JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The second round of the high school football playoffs are Friday night. Here is a glance of the matchups for local teams in Classes 4A, 5A and 6A. Previews on matchups in Classes 1A, 2A, 3A and the Rural can be found here. Matchups for the Georgia playoff games will be published Thursday.
Recommended Videos
Week 2 playoff glance, Florida
Friday, Nov. 22
Region 1-6A
(5) Oakleaf (8-3) at (1) Nease (10-0), 7 p.m.
Road here: (5) Oakleaf d. (4) Mandarin, 17-14; (1) Nease d. (8) Tate, 42-14.
Winner gets: (3) Pace-(2) Buchholz in the regional final on Nov. 29. Nease would host either team and Oakleaf would travel to face either team.
Region glance: The Knights won just their second playoff game on the field (they had a forfeit win in the 2020 Covid postseason) by the same score that they won their first, 17-14, all the way back in 2014. Head coach Christopher Foy has turned Oakleaf around in two quick seasons. The Knights have been past the season round just once, during that same 2014 season. QB Jack McKissock (2,440 passing yards, 26 TDs) is completing nearly 70% of his passes. RB Christopher Foy II (1,239 rushing yards, 11 TDs) has been the offensive pace setter for Oakleaf on the ground. WRs Carlos Witehrup and Michael Conner have accounted for nearly 1,400 receiving yards and 13 TDs. LBs Bryan Copeland and Jermaine Robinson are both over 100 tackles. Having that success against Nease will be a challenge. The Panthers are 10-0 for the first time since 2006 when they reached the state championship game and lost to Tampa Plant. Head coach Collin Drafts is one of the best in the region and his offense has been superb. QB Nate Harry (2,089 passing yards, 26 TDs) is on the short list as a player of the year contender. RB KJ Perry (824 rushing yards, 15 TDs) and WR Maddox Spencer (828 receiving yards, 11 TDs) leads a cast of gamebreakers. On defense, Joe Miracle III is all over the field. He had a pick-six against Tate last week. LBs Jacob Curry and Noah Hodge join Miracle as the disruptors. Those three, along with Chase Bogle, have combined for 21 sacks. DB Elisha Luckett has five of Nease’s 14 interceptions.
Region 1-5A
(4) Ponte Vedra (9-2) at (1) Niceville (10-1), 8 p.m.
(6) Fleming Island (8-3) at (2) Lincoln (9-2), 7 p.m.
Road here: (4) Ponte Vedra d. (5) Beachside, 45-21; (1) Niceville d. (8) Middleburg, 49-13; (6) Fleming Island 35, (3) Mosley 28; Lincoln d. Daytona Beach Mainland, 21-0.
Winners get: (4) Ponte Vedra-(1) Niceville would get the winner of (6) Fleming Island-(2) Lincoln in the regional final on Nov. 29. Fleming would travel to face either team. Ponte Vedra would travel to face Lincoln but would host Fleming.
Region glance: The Sharks have gone to the second round of the playoffs in back-to-back seasons under head coach Steve Price. It’s a long trip to the Panhandle area for this one. Ponte Vedra has stacked solid performances all around. RB Brian Case (1,471 rushing yards, 19 TDs) has been Mr. Dependable week after week. QB Drew Price tossed a career-high five TD passes last week, two to Davitt Doherty. WRs Jack Berquist and Cam Tietze are Price’s favorite targets. On defense, Ryker Kemp had a career game with five sacks last week. He’s a problem for opposing linemen and has 15 sacks this year. The Sharks have matched the 2012 team for the third-best record in program history. Only twice has Ponte Vedra reached double digit wins (13 in 2016, 11 in 2011). … Fleming Island has enjoyed a renaissance under interim head coach Derek Chipoletti. The Golden Eagles had many of the same pieces this year that they had last season but Chipoletti has been able to get them playing at a high level week after week. QB Cibastian Broughton has been a wrecking ball, with four rushing TDs in the playoff win last week. He’s the program’s all-time leader in scoring with 103 TDs as a four-year starter. He’s passed for 2,000 yards and rushed for 1,010 yards this season. Broughton is far from a one-man show. Along with Broughton, RB Demhir Jackson (1,225 rushing yards, 14 TDs) and WR Trace Burney (1,122 receiving yards, 17 TDs) could form the best trio in the area. On defense, Sebastian Cruz leads the team with 96 tackles and four interceptions. Fleming has been past the second round of the playoffs five times (2007, 2009, 2010, 2017 and the Covid year in 2020) under three different coaches. Derek’s father, Neal (2007), Jeff Webb (2009-10) and Damenyum Springs (2017, 2020).
Region 1-4A
(5) White (8-3) at (1) St. Augustine (9-1), 7 p.m.
Road here: (1) St. Augustine d. (8) Columbia, 28- 0; (5) White d. (4) Pine Forest, 26-13.
Winner gets: (3) Escambia-(2) Choctawhatchee in the regional finals on Nov. 29. St. Augustine would host either team and White would travel to face either team.
Region glance: The last playoff win for the Commanders before last week came over St. Augustine in the second round in 2014. Head coach Lawrence Johnson and staff have done an excellent job this year with a really young crew. Sophomore QB King Boylston has passed for 1,878 yards and 12 TDs. Freshman RB Rontrez Loyd (612 rushing yards, 6 TDs) and junior WR Nick Roberson (542 receiving yards, 3 TDs) have shined this season. Senior WR Landon Francis (632 receiving yards, 5 TDs) is an exception in this underclassmen-heavy lineup. In the secondary, DBs Joshua Patterson, Jacquari Parks, Julian Holt and Davonte Mango will have their work cut out for them against the area’s top passing attack. … The Yellow Jackets thumped Columbia in the opener but they weren’t clean, turning it over three times. They missed injured WR Carl Jenkins Jr., with QB Locklan Hewlett completing all 17 of his passes to Trenton Jones and Somourian Wingo. Those receivers are elite. RB Trendell Anderson is also worth watching because he’s come on out of the backfield. He’s closing in on a 1,000-yard rushing season. The X-factor is the St. Augustine defense, which has come on this year after graduating a boatload of talent. DL Kyon Wilcox, DBs Darrell Jenkins, Braylon James and Jimmie Wheeler are very good. Senior LBs Christian Coleman and Matteo Bernardi lead the team in tackles.
Week 2 playoff schedule, Florida
All games Friday, Nov. 22
Region 1-6A
(5) Oakleaf (8-3) at (1) Nease (10-0), 7 p.m.
Region 1-5A
(4) Ponte Vedra (9-2) at (1) Niceville (10-1), 8 p.m.
(6) Fleming Island (8-3) at (2) Lincoln (9-2), 7 p.m.
Region 1-4A
(5) White (8-3) at (1) St. Augustine (9-1), 7 p.m.
Region 1-3A
(4) Wakulla (8-3) at (1) Raines (10-0), 6:30 p.m.
(3) Bishop Kenny (8-3) at (2) Tallahassee Godby (7-3)
Region 1-2A
(7) Walton (7-3) at (3) Bolles (9-1), 7:30 p.m.
Region 2-2A
(3) Newberry (9-2) at (2) Bradford (9-1), 7:30 p.m.
Region 1-1A
(4) University Christian (6-5) at (1) Providence (8-3), 7:30 p.m.
(3) Maclay (8-3) at (2) Trinity Christian (8-3), 7 p.m.
Rural
(13) Williston (7-4) at (12) Fort White (7-4), 7:30 p.m.
(6) Pahokee (7-3) at (3) Union County (9-1), 7:30 p.m.
Georgia High School Association playoffs, Round 2
Class 5A
Coffee (9-2) at Brunswick (10-1), 7:30 p.m.
Class 4A
Ware County (6-5) at North Oconee (11-0), 7:30 p.m.
Class 2A
Pierce County (10-1) at Columbia (5-6), 7:30 p.m.