NOCATEE - Despite a career night from wide receiver Jordan Williams, who had six catches for 140 yards with three coming on short patterns with additional juking by Williams, the Middleburg High Broncos football team suffered their second loss in district play and second loss in a row with a 44-18 game to Beachside High on Friday in a light rainy night.
"At this point, we are not doing the little things that we do a lot of reps of in practice," said Wolfe, who falls to 6-2 and 0-2 in district 3-5A after last week's loss to Ponte Vedra. "Jordan had a great night and Carson (Stewart, Broncos QB) played well. I guess we have to go back to the drawing board."
Wolfe's reference to Stewart was after a 14 of 30 night for 234 yards with one score and one interception. Where Middleburg was stymied was on the ground with just 82 total yards rushing; 43 by Travis Pinkard to lead the Bronco backfield. Middleburg's offensive line was continually making quick, open seams for the Broncos backfield, but the Barracudas' pursuit speed was able to shut down most of the run plays quickly.
Another aspect of the Bronco's offense that affected the outcome was a plethora of dropped passes throughout the night with Beachsides' pass catchers seemingly unaffected by the steady rain.
Also in district 3-5A, Orange Park (2-6) lost a 35-6 game to Ponte Vedra with the Sharks putting 14 points on the board in the first and fourth quarters. Orange Park can upset the district 3-5A lineup with Beachside visiting on Friday.
At Ridgeview, the Panthers lost 30-0 to Impact Christian and will have a road trip to St. Augustine.
At Beachside, Middleburg scored off a Carson Stewart plunge, a run by Jordyn Grace, and a pass play to Mason Zwilling with Beachside able to answer in the second half with a 30-6 scoring advantage; 14 in the third, 16 in the fourth.
Up north about 45 miles, Clay High 3-5, had a spectacular rebound from a 56-6 loss to St. Augustine last week with a strong 45-14 blasting of Fernandina Beach (4-5), led by running back Lavaris Roberts 170 yards on the ground; 47 yards long, on just 10 carries with two scores; 34 yards and 37 yards. Roberts, coach Kyle Kennard's go-to guy all season with a best of 233 yards in the Blue Devils' win over Ridgeview, added to his season-leading total of 906 yards and a 6.8 yard per carry average.
"He's my guy and he wasn't even supposed to be a running back before the season," said Kennard, in a post-game interview on 1010XL radio. "He made the switch and has been our top guy all season.
For the game, Clay pummeled Fernandina Beach's defense for 413 yards total rushing with wide receiver/running back Antonio Thomas also having a spectacular game with eight catches for 78 yards with three scores with quarterback Landon Martin on target with 13 of 17 passes for 142 yards. Junior running back Nehemiah Bailey added 85 yards on the ground with a 36-yard score.
On defense, senior linebacker Javaris Roberts added to his fifth in Class 4A total with 12 tackles and three tackles for losses.
Fleming Island, 6-3, after back-to-back district wins over Ponte Vedra and Beachside, got a bit of a breather in a 51-24 blowout of 3A-Terry Parker, 3-5 with a three-game win streak snapped, in downtown Jacksonville. Parker had wins over Bishop Kenny, Yulee, and Westside prior to the Fleming Island game. Fleming Island was up 41-12 by halftime.
Now, district championship time; Oakleaf has Mandarin and Middleburg has Fleming Island in key matchups to determine champions and secure playoff spots; home or away.
For Clay and Ridgeview, the Panthers have a 30-0 loss to Impact Christian, the playoffs in region 1-4A are a big jump away with Keystone Heights, a 54-0 loss to unbeaten Chiefland, at number 10 with a stone's throw chance of the top eight.
Oakleaf sits strong for a playoff ticket at fourth in region 1-6A (see Mike Zima story) with Mandarin at fifth.

With numerous coaches admittedly not sure how the playoffs will pan out; coyness or not, here's the rub
According to FHSAA rankings, as of October 15, Mosley High was on top of region 1-4A with Daytona Mainland at eight. Fleming Island was at sixth and Middleburg at seventh.

Region 1-5A
As of October 15, October 18 results included

1. Mosley (1-5A) (16th in FL, 3rd in 5A) 8-0-0. Beat (4A, 6-3) Arnold 56-14. 1-5A Gulf Breeze (2-6) next
2. Niceville (17th in FL, 4th in 5A) 7-1-0. Beat (2-5A, 6-2) Lincoln 38-35. 1-5A Milton (0-8) next
3. Lincoln (32nd in FL, 6th in 5A) 6-2-0. Loss to (1-5A) Niceville 38-35. 3A (8-0) Eau Gallie next
4. Ponte Vedra (44th in FL, 8th in 5A) 6-2-0. Beat (3-5A) Orange Park 35-6. Freelance (5-2) IMG White next
5. Beachside (81st in FL, 16th in 5A) 6-2-0. Beat (3-5A) Middleburg 44-18. 3-5A (2-6) Orange Park next
6. Fleming Island (110th in FL, 19th in 5A) 5-3-0. Beat 3A-Parker 51-24. 3-5A (6-2) Middleburg next
7. Middleburg (165th in FL, 26th in 5A) 6-2-0. Loss to (3-5A) Beachside 44-18. 3-5A (5-3) Fleming Island next
8. Mainland (208th in FL, 30th in 5A) 3-5-0. Beat (5A-13)Heritage (Palm Bay 3-5) 9-0. 4-5A (0-6) Belleview next

Region 1-6A

1. Nease (1st in FL, 1st in 6A) 6-0-0. Beat 7A (3-5) Atlantic Coast 44-12. 4A Tocoi Creek next
2. Pace (24th in 6A, 3rd in 6A) 7-1-0. Beat 4A Pine Forest 29-6. 1-6A (3-5) Navarre next
3. Buchholz (33rd in FL, 7th in 6A) 6-3-0. Beat 2A Santa Fe 42-0. 3-6A (4-3-0) Bartram Trail next
4. Oakleaf (54th in FL, 9th in 6A) 6-2-0. Beat 4A ED White 28-14. 2-6A (6-2) Mandarin next
5. Mandarin (58th in FL, 11th in 6A) 6-2-0. Beat 2-6A Fletcher 8-0. 2-6A (6-2) Oakleaf next
6. Oviedo (69th in FL, 13th in 6A) 7-1-0. Loss to 7A Oviedo 30-20. 4-6A (5-3) Evans next
7 Evans (97th in FL, 18th in 6A) 5-3-0. Loss to 7A Lake Mary 31-6. 4-6A (7-1) Oviedo next
8. Bartram Trail (157th in FL, 24th in 6A) 4-3-0. Lost to 4A St. Augustine 48-21. 3-6A (6-3) Buchholz next

9. Fletcher 5-3-0, 10. Tate 6-2-0