First Coast Varsity Weekly: Bolles defensive end Bradley Mann selects Vanderbilt football
Bradley Mann is headed to Vanderbilt.
The Bolles defensive lineman announced his decision on Twitter on Wednesday morning.
Mann was offered by Vanderbilt on Tuesday and he met with Commodores coaches at Bolles on Tuesday afternoon.
The 6-foot-6, 260-pound Mann is ranked No. 68 on the USA Today Florida Network's midseason top 100. He also had offers from Pittsburgh, Indiana, Virginia and others.
Mann has 47 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, six sacks, 13 quarterback pressures and a fumble recovery in 10 games for the Bulldogs this season. He had two tackles and a sack in Bolles' 55-7 win in the Region 1-4A championship game at South Walton last week.
Mann initially committed to Pittsburgh in July but decommitted in late September.
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"It was a super tough decision," Mann told the State of Florida Recruiting H.Q. Podcast on Oct. 5. "I have to make sure I'm make the right decision because it's a 40-year decision."
Mann is the third Florida player in the class of 2022 to commit to Vanderbilt, joining the Tallahassee Godby duo of running back Chase Gillespie and linebacker Bryce Cowan.
Jon Santucci/USA Today Network
Senators, Mustangs lead Gateway volleyball
Three players each from finalists Fletcher and Mandarin led the pack on the Gateway Conference volleyball team.
Middle blocker Sidney Gaudreault and outside hitter Alexandra Hennessey each earned their third Gateway selections for champion Fletcher, which also had libero Traci Schrock selected.
Runner-up Mandarin placed seniors Taylor Boyd and Ellie Jackson on the squad, along with junior Alani Salas-Garcia.
Also selected were Keylany Matos and Morgan Stephens of Atlantic Coast, Tiziana Ciavatta of Englewood, Meghan Cox of Sandalwood and Laura Mae Killingsworth and Caroline Rinaman of Stanton.
MacPherson, OP football part ways
The coaching carousel is spinning again across Northeast Florida high school football.
Veteran coach Tom MacPherson is not returning to Orange Park for the 2022 season, the school confirmed Wednesday. MacPherson, among the region's most experienced high school coaches and one of the few active area coaches to surpass 100 career football victories, spent six years on the sidelines of the Raiders.
Orange Park athletic director Destiny Brightman said the school is "moving in a different direction." Brightman said the school is hoping to begin interviews for a successor in January, and plans to collect resumes until the holiday break.
Orange Park, Brightman said, is looking for a "dynamic leader capable of taking our program to the next level."
MacPherson compiled a 23-36 record at Orange Park, which finished 3-7 in 2021 after moving up to Class 6A. He led Orange Park to the regional quarterfinals in 2020 before losing to Menendez, the Raiders' lone playoff visit since 2010.
MacPherson holds a 104-136 career head coaching record in 23 seasons at Ridgeview, Baker County and Orange Park, including nine playoff trips and a regional championship appearance with Ridgeview in 2008.
Hunter heads SSAC All-Stars
After topping the regular-season rushing charts for Jacksonville, Eagle's View senior Jaylon Hunter is picking up honors on both sides of the ball.
Hunter was selected this week to the Sunshine State Athletic Conference first team for Class 3A on both offense and defense after leading the Warriors into the SSAC postseason.
The quarterback rushed for 1,463 yards and 21 touchdowns, in addition to a defensive performance with five interceptions and a fumble recovery. Counting returns, he produced 1,806 all-purpose yards for the season.
The Warriors' Frank Andrea was selected as SSAC coach of the year, while linemen Chase Williams and Josh Ligerfelt, linebacker Ethan Andrews and cornerback Leonard Holton also made the first team.
The Class 3A all-conference squad also included lineman Matthew Hildreth of Bishop Snyder and cornerback Kaleb Taylor Burch of Christ's Church.
Class 2A honorees from Harvest Community were running back Michael Hays, linemen Elijah Dahlke and Zach Orr, wide receiver Bryce Foti, cornerback Jewel Pickens
and safety Dante Senchuk. Cedar Creek Christian selections were running back Keyon Paige and lineman Simeon Moore.
Spartans' Scott on Naismith list
St. Johns Country Day junior guard Taliah Scott is drawing more attention in the national hoops spotlight.
The junior guard, on pace to rise high in Northeast Florida's all-time career scoring list, was named to the girls' underclassman watch list for the Naismith Trophy in high school basketball.
Scott is among 25 sophomores and juniors nationwide selected to the watch list, and among only three from Florida. The other Sunshine State selections are Lexi Blue of Lake Highland Prep and Chloe Kitts of DME Academy.
Reed in running for D-II trophy
Former St. Augustine High School quarterback Austin Reed was named as one of eight national finalists for the Harlon Hill Award.
The annual trophy is presented to the leading player in NCAA Division II football.
Reed, a sophomore at West Florida, has completed 207 of 378 passes for 3,418 yards and 38 touchdowns.
During his senior year with the Yellow Jackets in 2017, Reed passed for 2,925 yards and 34 touchdowns while leading St. Augustine to the state semifinals.
Girls hoops time: Northeast Florida teams, players to watch for 2021-22
Weekly trivia challenge
It's time for the latest edition of the First Coast Varsity Weekly trivia section, a look back through the history of high school sports all around the area.
This week's topic: Top Picks. Answers will appear in next week's First Coast Varsity Weekly.
1. Who holds the record for most NFL interceptions for a player from a high school inside Jacksonville?
2. What unusual interception feat occurred in a Northeast Florida football game on Oct. 31, 2003?
3. How many Jacksonville-area players have intercepted 10 or more passes in a season during the past five years?
Answer to last week's questions
1. Former Matthew W. Gilbert standout and Pro Football Hall of Famer Bob Hayes scored three touchdowns for the Cowboys against the St. Louis Cardinals on Nov. 23, 1967. Hayes found the end zone on a 69-yard punt return as well as passes of 59 and 34 yards from Don Meredith.
2. Denver Broncos receiver Al Denson, formerly of Stanton, caught a 9-yard touchdown pass from Steve Tensi to start the scoring against the San Diego Chargers on Nov. 23, 1967. His touchdown came before Bob Hayes' scores later on the same Thanksgiving.
3. Before St. Joseph's Cairo Santos kicked the winning field goal for the Bears last week, St. Augustine's Caleb Sturgis was the most recent Northeast Florida scorer on a Thanksgiving Day NFL game, booting an extra point in the fourth quarter of the Philadelphia Eagles' loss to the Detroit Lions on Nov. 26, 2015.
Around the area
Bartram Trail linebacker Dylan Chiedo committed to Furman football. ... Fleming Island cornerback Joseph Stephens announced his commitment to Army football. ... Episcopal running back Ershod Jasey II committed to Butler football. ... St. Johns Country Day midfielder Kamryn Towers committed to Coastal Carolina women's soccer. ... St. Johns Country Day guard Jaidy Mejia-Andrade committed to Coastal Georgia women's basketball. ... Former Creekside outside hitter Jaden McBride was named freshman of the year in Sunshine State Conference volleyball and made the all-conference first team for Embry-Riddle. ... Former Baldwin quarterback Gavin Screws, now at Butler Community College in Kansas, committed to Indiana State football. ... Bolles pitcher Sully Brackin committed to College of Charleston baseball. ... Nease defenseman Chase Hemingway committed to Embry-Riddle men's lacrosse. ... Former Creekside setter Kaitlyn Helinsky won freshman of the year honors for Kentucky Christian volleyball. ... The annual Dom's Light basketball tournament is Saturday at Bishop Kenny. ... Florida football analyst Joe Pinkos, whose mathematical formula ranked high school squads across the Sunshine State for decades, died last week at age 70.
Clayton Freeman covers high school sports and more for the Florida Times-Union. Follow him on Twitter at @CFreemanJAX.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: First Coast Varsity Weekly: Bradley Mann selects Vanderbilt
