. Tietze hauled in the pass and high-stepped over the goal line for a 34-yard touchdown with 18 seconds remaining in the first half. Langston Florence’s extra point gave Bolles a 21-6 lead.

The Bulldogs extended their lead to 24-6 on the opening drive of the second half, draining almost eight minutes off the clock on a march that culminated in a 34-yard field goal by Florence.

There was no further scoring until Bolles added two touchdowns in the final three minutes. After a fourth down pass interference call against Oakleaf, Bulldogs quarterback Jaden Weatherly rolled right and found Burroughs crossing the field in the end zone for a 5-yard score. Two plays from scrimmage later, Bolles linebacker Christian Hayes sacked Oakleaf quarterback Jack McKissock, forcing a fumble that Ghioto scooped up and returned 19 yards to the goal line.

The game might have been much closer but for Oakleaf’s inability to convert in the red zone. The Knights, who matched Bolles with 15 first downs and had 328 yards of total offense, drove inside the 10-yard line four times but came away with only one score. Pena’s missed field goal squandered one opportunity, McKissock was sacked by Green on fourth down from the two-yard line in the third quarter, and Oakleaf running back Ezra Brown was stopped at the one-yard line as the game clock expired.

“We did not win third down a whole lot tonight,” Foy observed. “That was the big thing.”

Bolles went three for three on fourth downs, all on scoring drives, and converted four third downs on its five scoring drives. Oakleaf went two for seven on third downs and one for two on fourth downs.

McKissock completed 18 of 24 passes for 232 yards for Oakleaf. Conner led all receivers with 90 yards on five catches.