By Dylan McAdoo

A rivalry game right off the bat, the Nease Panthers hosted the Ponte Vedra Sharks in a highly anticipated week one matchup. The Sharks started the game off slow with a fumble on the second play of the game. The Panthers got the ball in the red zone and capitalized by throwing a touchdown to senior wide receiver, Maddox Spencer going up 7-0. The Sharks responded with a huge run by senior quarterback, Drew Price getting them to the 2-yard line. Then, senior running back, Brian Case punched it in making the score 7-7.

The Sharks defense tried to keep them in the game by making some key stops but the game was getting out of hand. By halftime the score was 21-7; there was still hope for the Sharks to make a comeback, the energy was high. The Sharks got the ball to start the second half, but their moment was slowly shot down as they had to punt. The defense was doing their part keeping Nease at 21 points, but the offense couldn’t move the ball at all the second half. The game was sealed when Price threw an interception late in the fourth, giving the Panthers the ball back. The final score was 24-7. This is 2 straight wins for the Nease Panthers against the Ponte Vedra Sharks and three of the last four. Sophomore kicker, Noah Ash said “this is just a slight detour we are going to get back on track.”

The 5A Ponte Vedra Sharks fell short to St. Augustine Yellow Jackets in their preseason Kick-off Classic by a score of 34-24. The Yellow Jackets are coming off a hot season last year finishing state runners-up. St. Augustine started off the game hot driving down the field with little pressure by the Sharks defense. The Yellow Jackets continued their hot offense by scoring another touchdown making the score 21-3 at the end of the first quarter. The Sharks started to rally back with senior running back, Brian Case scoring a touchdown to get the Sharks their first touchdown of the season. Ponte Vedra’s defense made a stop giving the offense the ball back. Senior quarterback, Drew Price threw a bomb to junior wide receiver, Jack Berquist making the score 21-17. The Sharks defense continued to make stops, but the offense couldn’t produce. The score entering half time was 21-17.

Going into the third quarter the Sharks couldn’t capitalize on starting with the ball giving it over to the Yellow Jackets. The Yellow Jackets drove down the field scoring quick. The Sharks then put in their backups due to it being a preseason game adding one more touchdown as the Yellow Jackets added 2 more field goals making it 34-24. Senior defensive lineman, Robbie Grieco said “we played well, now it’s time for the real show.”

Picture: Ryker Kemp (12) and Robbie Grieco (12) watching the game and waiting to go in.