GREEN COVE SPRINGS - Clay High's flag football team had to use a wide receiver standout to start their season; went 5-0, then got their top quarterback back, finished 10-0, as area teams prep for the flag football district tournaments.

Clay is currently ranked third in Class 2A with annual powerhouses Tampa Robinson (12-3, defending 4X Class 1A champion) and Choctawhatchee (12-2, beat Clay in state quarterfinal, 13-6, lost in state semifinal to Pembroke Pines Charter) at one and two, respectively.

In the new classes format of the FHSAA tournament setups, with Class 1A-4A instead of the Class 1A and 2A of past seasons, the Blue Devils have dominated their schedule and look to further last year's state semifinal finish behind junior quarterback Teaghan Moses with her holster of weaponry including Yuliana Garcia, Kirra Dodson, Cora Parker and Tatum Waugh, plus the emergence of rugged running from Charlotte Glavin when a change of attack is needed.

In the Clay district 5-2A, the Blue Devils earned a first round bye with their season finish and will await the winner of a clash between Baker County (1-9) and Gainesville (0-10) while, in the bottom of the bracket, No. 2 seed Ridgeview (5-4) earned a bye and awaits the winner of Columbia (1-10) and North Marion (2-7); both semifinals scheduled for Wednesday, April 16 with the final on Thursday, April 17.
Ridgeview as the No. 2 seed has won three of their final four games with a 12-6 upset by Orange Park on April 3 the lone blemish at the end of the season.

Ridgeview, with a 21-0 loss to Clay and just a 6-0 loss to Fleming Island, uses a steady offense of runs from scatback Taniya Booker, who can break from anywhere on the field, and strong over the middle throws to basketball titans Nacoya and Narissa Blocton from quarterback Bella Brown with Emma Rayes and good over the top pass threat.
Clay ended their season with 40-0 win over Florida Deaf and Orange Park, surprisingly, may be the talk of the town come district time; though in district 3-3A, with the Lady Raiders losing their first seven games, and then turning around to win their final three; over Bishop Snyder, Eagle's View and Ridgeview with freshman Ella Crowe, the hero of the girls basketball season, taking over and directing traffic downfield to Ansley Nicholas, Anna Rykalsky and Malia Mazerac.

In district 3-3A, the Golden Eagles finished at 10-2 with a first-game loss to New Smyrna Beach (27-6) on a cold, blustery day, then got stumped by Clay 13-0 on April 1 with Clay snagging five interceptions to thwart the Fleming Island offense led by quarterback Devyn Dudones.
In district 3-3A, Ponte Vedra, at 13-1 (lone loss to Stanton 21-20), is top seed with Fleming Island No. 2, Fletcher, 11-2 (losses to Stanton 26-6, Ponte Vedra 19-12) , at three, Bartram Trail, 11-4 (losses to Fletcher 27-0, Fleming Island 20-6, Ponte Vedra 18-7, Spruce Creek 19-12) at four to showcase a district chock full of wins against each other.
Ponte Vedra features quarterback Izzy Murray who has amassed 2522 yards passing with 32 TDs with three pass catches over 40 passes; 46, 56, and 61.

Dudones, for Fleming Island, has 20 TDs off 1495 yards with sophomores Emily Poucher and Audrey Ellis top targets; 39 and 34, snags, respectively. Poucher has 11 TDs.
In 2024, in Class 2A, Fletcher ended Fleming Island's 15-0 season in the region semifinals with Pace taking out Fletcher in the region final.

Middleburg at five is 4-8, First Coast 1-11 and Orange Park, 3-7, offering a bit of intrigue.
Middleburg exploded for a 35-0 win over Global Outreach in their season finale and coaches James Black and Rodney Ivey may have fine-tuned their offense at the right time with quarterback Raychel Hansen with 16 TDs and wing back Juliana White with seven TD catches. Freshman Payton Morton has been a breakaway target after pass catches with four scores recently.
In Class 3A, Ponte Vedra is ranked sixth, Fleming Island 10th, Fletcher 11th and Bartram Trail 21st.
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District 3-3A
Monday, April 14: Middleburg at Bartram Trail; First Coast at Fleming Island, Orange Park at Fletcher
Semifinals, Tuesday, April 15: Bartram Trail/Middleburg winner at Ponte Vedra/ FIHS v FC/Fletcher v OPHS winners at higher seed.
Final, Thursday, April 17 at higher seed.
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Keystone Heights, in district 4-1A, who finished with an 8-7 record after a strong 33-6 win over Interlachen, has bounced in and out of wins and losses behind gunslinging quarterback Alee Horton who has over 20 scoring tosses with Ashlyn Brown (19 catches, 3TDs), Aubre Miller (27 catches, 4TDs) and Riley Shuford (31 catches, 10TDs) her main targets. Shuford, near six feet tall, is Horton's back of the end zone target for scoring strikes.
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District 4-1A-No. 1 Bradford, No. 2 Santa Fe BYE
Monday, April 14: Florida Deaf (5-7) at Newberry (4-4)/ Palatka (3-7) at Keystone Heights (8-7).
Semifinals: at Bradford/at Santa Fe April 15
Finals: April 17 at higher seed