For the last couple of seasons, St. Johns County has been king of high school football in Northeast Florida.
In 2025, is it Nassau County’s turn to move up?
So far, the county’s four schools (Fernandina Beach, Hilliard, West Nassau and Yulee) hold a combined 9-1 record, and the only loss among that group is Hilliard’s 49-6 loss to Fernandina Beach in an all-Nassau battle.
And while their level of opposition doesn’t compare to St. Johns County powers like Nease and St. Augustine, the Nassau County squads appear to be turning things around drastically from a 2024 when they combined to go 17-26 (.395).
Both Fernandina Beach and West Nassau are early contenders in the Sunshine State Athletic Association, while Yulee is emerging as a potential playoff team in Florida High School Athletic Association Class 2A.
A closer look at the teams to Jacksonville’s north:
Watch Florida high school sports on NFHS Network
By the numbers: Week of the Blowout
The Week 2 slate of high school football games in Northeast Florida turned into the Week of the Blowout.
Of the 37 games, a majority (19) finished with a margin of 35 or more points, enough to trigger the running clock under FHSAA rules. Winning teams topped 40 points 24 times. Ten games ended in shutouts. Only four were decided by a single score, two of those (Bishop Kenny-University Christian and Jackson-Ribault) coming down to a stopped conversion in the final seconds.
The average margin of victory for the week: 33.05 points.
More numbers of note from the first two full weeks of Northeast Florida high school football:
Curry de-commits from Northwestern
Super 11 linebacker Jacob Curry is back on the recruiting market.
The Nease senior announced his de-commitment from Northwestern, nearly four months after selecting the Wildcats in May. The 6-1, 200-pound Curry, rated as a three-star recruit, has collected more than 20 offers to date.
Curry earned the St. Augustine Record defensive player of the year award in 2024, when he made 101 tackles (12 for loss) with eight sacks, two forced fumbles and seven pass defenses. He already has 13 tackles and two pass breakups in 2025.
Next in line for Curry? Rivals reports that Baylor, Miami and Oklahoma are among the schools in the mix. Oklahoma already has a commitment from Creekside’s Super 11 defensive lineman Brian Harris, while Miami commits include the Super 11 trio of Brody Jennings (Mandarin), JJ Sparks (Bolles) and Somourian Wingo (St. Augustine).
Barracudas chomp in DeLand
On a very, very quiet week for cross country, Beachside went hunting for trophies.
The Barracudas took top spot in the girls standings at the DeLand Invitational at the Sperling Sports Complex, with 67 points to the 88 of Mount Dora and the 89 of Oviedo Hagerty.
Lilly Potts (19:45) placed third in the individual standings for Beachside behind overall winner Rachel Judy (19:20) of Oviedo Master’s Academy, while Hanna Antonelli, Amelia Sipkovsky, Justine Lyons and Meghana Reddy all finished in the top 21.
Hagerty led Matanzas and Spruce Creek in the boys race, with Beachside seventh. The Barracudas’ Garrett Hudson (16:50) led locals in sixth place.
The cross country schedule picks up with several notable events outside the Jacksonville area on Sept. 6, including the Florida Horse Park Invitational in Ocala and the Run Matanzas Invitational in Palm Coast.
Match of the year coming Thursday?
Who’s the best in St. Johns County volleyball? An early candidate for match of the year is coming Sept. 4.
Beachside travels to Ponte Vedra in what has become an annual battle for St. Johns County’s top honors since Beachside opened its doors in 2022.
The matchup includes more than a half-dozen players committed to Division I college programs, including Ponte Vedra’s Haydin Froehlich (North Florida), Lily Keeley (Wofford) and Avery Webb (Virginia Tech) and Beachside’s Erica Duffy (Old Dominion), Adriana Jeanpierre (Mississippi State), Ailanni Sellers (Navy) and Mollie VanDeusen (Florida State).
Last year, Ponte Vedra won the opening meeting in four sets, but Beachside came out on top in the rematch as well as in the postseason.
The schools also meet in the regular season’s final week on Oct. 8, and could collide twice more in the FHSAA District 4-5A tournament and the Class 5A regionals.
Around the area
Creekside goalkeeper Hailey Smith flipped from Iowa to Baylor women’s soccer. … Bradford guard Ar’nayshia Griffin committed to Coastal Carolina women’s basketball. … Fletcher pitcher Bruce Neel committed to State College of Florida baseball. … Ponte Vedra senior Sophie Fox committed to South Carolina women’s swimming. … Nease senior Brendan Cart committed to Berry men’s golf. … Baldwin volleyball celebrated a trio of milestones during the week: Outside hitter Grace Gottberg surpassed 500 career kills on Aug. 28 against Sandalwood, outside hitter Olivia Hartung also passed 500 digs and setter Tynlee Jarrell surpassed 500 career assists on Aug. 26 against White. … Fleming Island’s Hazel Williams surpassed 500 career digs. … Oakleaf’s Jiyanna Rivera cleared 1,050 career assists to surpass the all-time record for the Knights’ volleyball program. … Menendez hired Patti Heilmann as girls lacrosse head coach. … Jackson will hold its annual Preseason Hoops Classic on Nov. 14-15. … The FHSAA’s first board of directors meeting of 2025-26 is scheduled for Sept. 22 in Gainesville.
Discount for NFHS Network through USA Today Network
Florida Times-Union readers can get a 25% discount on a yearly NFHS pass in 2025. Use promo code USATODAY25 when you go through our NFHS Network link before Sept. 7 to see top high school football action.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Nassau County high school football teams are on the rise in 2025: Here’s how
Reporting by Clayton Freeman, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
