FLEMING ISLAND - Fleming Island quarterback Cibastian Broughton scored two rushing touchdowns and threw for two more scores as Fleming Island seized control of District 3-5A with a 44-17 demolition of visiting Beachside on October 14.
At 3-0 in District 3-5A, Fleming Island is the lone undefeated team in the district with only a road game at Clay County rival Middleburg (6-1, 1-1) on October 25 standing in the way of an outright district championship.
Reversing a trend of slow starts that had hurt them in losses to Riverside and Oakleaf, the Golden Eagles were in high gear from start to finish on Monday in a blowout that was as dominant as it was unexpected. The matchup with the Barracudas, who entered the game at 5-1 and ranked 12th in Maxpreps.com’s Florida Class 5A rankings, did not favor the hosts. Beachside came in averaging 37.5 points per game on the strength of an aerial attack led by junior quarterback Eddie Jordan, while the Achilles’ heel of a Fleming Island defense that had allowed 27.5 points per game was its secondary. But this night, the Golden Eagles' defense was stifling, bottling up Beachside running back Marco Lanza and harassing Jordan into hurried throws or desperate scrambles. It ends with Jarius Rodgers and Nate Van Hof each having two of the Golden Eagles’ six sacks, while tackles for loss by Kevin Reyes and Cohen Cioffi limited Lanza to 23 yards on eight carries.
Fleming Island interim head coach Derek Chipoletti noted that the Golden Eagles’ difficult early-season schedule had prepared them for district play, and credited Chris Otero, his defensive coordinator, with devising a new scheme of mostly man-to-man defense with occasional blitzes that may have confused Beachside.
“We knew after last week’s game [a 48-45 loss to Creekside] that we needed to take some pressure off of our safeties,” said Chipoletti. “Throughout the year we had been sitting in one base defense. We wanted to disguise some things, we wanted to put a curve ball in. Chris came up with a curve ball tonight and did a great job of calling it at opportune times.”
The Fleming Island offense also may have had its best game of the season, racking up 573 yards of total offense, 424 courtesy of Broughton. The senior quarterback scored the first touchdown of the game from seven yards out on Fleming Island’s second possession to give the Golden Eagles a 10-0 lead after Parker Sirdevan’s extra point. Running to his right, Broughton cut off a block by running back Brady Digman to bolt untouched into the end zone.
Broughton made his most important play in the second quarter, just after Jordan had sliced the Barracudas’ deficit to 16-7 with a six-yard slant pass to Brennan Monaco. When Beachside’s Zach Duncan tackled Fleming wideout Trace Burney for a loss on the first play of the ensuing Golden Eagles possession, momentum was shifting to the Barracudas. But Broughton squelched any notion of a comeback, somehow escaping the grasp of blitzing Beachside linebacker Kru Casey in the pocket, scrambling left and then throwing across his body 25 yards to a wide-open Tristan Stevenson waiting along the left sideline. Stevenson sped upfield, reaching the goal line just ahead of Beachside safety Brick Balcita for an 81-yard touchdown to put Fleming Island on top 23-7. The Golden Eagles led 23-10 at halftime.
Broughton threw a six-yard touchdown pass to sophomore receiver Oliver Piechota in the third quarter after extending the play by moving outside the pocket, a touchdown that stretched the Golden Eagles advantage to 30-10.
Broughton’s final highlight was his most electrifying. The Golden Eagles, who were backed up to their own four-yard line, lined up with five wide receivers and only Broughton in the backfield. The Akron commit took a shotgun snap, slipped through a crease off left tackle, and then turned on the jets. Both Beachside cornerback Drew Watson and Balcita from his safety position appeared to have tackling angles on him, but Broughton split them and dashed 96 yards to the end zone, putting Fleming Island ahead 37-10 with 58 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
Broughton finished with 126 yards rushing on eight carries while completing 13 of 18 throws for 298 yards with no interceptions.
Chipoletti noticed the maturation that is taking place within his senior quarterback.
“He is a superb athlete. He is going to make electric runs, scramble around, and all those things, but sometimes those put us in negative situations,” said Chipoletti. “He is starting to manage the offense better, starting to make better decisions and we are starting to score more points because of it.”
Broughton was not the only offensive star. Demhir Jackson ran 13 times for 133 yards and two scores and also gained 52 yards on a catch and run that setup Piechota’s touchdown.
“Demhir is a phenomenal all-around high school football player,” said Chipoletti. “He’s running the ball, he’s catching the ball out of the backfield, and we lined him up at noseguard tonight for about five snaps.”
The Golden Eagles even enjoyed an edge on special teams. Sirdevan gave Fleming Island a 3-0 lead with a 20-yard field goal to cap the game’s opening drive, converted five of six extra point attempts, and booted six of eight kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks. Sophomore cornerback Chase Donaldson rushed in off of the edge to block a field goal attempt by Beachside’s Owen Carey in the third quarter.
Trace Burney had 150 yards receiving for Fleming Island, whose overall record improved to 4-3. Before their district showdown with Middleburg, the Golden Eagles travel to Class 3A Terry Parker to take on the 2-4 Braves in a non-district game on October 18.
One gets the feeling that the Golden Eagles are peaking at the right time.
“The team-building, the loving your brother, we talk about it all the time,” said Chipoletti. “You can let yourself down sometimes, but it is harder to let the person next to you down if you care about them. That is happening. The kids are bonding, and they are starting to go the extra mile for each other.”