CREEKSIDE 48

EPISCOPAL 13

Stars of the game: Seniors Vance Bennett and Jake Forcier stepped in for injured teammates with three touchdowns apiece and more than 500 yards of offense as Creekside (3-3) rolled to a home victory over Episcopal (2-3). Forcier passed for 256 yards and three first-half TDs and Bennett scored the game’s first two TDs en route to 240 yards rushing.

Turning point: With junior QB Tai Lavatai and senior WR/RB J.T. Wood out with injuries, Bennett — normally a starting cornerback — started at RB for the first time since junior varsity. He scored on a 61-yard run on Creekside’s third play and added a 4-yard TD run midway through the first quarter for a 14-0 lead.

Source: Fill-ins Vance Bennett and Jake Forcier spark Creekside in win over Episcopal | St. Augustine Record

EPISCOPAL AT CREEKSIDE

Kickoff: 7 p.m.

Radio: 1010 AM

Records: Episcopal 2-2, Creekside 2-3

Last Year: Did not play

Last Week: Episcopal beat Hilliard 42-0; Creekside lost to Bartram Trail 49-0.

Players to Watch: Episcopal – RB Cameron Rawls scored a pair of touchdowns in last week’s filleting of the Red Flashes. Creekside — DB Vance Bennett is one of the senior leaders on a defense that has will need to rise to the challenge of a run-oriented attack.

Game Info: Episcopal has won two straight since returning to the field after Hurricane Irma. Though Eagle’s View and Hilliard are both .500 programs at the midway point of the season, the Knights have far more depth than any team Episcopal has faced this season. Creekside has been gashed on the ground in recent weeks — but that was by a pair of large public schools with college prospects toting the football. More than 60 percent of Episcopal’s yardage has come on the ground this year. Rawls leads the way with 404 rushing yards and seven touchdowns, but the Eagles can throw the football as evidenced by Jackson Westberry completing 11 of 16 passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns last week. The last time the two schools played was on Sept. 28, 2012, when Creekside won 48-14.

Source: Week 7 high school football previews | St. Augustine Record

Sept. 28, 2017

IRVING, Texas – Vanderbilt’s four-year starting kicker Tommy Openshaw has been named as a semifinalist for the 2017 William V. Campbell Trophy®, presented by Fidelity Investments®.

Openshaw, a first-year graduate student from Jacksonville, Fla (Creekside High School), is among 181 distinguished student-athletes across the nation named by The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame.

Source: Vanderbilt Official Athletic Site – Vanderbilt University

CREEKSIDE AT BARTRAM TRAIL

Kickoff: 7 p.m.

Radio: None

Records: Creekside 2-2, 0-0 District 3-7A; Bartram Trail 2-2 0-0 District 3-7A

Last Year: Bartram Trail won 63-7

Last Week: Nease beat Creekside 49-37; St. Augustine beat Bartram Trail 31-28

Players to Watch: Creekside — QB Tai Lavatai accounted for 326 yards of offense and five touchdowns last week. He threw for 206 yards and two scores and ran 21 times for 120 yards and three touchdowns. Bartram Trail — Junior RB Devin Ellison has run for 100 yards in each of the last two games, including 128 on 21 carries against St. Augustine last week.

Game info: The Bears have won eight of nine in this series including a 56-point win last year and a 31-0 triumph two years ago. The last time Creekside made the short drive to visit its neighbor, in 2015, the game was scoreless at halftime. Considering the firepower in Bartram Trail’s backfield and the fact Lavatai has accounted for 17 touchdowns in four games, expect a plethora of points in the district opener for both schools.

Source: Week 6 high school football previews | St. Augustine Record

Anyone who has time on his hands should ask the boys on the Creekside and Bartram Trail football teams how many players on the opposing sideline are friends of theirs.

“It’s all talk until we get to the field and then show them how we do things,” Wood said with a sly grin. “It’s really highly anticipated.”

Source: Creekside, Bartram Trail kick off District 3-7A play | St. Augustine Record

Creekside at Nease

Kickoff: 7 p.m.

Radio: 103.9 FM (WSOS)

Records: Creekside 2-1, Nease 1-2

Last year: Game canceled

Last game: Creekside defeated Paxon 56-12 on Sept. 7; Nease lost to Bishop Kenny 21-20 on Sept. 7.

Players to watch: Creekside — WR J.T. Wood was moved into the offensive backfield against Paxon to guarantee his touches after Ridgeview double-teamed him the week before. The senior responded with 59 yards rushing and two catches for 87 yards. He scored on a 6-yard run and a 75-yard pass from Tai Lavatai. Nease — Zach Sheffer spearheaded the Panthers’ feverish comeback against Bishop Kenny that fell one point short. The LSU commitment forced a fumble, had a tackle for a loss, ran for 33 yards and scored two touchdowns — all in the fourth quarter. His 9-yard TD run pulled the home team to within a point with 19 seconds left, but the Panthers’ two-point conversion attempt for the win came up short.

Game info: Both teams have shown a willingness to adapt. With starting quarterback Preston Staples suffering an injury, Nease has gone to a single-wing offense with receiver Ashton Wood taking most of the snaps, and the Panthers came close to winning two games since the switch. Creekside moved J.T. Wood to tailback and the Knights responded with a 56-point game. Junior quarterback Lavatai is having a breakout year after sharing time at QB the past two seasons. Lavatai accounted for five TDs passing and receiving against Paxon.

Source: Week 5 high school football previews | St. Augustine Record

Junior quarterback Tai Lavatai accounted for five first-half touchdowns — three passing and two rushing – as Creekside (2-1) scored on its first eight possessions in a 56-12 victory at Paxon (2-1). Lavatai had 221 yards total offense in the first half and has passed for nine TDs with no interceptions in three games this season.

Source: Lavatai throws 3 TD passes, runs for 2 scores in Creekside’s 56-12 win over Paxon

CREEKSIDE AT PAXON

Kickoff: 6 p.m.

Records: Creekside 1-1, Paxon 2-0.

Last week: Ridgeview beat Creekside 49-17; Paxon defeated Wolfson 40-13.

Last year: Teams did not play

Players to watch: Creekside — J.T. Wood has 7 catches for 115 yards and 3 TDs, including 3 for 37 and a TD last week. Coach Sean McIntyre said Ridgeview had a high-low combination on the dangerous receiver every single play. This week the Knights will try to make sure Wood touches the ball more. Paxon — The 6-1, 220-pound Elijah Shingles rushed for 151 yards and two TDs on 11 carries last week and added six tackles.

Game info: Already this season, Creekside has learned how to win (snapping a 22-game losing streak in Week 1) and that winning doesn’t get any easier the second time around. “We had a big letdown after a big win,” McIntyre said. “We weren’t ready to play and that was my fault as a coach.” The Knights will need to tackle better and line up correctly on a consistent basis against the Golden Eagles.

Source: Week 3 high school football previews | St. Augustine Record

Injuries forced Creekside co-captain Ben O’Brien to move from tight end to left tackle. The switch helped the Knights gain 380 yards of offense on the way to their first win since October 2014.

Source: Creekside’s O’Brien getting last laugh at left tackle