After battling each other on the gridiron in an emotional contest a week ago, Nease and Ponte Vedra now look to refocus themselves as they head into week two.
The Panthers won the Battle for the Bridge for the first time in 11 years, which led to quite the well-deserved celebration afterwards.
However, now the page turns, and head coach Colin Drafts believes his team is ready for a second-straight win against a county opponent when they host Creekside at 7 p.m. tomorrow.
“Anytime you start 1-0, you just start the season off on a positive note,” Drafts said. “It’s hard to underestimate the impact of what that win meant.”
It has been a while since Nease has been riding such a wave of momentum as it currently is on.
“It’s definitely a new challenge for us,” Drafts said.
Handling adversity is something the Panthers have worked on over the years but dealing with success is a new landscape that requires a different mental approach.
That approach will be tested as the Panthers host a Creekside squad that will also enter the contest 1-0 after beating Ribault 16-7 to open the season and have a big defensive front that can create problems for opposing teams.
Both teams only surrendered seven points in week one, which leads to all the makings of a defensive showdown that will come down to which offense can find the most production and make the best in-game adjustments.
It is the home opener for the Panthers, who are looking to end a three-year losing streak to the Knights.
For Ponte Vedra, the goal is to bounce back after the tough loss to Nease, which dropped them not only to 0-1 overall but also 0-1 in District 3-7A as they now share a district with the Panthers.
The Sharks will go on the road to face Class 3A Episcopal at 7 p.m. tomorrow.
The Eagles opened the season with a 42-22 victory over Tocoi Creek. However, it was the first ever game for the Toros as a new school and program, which makes it difficult to evaluate.
Scoring 42 points is impressive against any team and the Eagles have developed a track record off success in recent years with a 7-3 record last year and 10-2 the year before that.
One area of the game that the Sharks will look to improve is the consistent play of its offense, which showed segments of brilliance at times but struggled to sustain any moment and string drives together against the Panthers.
Wyatt Rogers demonstrated excellent hands on a couple of catches in the opener and seemed to have a connection with starting quarterback Benjamin Burk.
It will be interesting to see how that combination develops as the season continues.
Defensively, the Sharks were flying to the ball against the Panthers, but they just gave up some big plays at inopportune times, which led to the 14 points given up.
Limiting those big plays is something they will surely look to clean up moving forward.
