West Nassau High School football game ends with weird result. How?

From coast to coast, high school soccer games end in draws every week. On rare occasion, there's a tie in sports like swimming and diving or track and field.

But in football?

Football's rarest result came to Callahan on Aug. 21, a state-line Florida-Georgia battle pitting West Nassau against Charlton County. Final score: West Nassau 14, Charlton County 14.

Avery Griffin and Smo Green rushed for touchdowns for the Warriors, who tied the game on quarterback Brennan Forshee's two-point conversion run with 2:20 remaining. Charlton County then drove across the 50, only for West Nassau's Seth Gentry to intercept a fourth-down pass to end regulation. Then, late-night thunderstorms sweeping in across the Okefenokee Swamp forced a weather delay and prevented

the teams from playing the tiebreaking period.

No time for overtime. That's how you get a tie in 2026 football.

The most recent football tie in Times-Union records also involved Charlton County, a 48-48 deadlock against Columbia on Sept. 4, 2009. That game ended unexpectedly for Tigers coach Craig Howard, who was informed by officials that the game was over since teams had not explicitly declared an intention before kickoff to play overtime in case of a tie. The Georgia High School Association at the time did not mandate overtime for non-region games.

Rule changes have nearly eliminated high school football ties in the last 50 years, but it wasn't always that way. Bradford played five ties in 1930 (6-6 vs. Suwannee, 0-0 vs. Alachua, 6-6 vs. Ketterlinus, 0-0 vs. Columbia and 7-7 in an Alachua rematch), as did Jackson in 1933 (0-0 vs. Gainesville, 6-6 vs. Lakeland, 13-13 vs. St. Petersburg, 6-6 vs. Tampa Plant and 6-6 vs. Daytona Beach).

It wasn't until the summer of 1975 that the FHSAA instituted overtime for regular-season football. Before then, OT was postseason-only, with the first Jacksonville-area overtime playoff on Nov. 30, 1973 when Palatka South defeated Niceville 8-7 by way of the long-extinct deepest penetration rule. In that format, both teams alternated eight total plays starting from the 50, with the team advancing deeper into opposition territory awarded one point and declared the victor. (Interlachen, at one time in the Times-Union's coverage area, lost 1-0 to Dixie County in a similar overtime playoff on Dec. 3, 1971.)

The last tie of Northeast Florida's pre-overtime era came on Nov. 15, 1974. Hastings looked set to wrap up victory against Wymore Tech, up 14-12 with a minute to play in Orlando. But, the St. Augustine Record reported, a clipping penalty backed Hastings up, a punt snap went wild and Wymore Tech downed Hastings punter Jemmie Lewis in the end zone. That meant two points. A safety. A 14-14 tie.

Cornerstone captures first victory

On St. Johns Bluff Road, the football wait is over.

The Spartans of Cornerstone Classical finally claimed their long-awaited first varsity victory on Aug. 21, a 46-15 romp against Spring Hill Bishop McLaughlin in the debut for new coach Brian Trippett.

Cornerstone had played partial schedules in 2024 and 2025, going 0-1 and 0-6.

The Spartans weren't the only team celebrating a welcome change in fortunes.

• Englewood, 0-10 last year, rode more than 300 combined rushing yards from Keondre Smith and Geovanni Johnson to beat Bishop Snyder 22-20. The win was the first for head coach Randy Grace since his arrival from Georgia.
• Ribault, emerging from its worst two-year record since 1966-67, matched last year's win total by downing First Coast 20-14. Jalen Peters, Benson Candy and Donte Walker led a defense that kept the Bucs under constant pressure, ending a six-game skid.
• Ridgeview, which went 2-8 and lost its last four a year ago, won 16-12 against Westside with 267 combined rushing yards from Tyaun Edmonson and Amani Blount. Coach Jason Smith got his first career win.
• Stanton was already showing improvements last year, but they're now off to a rare 2-0 start. The Blue Devils' last three 2-0 starts: 2017, 2003 and 1969.

One team is bound to end a similar slump on Aug. 28. Keystone Heights, which has been outscored 126-14 this year with an 18-game losing streak, meets a P.K. Yonge visitor that has dropped its last 14 games.

Sharks' Ash tops 50 yards

The Noah Ash Watch is on.

Ponte Vedra's strong-legged senior kicker, committed to Auburn, further bolstered his status as a special-teams star in the Sharks' Aug. 21 season opener against University Christian.

Ash nailed field goals of 52 and 49 yards, although he missed one from 57. He has previously converted from well above 60 yards in kicking camps and competitions. The 52-yarder marked his longest kick converted so far in high school competition.

While Ash had the longest kicks of the night, it was University Christian junior Hudson Kwartler with the most important, a buzzer-beating 20-yarder to push UC past Ponte Vedra 31-29.

Meet the Next 11: Northeast Florida football recruits fans need to know

Ponte Vedra, Bolles win Sunshine Cup titles

Ponte Vedra took first place in Class 5A and Bolles placed first in Class 3A in the Floyd E. Lay Sunshine Cup All-Sports Awards standings.

The annual awards, which use a mathematical formula determined by the association, recognize achievement across the full FHSAA sports calendar.

In 2025-26, Ponte Vedra won state championships in Class 3A girls swimming and diving and Class 2A boys lacrosseand girls lacrosse. Bolles' championships were Class 1A swimming and diving for both boys and girls, Class 2A boys cross-country and Class 2A girls track and field (shared with Montverde).

Other first-place finishers were Winter Park (Class 7A), St. Thomas Aquinas (Class 6A), Bishop Moore (Class 4A), Palm Beach Gardens Benjamin (Class 2A), Lakeland Victory Christian (Class 1A) and Williston (Rural).

Creekside placed first in the Class 7A standings for girls sports, while Bishop Kenny was on top of the Class 4A girls standings and Providence placed first in Class 2A girls. Fort White topped the Rural boys list.

Cecil Field welcomes Florida's fastest

For one Friday night, Florida's cross-country world revolved around Jacksonville, with thousands of athletes and dozens of schools battling triple-digit heat indices for one of the state's fastest fields at the Cecil Field Summer Classic on Aug. 21.

Belen Jesuit's Armando Cruz, running 15:06, led the Miami distance power to 75 points and first place in the 40-team boys elite race, ahead of Nease and Lake Minneola. Nease's Rishi Chopra, fourth place in 15:39, finished highest among Jacksonville-area runners.

In the girls race, Lake Nona junior Arabella Duffell took charge late to win in 17:53. Bartram Trail sophomore Avery Hartley ran 18:13 for second, while the team race was a nail-biter with Niceville (152) edging Tallahassee Chiles and Creekside by two points each.

Creekside's Eva Delaney, Emma Godfrey and Ivey Edgell each ran in the top 16 overall.

Also on the week's schedule was the Spikes and Spurs Classic in Flagler County, where Ponte Vedra's Piper Ross made her first varsity race a success. In her freshman year, she crossed in 19:39.70 to lead teammate Savannah LaVasser in a Ponte Vedra 1-2. The Sharks' 37 points took first place, followed by Oviedo Hagerty and Flagler Palm Coast.

Flagler Palm Coast's 23 points won the boys race, with Ponte Vedra second. The Sharks' Luke Ross (16:04) took second behind FPC's first-place runner Douglas Seth, at 15:59.

The coming week is relatively quiet for major meets, with teams gearing up for the Sept. 5 Florida Horse Park Invitational in Ocala and the Sept. 19 Katie Caples Invitational at Bishop Kenny.

Locals named on AVCA list

The American Volleyball Coaches Association selected more than two dozen Jacksonville-area players on Aug. 24 to the annual All-American Watch List for seniors and the Phenom List for junior, sophomore and freshman prospects across the United States.

On the All-American list for seniors were Mandarin outside hitter Kyla Hollis and Tocoi Creek libero Melanie Carey.

The Phenom List's juniors included Atlantic Coast's Jordin Judge, Beachside's Ana Simanic, Bishop Kenny's Lily Heldenbrand, Christ's Church's Harper Hadden and Lola McSwain, Episcopal's Madilyn Lane, Fletcher's Juliette Watson, Harvest Community's Abigail Pincomb, Mandarin's Sadie Matthews, Middleburg's Kate Brown, Providence's Ryleigh Repass and Tocoi Creek's Avery Smith.

For sophomores, Bartram Trail's Parker Bradley, Brunswick's Allie Small, Mandarin's Briley Wright, Middleburg's Cora Hausman and Wolfson's Bethany Stephens all made the list.

AVCA's freshman class listed Beachside's Ellery Anderson and Nina Simanic, Christ's Church's Delainey McLaughlin, Fletcher's Brooklyn Lockwood and Tocoi Creek's Elise Jameson.

Columbia to honor Green at opener

Columbia's athletic department announced that former head coach Danny Green will serve as the team's honorary captain for the Sept. 28 football home opener against St. Petersburg Lakewood.

Green coached the Tigers from 1995-2003 and again from 2005-07, compiling a 109-39 record and reaching the FHSAA final in 1997. He recorded double-digit victories in five of his seasons in Columbia.

Green, who finished 254-106 during a 31-year football head coaching career that also included stops at Baker County, Haines City and Orange Park, also won state championships as Baker County weightlifting coach in 1988 and 1989. He entered the FHSAA Hall of Fame in 2020.

Around the area

Bishop Kenny guard Elle Deegan committed to Lenoir-Rhyne women's basketball. … Tocoi Creek guard Gabi Iturralde committed to Embry-Riddle women's basketball. … Bishop Kenny defensive specialist Ayla DeWitt committed to Stetson beach volleyball. … Ponte Vedra infielder Natasha Deutch committed to Brevard softball. … Harvest Community guard Jayden Oseni committed to Trinity College of Jacksonville men's basketball. … Beachside setter Mollie VanDeusen surpassed both 500 kills and 1,000 assists in the Barracudas' Aug. 20 victory over independent DME Academy volleyball. … Baldwin volleyball setter Tynlee Jarrell reached 1,000 career assists. … Yulee volleyball outside hitter Jasmine Douglas achieved 500 kills and libero Mylie Breutzmann surpassed 500 digs. … Creekside wing midfielder Luke Amann was called up to the Philippines' Under-18 men's national soccer team for the Seoul Haechi Cup in South Korea, a seven-team international youth tournament. … Former Jackson center Stephon Payne committed to New Mexico State men's basketball. … Former Clay midfielder Brooke Bunton had her first collegiate two-goal game for SMU women's soccer. … Although MaxPreps now lists the storm-suspended Bishop Kenny vs. NFEI football game as a 35-14 final in favor of the Crusaders, Bishop Kenny coach Tim Krause confirmed to the Times-Union that the contest is not officially over. The teams still intend to play the final four minutes on Oct. 19.

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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: West Nassau High School football game ends with weird result. How?

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