Jacksonville Sports Council to Host First Coast Spelling Bee
Refining the Pitch Andrew Williamson Christ’s Church
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NCAA Has New Football Signing Period
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Raines Football Earns State Championship
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What’s New for the 2018 Winter Olympics Player Profiles Long’s Leadership Noticed Beyond the Soccer Field Brooke Long, Beach High School
Jacksonville Sports Council to Host First Coast Spelling Bee
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Greg Myers Connecting Through Sports
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Refining the Pitch
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Howze Dives for 1st Place
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Connectable Jax
Andrew Williamson, Christ’s Church Nathan Howze, Bartram Trail
Northeast Florida Fall Athletic Awards Banquet The Mental Impact of Injuries JOI
Good, Bad, Indifferent? NCAA Has New Football Signing Period
The Winning Ways of Mandarin Coach Natalia Gonzalez
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Respect All, Fear None
Raines Football Earns State Championship In The Game | 9
What’s New for the 2018 Winter Olympics Written by: Joshua Miller
The 23rd Winter Olympics will be held in PyeongChang, South Korea, and the opening ceremonies begin Feb. 9. This time around the Winter Olympics will be a little different from the previous games. The International Olympic Committee made a few changes to the 2018 games and added four new competitive events. Athletes on the slopes will now compete in freestyle skiing and big air snowboarding, an electrifying event that has been a staple sport in the Winter X-Games. For events on the ice, mass start speed skating and mixed doubles curling will also debut in this Olympics. Perhaps the new events will fill the void caused by the NHL not willing to compete in the Winter Olympics for the first time in 20 years due to various disagreements with the IOC. The show must go on, however, and with many NHL players hailing from the USA or Canada, the two countries basically had to make their rosters from scratch by using former veteran players or young and upcoming players. Stars from the NHL won’t be the only absence from the 2018 Winter Olympics as the Russian team will not be found at the games. Russia is “banned” from the games after a huge doping scandal in 2016 revealed that Russia was operating a state-sponsored doping program for about 99 percent of its athletes. Russia is still pushing for its athletes to compete under a neutral team with no representation of their country, and the atheltes are expected to enter the games as Olympic athletes from Russia. More than 40 Russian athletes are appealing their lifetime suspensions in hopes of participating in the 2018 Winter Olympics. The appeals court expects to release verdicts by Jan. 31, according to the AP. Excluding the potential Olympic athletes from Russia from competition, the country favored to walk out with the most hardware is Germany with 14 gold medals and 40 overall, per Gracenote. Team USA is predicted to finish third with 29 total medals, with 10 of them being gold. In the previous Winter Olympics in 2014, Team USA came second to Russia in total medals won, while this year’s favorite, Germany, only won 19 overall medals in 2014. The 2018 Winter Olympic games will be broadcasted by NBC and will last Feb. 9-25.
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darkroom.baltimoresun.com
www.startribune.com
sportswire.usatoday.com
Sofia Valbuena
Atlantic Coast High School Softball
What is your favorite memory from your high school career? Being able to pray with my team before every game. Who is your biggest sports inspiration? Michael Phelps because of his dedication. What makes you different from everyone else? In every aspect of my life I always have a positive aspect in everything I do.
IF YOU COULD PLAY ANY OTHER SPORT, WHAT WOULD IT BE? Soccer because my
GRANDFATHER played professionally. In The Game | 17
Respect All, Fear None Raines Football Earns State Championship Written by: Jeff Elliott | Photography by: Garrison Muelhausen
The streak is over. No longer does Jacksonville have to be reminded how long it had been since a Duval County public school football team called itself a state champion. The last, and only other one, was Raines in 1997. But that’s no longer a trivia question, not after this year’s Raines team capped the 2017 season with its 13th consecutive win, a heart-stopping 1310 triumph over Cocoa in the Class 4A state championship game played in Orlando the first Thursday in December. For 20 years, Jacksonville had to be content with the ’97 Raines team producing the only state crown for public schools in Duval. Certainly there were other local schools that captured state titles with the likes of Bolles, Trinity Christian, and University Christian enjoying a plethora of success in the past two decades. Several St. Johns County schools (St. Augustine and Nease) also have state titles while Bartram Trail and Ponte Vedra along with Baker County’s Wildcats have all had runner-up finishes in the last couple of years. But the futility in Duval County with public schools had been on-going, that is until Raines’ magical run this past season. 46 | itgnext.com
While it was a total team effort that earned the Vikings their second state championship, the two people who stood head and shoulders above everyone else and who were recognized by their peers as having elite seasons were head coach Deran Wiley and quarterback Ivory Durham IV. Both were instrumental in the Vikings recovering from an opening-season loss at Lee to then win 13 consecutive games. Wiley molded a team that had come close in previous seasons to one that dominated opponents this year; this year marked the second championship game appearance in the last three years for Raines. Durham was the coach on the field, leading a powerful offense that built 35-point leads that resulted in a running clock in six of their games, two of which came in the playoffs . Wiley resurrected the Raines program in 2009 when he was elevated from defensive coordi-
nator to head coach fol- came focused, they were Killian for a 33-yard completion that lowing a 2-8 season the a heck of a group to deal gave the Vikings a first-and-goal inside the 10. The final year before. He gradual- with. It's “We won the was a third-down ly changed the culture, discipline pass from the 8-yard instilling a tough, disci- and focus state title line to teammate Kaplined atmosphere that that gets maree Noble into the because permeated the locker you over end zone for the goroom and weekly prac- the top the offense ahead touchdown. tices, leading to Friday of things. “On the long night success on the field. Y o u ’ v e complemented run, I couldn’t find W i l e y got to rethe defense anyone open, and and the spect all something just told V i k i n g s and fear so well.” w e r e none, and — Deran Wiley me to run,” Durham said. “I did what I had c l o s e that has to to state be your approach to life. to do to get the first down. On the fame two These guys saw the ingre- long pass, I just had to be patient. years ago, dients that are needed to They were in a cover-3. I ran up into the pocket and was able to get it to leading Mi- be successful.” ami Booker T. No one had a bet- Rayneil, and he took it down close. Washington in ter vision of that than Then on the touchdown, I rolled to the fourth quar- Durham. Vastly un- the right, saw Kamaree coming back ter of the state dersized at 5-10, 170 on a slant, and ripped it in to him as title game, only to pounds, Durham finished hard as I could.” Even then Raines had to sweat implode, allowing as Raines’ all-time lead29 points in the final ing passer (4,997 passing out the final five minutes of the 12 minutes and losing yards, 48 TDs) in just two game when Cocoa put together a 43-23 contest. seasons while finishing their quest for a winning drive. The But not this year. No. 4 in area history for Tigers advanced it to the Raines 34Raines had to fight off a career passing yards with yard line but could get no further. 10-6 deficit with nine min- 9,761 and 103 TDs when The Vikings defense stiffened, and utes left against Cocoa, adding in totals from his when a fourth-down run came up the defending Class 4A two years at Cedar Creek short, all Raines had to do was kill state champion, in order Christian. He was named the final 42 seconds and let the celto complete its mission the Times-Union offensive ebration begin. With the team trophy safely of winning a state cham- player of the year and finpionship. ished No. 3 in the voting tucked away in the Raines trophy “We won the state ti- for the top high school case and the individual awards piltle because the offense player of the year in Flori- ing up at his home, Durham has since turned his attention to his next complemented the de- da for 2017. fense so H e ’ l l goal in life — playing at the collegiate well,” Wi- “The talent this group forever be level. He’s verbally committed to Valley said. of guys had was incred- r e m e m - dosta State but did not sign his Let“In those ible, and when they be- bered in ter of Intent during the early signing c l o s i n g came focused, they were R a i n e s period in December. He’ll visit the m i n u t e s a heck of a group to deal lore for Georgia-based school in January a g a i n s t with. It's discipline and " T h e and will likely sign with the school Drive,” an in early February, depending on any Cocoa, focus that gets you over 8 1 - y a r d other offers that might come his way. you saw “I’m keeping my options open, a great the top of things. You’ve m a r c h drive by got to respect all and for the but wherever I go, it will be to play our of- fear none, and that has w i n n i n g at quarterback,” Durham said. “My f e n s e , to be your approach to score in strength is that I move in the pockand then life. These guys saw the fourth et really well, I have good escape the de- the ingredients that are q u a r t e r moves, and I can throw on the run f e n s e needed to be success- that in- — all the things you need to have to came in ful.” c l u d e d be an effective quarterback. I’ll get with a three cru- in a good weight program wherever — Deran Wiley great fincial third I go and plan to add 10-15 pounds, ish to seal it. The defense down conversions by which will make me more durable. did a great job all year to Durham. The first was I feel I can win the job against anyget the offense the ball, a 39-yard zig-zag run body; just give me a chance.” It’s an indication that Durham has and the offense knew through Cocoa defendwhat to do with it. ers that put the ball inside followed his coach’s belief — “Re“The talent this group the 50. Moments later on spect all. Fear none.” of guys had was incredi- a third-and-15, Durham ble, and when they be- connected with Rayneil
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