PONTE VEDRA— A scrambling, reverse field breakaway swing pass by Ryan Siliac, that went 80 yards to paydirt, was the lone highlight of the Fleming Island football team's visit to Ponte Vedra in a surprising 35-9 district 3-5A loss for the Golden Eagles last Friday.

"We have to compete better, plain and simple," said Fleming Island High coach Tom Macpherson, who falls to 3-2 overall, 1-1 in district play. "The difference was the same plays that put 40 points on the board the past three weeks were not working tonight and we made too many mistakes. Ponte Vedra had a good defensive plan, and they executed it."

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District 3-5A
Middleburg 6-0, 1-0
September 26: *Middleburg 28-0 over Orange Park (2-4, 0-2)
October 3: MHS BYE
October 10: Ponte Vedra at MHS October 10

*Beachside 4-1, 1-0, beat Ponte Vedra 33-20
September 26: Beachside BYE
October 3: Beachside vs. 6A-Tocoi Creek
October 10: Fleming Island at Beachside

*Ponte Vedra 4-2, 1-1, lost to Beachside 33-20
September 26: Ponte Vedra 35-9 over Fleming Island
October 3: Ponte Vedra BYE
October 10: Ponte Vedra at Middleburg

*Fleming Island 3-2, 1-1, loss to Ponte Vedra 35-9
September 26: Fleming Island lost 35-9 to Ponte Vedra
October 3: Fleming Island at 6A-Creekside (2-4)
October 10: Fleming Island at Beachside

*Orange Park 2-4, 0-2, lost to Middleburg 28-0
September 26: lost to Middleburg 28-0
October 3: Orange Park at 3A-Westside (0-5)
October 10: BYE
October 17: Orange Park at Ponte Vedra

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Ponte Vedra, now 4-2, also 1-1 with a loss to Beachside two weeks ago, did not waste time in establishing a tone with a shutdown of two run attempts by Fleming Island running back Cedrick McNeil. Then a sack by Sharks defensive end Christian Purnell put punter Parker Sirdevan on the Eagles' goal line.

At the 50, Ponte Vedra running back Alex Winkles crashed on the left side behind massive tackle Brody McLeod and scampered the distance to put Ponte Vedra up 7-0 with just two minutes off the clock.

Fleming Island quarterback Eric Gentry, starting at his own 20 after a touchback kickoff, orchestrated a 17-play drive that included two fourth and one bashes by Sebastian Cruz for first downs and put Sirdevan in for a 25-yard field goal attempt that was more a line drive.

Gentry also got a spectacular diving pass catch from Noah Voltin, who climbed over a defender to snare a ball at midfield.

"They had a few blocked punts, and we missed the field goal after a long drive that could have changed the direction of the game," Macpherson said. "Eric did a nice job in keeping the chains moving with quick passes around their pass rush."

Ponte Vedra missed a field goal on their next drive. But the Sharks defense, again, put Sirdevan on his own goal line for a punt that was partially blocked, putting Ponte Vedra at the Fleming Island 45.

"We can't give them half the field like that and not give our defense a chance to win the line of scrimmage," Macpherson said.

Ponte Vedra made quick work of the field position again with quarterback Cole Rosendahl dropping a lofting pass into the end zone to wideout Sam Cote to go up 14-0 in the second quarter.

It was deja vu after another booming kickoff, where Sirdevan got half blocked again on a punt with Ponte Vedra getting the ball at the Fleming Island 41.
A pass interference call gave Winkles a 14-yard rumble through the center of the Fleming Island defense for a 21-0 halftime score.

In the second half, Sirdevan hit a 26-yard field in the third with Siliac's run closing the Eagle scoring. Winkles would score one more time for Ponte Vedra from six yards out.