Has Bartram Trail's tough schedule been too tough for a long playoff trip? Plus, a big week of Thursday and Friday night games and a lot of district titles on the line in Week 10 of the high school football season. Justin Barney and Sponge Franklin break down the week that was and preview some major showdowns this week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mandarin, Raines stand alone in top tier of Gateway Conference. Sandalwood and Parker clash in final week could be a clash of winless teams. Plus, recapping a wild week of district showdowns and looking ahead to a more chill Week 9 as the regular season inches to the finish line. Justin Barney and Sponge Franklin cover all the bases in this episode of V4RSITY. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
We're hitting Week 8 of the high school football season. Ponte Vedra is surging. Riverside shocked Trinity Christian. Plus, another big installment of the Northwest Classic arrives on Saturday. Justin Barney and Sponge Franklin break down a wild Week 7 and look ahead to a big Week 8. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
A big upset in Week 6 of the high school football season, plus, Georgia clears the way for high school athletes to earn money off their name, image and likeness. Could Florida follow suit soon? Justin Barney and Sponge Franklin weigh in on the NIL debate and look ahead to Week 7 in this edition of the VARSITY podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
We're officially past the halfway mark of the 2023 high school football regular season. Creekside and St. Augustine had massive Week 5 wins. And Riverside, led by coach Antwan Nicholas, became the first area team to earn a playoff trip with a district championship win over White. Justin Barney and Sponge Franklin recap Week 5 and look ahead to another district-filled Week 6. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Coach Christopher Foy is already making his presence felt at Oakleaf. Plus, Trinity Christian's offensive struggles come to the surface. Bolles gets a major win. Mandarin delivers a statement to Atlantic Coast. And the Bartram Trail and St. Augustine rivalry gets top billing in Week 5. Justin Barney and Sponge Franklin cover a lot of ground in this week's V4RSITY podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The area was surprisingly kept out of the championship games last football season. What local teams have the best chances to reach the final this year? Plus, we look back at four big games from Week 3, including Bolles' struggles in Georgia. And a big Week 4 looms. And we've got a new No. 1 team in the Super 10 for the third straight week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mandarin coach Toby Bullock has done an excellent job of keeping the high-powered Mustangs focused and sharp. Plus, will Bolles get things corrected as its schedule intensity picks up. We look back at a Hurricane Idalia-marred Week 2, unveil our new top 10 rankings and look ahead to Week 3 in this episode of the News4JAX VARSITY podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
St. Augustine High School has major expectations and major talent and it showed that with its first win over Bolles since 1978. Plus, Justin Barney and Sponge Franklin talk about our Super 10 rankings in this week's episode of News4JAX VARSITY. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
It's finally the high school football regular season We've got some major headlining games this week like Fletcher-Mandarin, Bolles-St. Augustine, Raines-University Christian and White-Trinity Christian. Plus, Justin Barney and Sponge Franklin break down our initial Super 10 rankings of the year on this week's edition of V4RSITY. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Justin Barney and Sponge Franklin kick off the 2023 high school football season with a look at four teams who have caught our attention, our biggest takeaways from last year's new playoff system and the challenges of that in a season debut of the V4RSITY podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The high school football season is officially over but not our coverage. Justin Barney and Sponge Franklin pick our favorite players from the 2022 season. Names like Orel Gray and Grayson Howard are familiar ones, but who else made our cut? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The state semifinals proved to be the last stand for area high school football teams. Only Ware County managed to reach a state championship game. What went wrong for local programs in the final four? Plus, it's a busy season for coaching changes, with names like Darrell Sutherland and Christopher Foy moving on. Justin Barney and Sponge Franklin weigh in on a wild week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
University Christian turned in an upset decades in the making. Bartram Trail's unbeaten season came to an end. Bolles and Columbia hung on. Bradford got a battle. Union County rolled. Justin Barney and Sponge Franklin recap a wild regional finals week and look ahead to the biggest week of the football season in this edition of V4RSITY. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Bolles-Raines. Baker County-Bradford. Trinity Christian-University Christian. It's a blockbuster week in the high school football playoffs. Plus, the Gators pulled Nease QB Marcus Stokes' scholarship offer after a social media clip of him singing a song that included a racial slur. Recruiting can be a dirty business. Justin Barney and Sponge Franklin break down the week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Upsets galore in the opening round in the state playoffs. Justin Barney and Sponge Franklin recap a wild first round and another major slate of games, including some big time rematches this week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Week 11 wrapped up the high school football regular season with a bang. We're following that with an oddity ... a November hurricane in Florida. Justin Barney and Sponge Franklin look ahead to an ever-shifting playoff schedule and our projections for winners as the postseason arrives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
It's the final week of the regular season in high school football. Justin Barney and Sponge Franklin recap the biggest district week of the season and what's on the line for teams in Week 11 as the playoffs come into view. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
It's Week 10 of the high school football season and every district race will be decided this week. For teams who aren't after district championships, there's still plenty at stake, including at-large playoff berths. Justin Barney and Sponge Franklin look ahead to the most high stakes week of the season yet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
High school football hits Week 9 and we've got a massive district showdown on Friday night between Bartram Trail and Buchholz. Plus, area coaches dish on a number of topics including what they'd be doing if they weren't coaching. Justin Barney looks back at last week, talks about the Super 10 and what lies ahead for district races. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
It's a massive week of rivalry games in high school football as University Christian and Trinity Christian square off for the District 1-1M crown. Also, can Creekside end a 1-13 slump against rival Bartram Trail? Huge games are on the menu for Bradford, First Coast and Fletcher, too. Justin Barney and Sponge Franklin dive into a big slate in Week 8. Plus, the Ponte Vedra volleyball team gets a major test at the Geico Invitational. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
It's Week 7 of the high school football season and we've got some clarity on a few of the area's biggest district battles. Also, Justin Barney and Sponge Franklin talk about the the potential of name, image and likeness in high school and discuss how area players voted in our preseason high school football survey. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Hurricane Ian has wiped out much of Week 6 and pushed those games to next week. Justin Barney and Sponge Franklin take a look back at last week's games, including a shootout between Columbia and Trinity Christian, Creekside's staying power and why teams like Bolles and Nease aren't quite in the danger zone just yet even after tough starts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
It's the halfway mark of the high school football season and that means it's time to dole out some midseason recognition. Who are our top offensive and defensive players so far? What about best and most disappointing teams? Plus, Justin Barney and Sponge Franklin look back at Week 4 and ahead to Week 5 in the V4RSITY podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
It was a mixed bag of success for area teams as the traveled to Georgia for the Border Classic (thumbs up Baker County, Creekside and UC). And we learned a bit on a few other local teams (Jackson, take a bow; Fleming Island, take a bow) in Week 3. Plus, Justin Barney and Sponge Franklin rank our top 10 teams and break down our top 6 volleyball teams in this week's V4RSITY podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Justin Barney and Sponge Franklin look back at Week 2 of the high school football season and look ahead to a big Week 3 as the Border Classic pitting Florida and Georgia teams arrives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Justin Barney and Sponge Franklin recap a wild Week 1 of the high school football season, including a 48-40 win by Trinity Christian over White and Jackson's 30-13 rout of Nease. And we look ahead to a big Week 2. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Justin Barney and Sponge Franklin kick off the 2022 high school football season with a breakdown of their top 10 teams, preview our four best games of Week 1 and debate on whether teams like Nease and Jackson can keep their momentum going from last year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Justin Barney takes a journey around the area this week as high school baseball, softball and lacrosse kick off practices. Hear from St. Johns Country Day's Jordan Taylor and Bradley Hodges, and Bartram trail baseball coach turned softball leader Tony Sowers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Big changes are being discussed in high school football in Florida and they have the potential to be the biggest the state has ever seen. Justin Barney and Cole Pepper discuss the proposal and how it could shake up how things look for area teams. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
