MIDDLEBURG - Fleming Island, Clay and Orange Park high school football has had one common thread the past decade or so when it comes to offense and that is, if Ryan Wolfe is the offensive coach, those teams scored points.

Fleming Island High offensive coordinator Ryan Wolfe, now set to direct the Golden Eagles offense in a region championships on Friday against a surprisingly late-blooming Atlantic Coast High Team, has been given the head coach job at Middleburg High School. Wolfe will replace long time coach and former Bronco player Karl Smeltzer, who finished winless this season.

“I’m excited about the opportunity and they reached out to me,” said Wolfe. “Middleburg is a tough, resilient group that always plays hard and we are going to build on that.”

For Wolfe, who has two crazy games on his 18-year resume that have produced legacy status to his resume; one, a 74-73 still standing record of points scored in a game in a Clay High 2013 region semifinal match against Bishop Kenny.

“That was all regulation time, no overtime,” said Wolfe. “I remember telling coach Stilianou, then Clay High defensive coach, to just make one more stop. The next game, we won 9-7 on a last second pass in the end zone.”

The second was again a Clay playoff game; a record breaking rushing night for Clay High running back Bilal Ally, who rushed for 496 yards with six touchdowns; one a kickoff return, that still stands and also just missed the overall state rush record of Derrick Henry, 510 yards, set during a regular season game. Clay beat North Marion that game, in 2015, 65-58.

Wolfe’s resume includes top five ranked offenses in Florida; including one year with a 15th nationally ranked. Wolfe was part of Clay’s state final game in 2014.

Stilianou reveled in his introduction Wolfe to the next Bronco team in Thursday’s meeting.

“His work level and his ability to get kids in college makes you want to work hard for him,” said Stilianou, who was on the Clay coaching staff with Wolfe during a 10-year long playoff string under then head coach Joshua Hoekstra.

Wolfe credits a lot of people with his inate ability to adjust in the halftime break to exploit in the second half.

“It’s all preparation,” said Wolfe. “If you study really hard for the test, then the test is not that hard. You just got to know what you can do and what you can fix.”

Wolfe named a long list of area coaches; Matt Toblin, Joshua Hoekstra, Damenyum Springs, Frank Garis, Neal and Derek Chipoletti, Danny Green among the coaches who have added knowledge to his repertoire.

“I’ve been with so many great coaches, including Jay Stilianou (the athletic director at Middleburg and a former Clay High football coach),” said Wolfe. “Just being around them has helped me to get here.”

Strategically, Wolfe has been instrumental in a handful of successful players at the quarterback position; most notably Fleming Island High’s Dean Hyams, who played four years with one undefeated season and three region playoff runs.

At Middleburg, Wolfe liked senior to be Luke Padgett style of being able to throw, run and be tough in the trenches as a start point for molding his offense next year.

“Luke is going to fit right in with what we are trying to do offense; we try to run and throw and try to be balances,” said Wolfe.

Wolfe, who left for one year to coach at Creeksie High, returned to be a part of the football community in Clay County.

“I left for one year and it’s the kids in the county that work hard, are talented and they are pretty talented,” said Wolfe. “I like the Clay County kids.”

One of Wolfe’s best success stories is former Clay High offensive lineman Zach Baker.

“He was at Bannerman as a middle school kid, worked his butt off to be one of the best offensive lineman at Clay, then at Duke University and he just finished his degree in business,” said Wolfe.

Wolfe, with wife Laura, a teacher at Orange Park High School, and son, Owen, 8, and a next quarterback prodigy for Clay County, credited them with giving him the support to get to a high school head coach selection.

“Owen has been waiting a long time for this,” said Wolfe, who tearfully thanked his wife also after his introduction.