Sports Throwback
Anna Newhoff
NCR Reporter
The 2025 West Nassau High School football team set a school record by playing in the program’s first state championship game.
The Warriors were down but never out, playing their hearts out Nov. 21. The football team finished the season as the state runner-up to American Heritage. The Stallions won 51-41. Both teams traveled to The Villages High School in Middleton for the Sunshine State Athletic Association Atlantic State Championship.
The Stallions broke loose first, quickly going ahead 21-0. The Warriors responded with a touchdown by junior Smo Green, followed by an onside kick and another touchdown by senior Colby Gay, who received the pass from senior quarterback Pryce Arnold. A conversion by Green bridged the gap to 7 points. American Heritage quickly answered with another score, then Green added a touchdown, followed by a conversion from senior Skyler Freeman. The high-scoring half ended with another Stallions touchdown to enter halftime 30-22 American Heritage.
Green added another touchdown, closing the third quarter with West Nassau down by 2 points.
A fumbled ball gave the Stallions possession, with them soon entering the end zone. After some back and forth, junior Avery Griffin caught a pass from Arnold, moving the score to 37-34 Stallions.
American Heritage scored again to go ahead 44-34 with a little over 6 minutes left in the game. But Arnold and Griffin combined again, with senior kicker Gavin Velazquez adding a point to put the Warriors within reach 41-44.
In an intense clock countdown, the Warriors hustled down the field, but the Stallions intercepted the ball with 2:19 left, then scored again to end the game 51-41.
The Warriors ended the season 12-2, losing to American Heritage and Yulee.
It was West Nassau’s second season competing within the Sunshine State Athletic Association. In 2024, the team lost to Fernandina Beach in the state semifinal, with the Pirates placing second overall. This year the county teams swapped places as the Warriors avenged the previous year’s loss.
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The Hilliard Middle-Senior High School varsity basketball team played in the Rural Class state semifinals against the Holmes County Lady Blue Devils Feb. 26. The Lady Flashes lost 56-39.
The team finished the year 18-9. Holmes County (26-3) fell to undefeated Wildwood 65-43 in the championship game.
This marks the first time in a decade since the Lady Flashes have reached the Final Four. The team made Final Four appearances in 1995, 2012, 2013, and 2015. In three of those four appearances, members of the team’s current coaching staff played.
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The West Nassau High School cheerleaders are world champions once again and also took home a national championship and a fourth-place finish. The team competed at the Universal Cheerleaders Association High School Nationals in Kissimmee Feb. 8-9. They won both the school’s fifth world title and eighth national title in Varsity Co-Ed Non-Tumbling. The Warriors also placed fourth nationally in Varsity Co-Ed Non-Tumbling Game Day. The team also won its 14th state championship Jan. 31.
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The Hilliard Middle-Senior High School cheerleaders made school history by placing second in the Game Day division at the Florida High School Athletic Association state championship Feb. 2.
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West Nassau High School Principal Richard Pearce cut the ribbon to celebrate the completion of the new turf field at Warrior Field Sept. 5.
The field was funded by the voter-approved one mill addition. The field was the first phase of improvements. The next phase will include replacement of the press box and seating, realigning it with the field to create a fully modernized facility. Hilliard Middle-Senior High School and Fernandina Beach High School will also receive field updates and improvements. Yulee High School received a new rubberized track.
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CJ Hall achieved a remarkable basketball milestone, scoring 1,500 points during his high school career at Hilliard Middle-Senior High School. He was honored Jan. 20 during a basketball game.
The senior played HMSHS basketball for seven years. For the 2024-25 season, he averaged 20 points per game. He now plays for Daytona State College.
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While the Flashes came up short Sept. 19, it was a record-breaking night for junior DJ Alderman.
He broke two Hilliard football records, with the most touchdowns in a single game and the most rushing yards in a single game. He scored 7 touchdowns and had 477 rushing yards, just shy of breaking the Florida high school single-game rushing yards record.
Baker County High School’s Kayleb Wagner holds the record with 535 yards, which is 58 more than Alderman completed. Wagner had broken Yulee High School alumnus and Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry’s record. Henry set it in 2012 with 502 rushing yards, only 25 more than Alderman completed.
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Brody Singley repeated as the Florida Dairy Farmers Class 2A Swimmer of the Year.
The West Nassau High School then-senior won his third and fourth state championships in 2024. Singley qualified for the Florida High School Athletic Association state meet all four years of high school and also received the title of 2023 Florida Dairy Farmers Class 2A Swimmer of the Year in 2024. He now swims with Florida Atlantic University.
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Payton Jefferson etched her name in West Nassau High School history as the first female athlete to medal in weightlifting – and did it twice.
She competed as a sophomore at the state weightlifting championship Feb. 15. Competing in the 110 class, Jefferson secured a fourth-place finish in the Traditional category with a combined lift of 240 pounds. Jefferson also delivered a strong performance in the Olympic category, placing fifth with a total lift of 220 pounds.
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After two seasons, Matt Yancey steps down from his position as Hilliard Middle-Senior High School varsity football coach. Former Asst. Coach Will Dyal replaces him.
During Yancey’s first season as a coach, the Flashes’ overall record was 1-9, with their only win against the Interlachen Rams. This year, the team went 3-7, beating the Harvest Community Warriors, the Cornerstone Classical Academy Spartans, and the Interlachen Rams.
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The Hilliard Middle School varsity girls basketball team never gave up Dec. 18, finally edging out Fernandina Beach Middle School to be named the county champion for the fourth season in a row. The Lady Flashes won 30-23.
Coached by Marci Ruis and Clay Vanzant, the team includes Keilonni Taylor, Eriyanah Powell, Charlie Johnson, Kyleigh Land, Abigail Howell, Katherine Dillard, Harlan Bradley, Harmony Johnson, Amelia Ballance, and Kinley Bradley.