It’s not just talk anymore. High school football is officially in season.
Teams across the Florida High School Athletic Association began their campaigns with preseason games, fondly known as kickoff classics, on Aug. 13 and 14 before Week 1 arrives for most on Aug. 21. The Volusia-Flagler area wasn’t any different.
Thirteen local programs made their 2026 debuts with varying degrees of success. Halifax was supposed to be the 14th, but its scheduled contest was canceled due to inclement weather.
Here are the scores and takeaways from this week’s slate.
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Volusia-Flagler high school football Week 0 scores
DeLand wins kickoff classic shootout vs. Sumner
The Bulldogs enter the season as one of the premier programs in Florida, and their offense looked like it in their victory over Sumner.
DeLand continued its patented high-scoring affairs, running its signature single-wing offense, and dropped 52 on the 2025 Region 2-7A runner-up. The Bulldogs scored 48.3 points per game a season ago.
For DeLand, its scoring output was just enough to secure the kickoff classic victory. It’s only the preseason, but the Bulldogs will probably look to lessen the 46 points it allowed the Stingrays to score.
Mainland beats Osceola — again
The Buccaneers started their season with another kickoff classic win against Osceola.
Mainland won a close 14-13 contest over the Kowboys during the 2025 preseason, but the Bucs expanded their margin of victory to 27-9 in 2026.
Osceola is usually a formidable competitor, finishing as the FHSAA’s No. 87 squad last season. It’s a much-needed tune-up game for Mainland, which begins its gauntlet of a schedule against Carol City, MaxPreps’ No. 3-ranked Florida team, on Aug. 21.
Todd Cutler Jr., New Smyrna Beach in midseason form
Todd Cutler Jr. performed his usual magic tricks.
The junior scored four touchdowns — yes, four — in New Smyrna Beach’s road blowout of Hudson. He rushed for two and caught two more from QB Jace Payne.
But when the final tally is 42-0, it wasn’t just a one-man show. The Barracudas dominated.
Jayden Washington rumbled for a touchdown, and Calvin Blount returned a fumble for a score, contributing to the defense’s clean sheet.
Fresh off an 8-3 campaign and a district championship, the ’Cudas will host Hagerty in the regular-season opener. After Friday night, they appear ready.
Atlantic wins first game since 2024
It’s been a while since the Sharks last won a football game of any kind, but they broke the losing streak against Bishop Snyder Friday.
Atlantic beat the Cardinals 20-0 to end its 12-game skid dating back to a 14-13 triumph against Eustis on Oct. 18, 2024. The Sharks will look to pick up their first regular-season win since then at Crescent City on Aug. 21.
It doubled as the first victory, and game, under interim head coach Lorenzo Myers, who took over the program after Saul Rodriguez resigned in July.
Matanzas’ Wiley Conner looks poised for huge season
Wiley Conner set the tone on his first carry.
He grabbed a handoff from quarterback Cole Hardy and darted upfield, motoring for 24 yards. On the next drive, he broke loose for a 42-yard touchdown.
By the end of the first quarter, the senior had touched the ball six times for 87 yards.
“I thought it felt awesome out there with my O-line,” Conner said. “I missed those guys out there on the field. Honestly, it just felt amazing to be back out there.”
Conner figures to be a prominent force for the Pirates this fall. Last season, he paced the area with 213 carries. He turned those into 1,108 yards and nine scores.
And while record-setting QB Cole Walker graduated, Conner and four of his starting offensive linemen from 2025 returned.
Conner finished with 109 yards on 12 totes against Seabreeze.
Pine Ridge enjoys rout where everyone contributes
The Panthers spread the wealth in their 21-0 preseason romp over Lake Nona.
Three players accounted for their three touchdowns. Jermaine Burke and Yomar Medina each found the end zone on the ground, and Ryan Rodriguez caught a scoring pass from Dominic Silva. Elijah DuPont led the squad in receiving yards.
On defense, Pine Ridge pitched a shutout, something it hadn’t done since its kickoff classic against Halifax in 2024. Dakaree Thomas and Corey Evans each sacked the quarterback, and Jaheim Blair and Cameron Payne both picked him off.
Seabreeze still adapts and fights on defense
The Sandcrabs allowed touchdowns on Matanzas’ first two drives. But then they settled in.
They flashed trademark stinginess on defense, especially when space got tight. They turned the Pirates away inside the 10-yard line twice, forcing turnovers on downs.
“Always tough to stop guys on fourth down,” coach Mike Klein said. “Obviously, in a game like this, you’re going to go for it more than you’re not. But proud of the guys for stepping up. Once we got through those first few series of just kind of not doing what we’re supposed to do, we kind of got that fixed a little bit. If we play what we’re supposed to do, we’re pretty damn good.”
Early in the second quarter, Seabreeze’s defense picked up its offense, which had just given away an interception in its own territory. It stopped a Matanzas run after four yards on fourth-and-5 from the 7-yard line.
The Sandcrabs repeated that in the fourth quarter. On fourth down from the 2-yard line, they shoved a QB run back three yards to regain possession.
“I think that definitely builds confidence for us,” defensive lineman Matthew Wells said. “Shows us what we’re made of.”
Spruce Creek changes offense to wing-T
The Hawks saw an uptick of outgoing transfers at a position where continuity is especially important — quarterback.
Spruce Creek’s starter last season, PJ Miller, left for Volusia County foe Mainland. The remaining two on its depth chart transferred out of county.
Former JV quarterback Owen Josephs is the only remaining signal caller from 2025, and he took over in Spruce Creek’s kickoff classic against Winter Park. But he didn’t get to flaunt his arm, as the Hawks debuted a wing-T scheme that saw Josephs throw the ball just twice, with one being a 70-yard touchdown to receiver Isaac Fanelli.
With a young team, head coach Andy Price felt that was the way to go in the preseason.
“If you don’t have a quarterback, you’re thin at receiver, what offenses actually can you run other than something that’s system-oriented, trying to be sound, trying not to turn the football over,” Price said. “We’ll open it up some, but we’re not going to be spread like we were last year.”
Taylor finishes game vs. Umatilla with 10 players
The Wildcats started Friday with just 12 active players; they finished with 10.
Taylor’s varsity season was in doubt during the offseason because of low participation, but it persevered and is set to play a seven-game schedule.
Before that starts, the Wildcats competed in their kickoff classic against Umatilla and lost 48-0. After an injury and an ejection (coach’s decision) in the first quarter, Taylor finished the game with 10 players to Umatilla’s 11.
Despite the final score, new coach Allen “BJ” Johnson was happy with how his players fought against the obvious disadvantage.
“We played with 10 from two minutes and 30 seconds left in the first quarter,” Johnson said. “… We could have said we weren’t gonna finish the game. We wanted to finish the game … just for ourselves, just to prove that we can finish the game and we’re not going to be the same program that it’s been.
“We’re gonna put our heart and soul in this thing, and we’re gonna play football.”
Flagler Palm Coast splits kickoff classics — sort of
The Bulldogs played in a three-team jamboree: one half against Bartram Trail and another against Fleming Island.
Flagler Palm Coast suffered a narrow 24-14 defeat to Fleming Island but avoided getting swept with a 20-20 tie against Bartram Trail.
The Bulldogs are looking to improve from a 3-7 season a year ago entering coach Patrick Turner’s second season at the helm. They’ll start the regular season with the Potato Bowl against Matanzas for Flagler County bragging rights.
Preseason isn’t permanent
Here’s the bad part of preseason games: The wins don’t count.
A victory, no matter how close and dramatic or easy and convincing, doesn’t go on the official ledger.
But that’s also the good news: The losses don’t count, either.
Teams like Deltona, Father Lopez, Taylor and University that suffered one-sided defeats can apply the lessons learned but forget the result. The slate is wiped clean, and everyone is 0-0 heading into Week 1.
Deltona and Father Lopez made the playoffs in 2025. Taylor and University are looking to grow under new coaches.
Halifax’s kickoff classic canceled for bad weather
The Knights’ preseason game against Belleview was canceled due to uncooperative weather.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: 12 takeaways from Week 0 of Volusia-Flagler high school football season
Reporting by Zach Allen and Chris Vinel, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Zach Allen and Chris Vinel, Daytona Beach News-Journal | USA TODAY Network
