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The Atlantic Coast Stingray's have set another milestone in their history books. The first group of Seniors to sign their national letter of intent to play collegiate football have been set today, Feb 1, 2012. Without further ado, here are the young men who inked their intent this morning:


Blake Stone center- Charleston Southern Univ

Jeff Gay-DT-Delaware St.

Bennett Blanton-K-FAMU

Justice Sandlin-DT-Catawba College

Zach Burnett-FB-Webber Intl Univ.

Matt Kramer-Punter-Bethel Univ, TN

Congratulations to these young men. We'll be following your careers in the future and wish you the very best!

Players can now register for those planning on going to the 2012 Nike combine out of Orlando in February.

Click this link and follow directions. Don't put it off as the spots can fill up quickly!

_ STINGRAY FOOTBALL




MANDATORY




6:00 AM CONDITIONING SCHEDULE

FRIDAY ONLY

FEBRUARY 3, 10, 17, 24

MARCH 2, 9, 30

APRIL 4- WEDNESDAY

WHAT TO BRING: SHORTS, T-SHIRT, SNEAKERS, AND TOWEL

SHOWER AFTER AND BE ON TIME TO 1ST BLOCK

IF YOU HAVE NOT PLAYED ANOTHER SPORT, YOU WILL NEED A PHYSICAL.

IF YOU ARE GOING TO TRY-OUT FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS WILL BE A GOOD OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU

GET YOUR RIDES WORKED OUT EARLY




TEAM BUILDING IS A KEY TO OUR SUCCESS

Atlantic Coast is proud to have it's first 6A football All-State honoree's.  Congratulations to Bennett Blanton and Blake Stone for the outstanding effort.

Atlantic Coast kicker Bennett Blanton (third team) and offensive lineman Blake Stone (honorable mention) rounded out the local selections.
Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/sports/high-schools/2012-01-06/story/class-6a-all-state-football-bartram-trail-columbia-players#ixzz1jBujmBEU

    Jacksonville.com and the Times Union have announced the 2011 All- First Coast football teams.
Atlantic Coast Seniors Jeffery Gay (second team - defense), Blake Stone (third team - offense) and Brandon Finkley (third team - defense) were honored in the selection.

CRITERIA

The Times-Union recognizes the area’s top high school athletes by publishing the All-First Coast teams for the fall season. The Times-Union high school sports staff selects the teams after nominations are solicited by mail from all area varsity coaches. All-First Coast selections were made based on these nominations, the sports staff’s observations, the players' performances and statistics and their teams' quality. Athletes must be from schools in the Florida High School Athletic Association.


Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/sports/football/2011-12-26/story/all-first-coast-high-school-football-teams#ixzz1hqUagWdG

Six Atlantic Coast Stingrays have been selected to the 2011 FACA (Florida Athletic Coaches Association) All District Team (District 5: includes Duval, Nassau, Baker, Union, Columbia Counties)

Congratulations to Seniors Brandon Finkley, Blake Stone, Jeff Gay and Diavonte' Wiggins as well as Juniors Aaron Daniels and Travis Bennett.

These young men have been recognized by FACA coaches as some of the top athletes in Florida through their selection to this team.

    Atlantic Coast ended their second year on a high note by defeating Raines on their turf 10-0. It started off with Stingrays running back Richard Montgomery taking it to the house on an 80 yard opening play. Points didn't come easy for the Rays (or at all for the Vikings), as both defenses played well when it counted. More on the game tomorrow

Stingray Nation filled The Bay for the last time in 2011 to be a part of Senior night and watch the Stingrays battle conference rival St Augustine on a night built for football. The weather was crisp and the crowd was whipped up into an early frenzy as AC Quarterback Joe Parete connected to Brandon Finkley on the first play for an 80 yard TD pass play. With 15 seconds off the clock, the Rays had a 7 point lead over the Yellow Jackets. AC's defense was tested the entire night and held their ground well, keeping the Rays in the game until the final minutes.  St Augustine had a 19-14 lead late into the 4th quarter. AC's offense were stopped on 3rd and 8 near their 20 yard line and the Rays stunned everyone there with a fake punt attempt that fell short. Again, the "D" held strong to hole St Aug to a field goal and one last chance of pulling off the upset. The Yellow Jackets defense were too much in the end, stuffing our offense on it's final drive attempt. Their offense also had a late 4th quarter score that sealed the nights fate.

Final score, St Augustine 29, Atlantic Coast, 14

Next Thursday, Atlantic Coast will visit Raines for the final game of the season.

Atlantic Coast showed up to play on both side of the ball Thursday night in another divisional game vs Wolfson. Stingray Nation were treated to a lopsided victory where the Rays took total control on offense and defense. The Stingrays offense, led by a great performance by Senior RB Diavonte Wiggins, scored on their first 4 possessions.  The score was 21-0 by the end of the first quarter. Despite some nasty play by Wolfson, which resulted in multiple personal fouls and a game suspension for one of their "pack",   AC continued to dominate, going into the half with a 35-0 lead. The Stingrays defense was also stingy  in keeping the wolves out of the endzone through the majority of the game and treating the offense to great field position throughout the evening. Wolfsons starters  scored  with a running clock and AC's backups in the 4th quarter sparing them a shutout.

Final score, Atlantic Coast 44, Wolfson 8.

A big Stingray Nation congratulations to Jr. Quarterback Joe Parete for his week 8 performance against Lee.

Joe Parete, Atlantic Coast, QB: The junior completed 16-of-25 passes for 222 yards and three touchdowns in a 47-23 victory over Lee.
Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/sports/high-schools/2011-10-26/story/high-school-football-week-8-honor-roll#ixzz1bvRnjNMp

Atlantic Coast  will traveled to Ed White High School to play the Robert E Lee Generals Friday night at 7:00. The Stingrays started off the game rusty from coming off their bye week, allowing the Generals to advance to a halftime lead of 23-19. The second half was all Atlantic Coast as they held Lee to 0 points for the remainder of the evening.

This was certainly an interesting game to watch as there were many unusual events that unfolded throughout the evening. Among them, several blocked extra points (both sides), a safety off a blocked punt, squib kicks a-plenty, a Stingray 2 point conversion and a 6 yard Stingray touchdown run from offensive guard Travis Bennett. More standout moments include Jr. Quarterback Joe Parete had a nice game tossing 3 TD's to Sr. wideout Brandon Finkley.  Sr tailback Diavonte Wiggins also contributed by rushing for 136 yards and 2 TD's


The Stingrays will visit the Wolfson Wolfpack this Thursday at 7:00

  The Bartram Trail Bears continued to show why they're undefeated this year by defeating the Stingrays 42-7 on a windy, raining evening in the Bay.  The game started off with the Atlantic Coast defense holding off the Bartram Trail offense by stuffing the Bears on a 4th and short. The Stingrays took full advantage of the terrific field position and were able to put an early 7 points on the board. Unfortunately, that was the extent of scoring for the Rays.

  The Stingrays get a week off with their Bye scheduled for next Friday. They return to face Lee on October 21

There were few surprises tonight as Atlantic Coast dominated the Englewood Rams. The Stingrays improve to 4-1 at the halfway point in the season. The Rams lone 2 points were scored  on a safety as a high snap sailed over Bennett Blanton  as he attempted a punt in the end zone.

Final score- Atlantic Coast 51- Englewood 2
Check out some pictures of the game on our Facebook Page

Make sure to follow the Atlantic Coast JV Football Team on their page (scroll over the "More" tab above or click here). They're having an exceptional start!
It's a great peek into our future years.

Congrats to Stingray Junior Martin Gampon. The standout defensive end was honored this week for his outstanding performance against Stanton in week 4.

An excerpt from the story below:

Martin Gampon, Atlantic Coast, defensive end: The junior recorded five sacks, giving him 12 for the season, in Atlantic Coast's 48-0 win over Stanton.
Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/sports/football/2011-09-27/story/high-school-football-honor-roll-week-4#ixzz1ZGNJYzyT

  The Stingrays put on another offensive show Friday against the visiting Stanton. The  Blue Devils were simply over-matched in a 48-0 route. AC's O-Line stepped up to help running back Richard "Boggie" Montgomery run for 250 yards on 10 carries resulting in 4 touchdowns. On the defensive side, Martin Gampon had 5 sacks on the evening in an outstanding effort. Stanton's offense struggled the entire night,  turning the ball over several  times to multiple Atlantic Coast defensive backs.

Next Up- The Stingrays travel to Englewood to face the Rams in another conference game.

New Game Photo galleries added in Photo page

Atlantic Coast held strong against the Fletcher Senators Friday night in the bay. Both defenses were as  tough as the 7-7 score after 4 quarters of regulation would suggest. Fletcher was able to put 7 on the board in OT while AC was stopped.

See some highlights below

Senior Brandon Finkley not only knows how to haul in interceptions (as he did 3 times last week), but he also knows how to haul in awards.


Jacksonville.com named Fink to their weekly Honor roll, recognizing standout performances.

Brandon Finkley, Atlantic Coast, DB: The senior intercepted three passes and also scored on a 10-yard run to lead the Stingrays to a 49-0 win over Paxon.
Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/sports/football/2011-09-13/story/high-school-football-honor-roll#ixzz1XwcooRdW

First Coast News aslo named Fink their Athlete of the Week


Written by Chad Cushnir JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Last year, Brandon Finkley played quarterback for Atlantic Coast High School.  This year, quarterback is no longer his primary position, but he's still making plays for the Stingrays.

This past Friday night in a 49-0 win over Paxon, Finkley intercepted 3 passes from his safety position.  He also had a 10 yard touchdown run as a Wildcat quarterback.  In addition to those duties, he plays wide receiver and returns punts.

For his efforts on the field this past Friday, Finkley is the HighSchoolSports.net student-athlete of the week.

     The Stingrays defense shone brightley in the bay last night, dominating the Golden Eagles offense and holding them to a total of 40 yards. Senior Brandon Finkley seemed to be everywhere as he picked off the Paxon offense 3 times. He also ran the ball in for a TD on a keeper from the 10. The offense started out sluggesh, but finished the evening in a flurry.

Last year, the Stingrays had an opportunity to make their inaugural season a record breaker in week 8. By winning, they would have guaranteed a winning season (which, of coarse, we did the following week).

As a reminder....Oct 9, 2010 – With 7:41 on the clock in the 4th quarter, Atlantic Coast had a commanding lead 30-13.

The rest, as they say...is history. Paxon came back and beat us 31-30 after we dominated them for 3 1/2 quarters. This was undoubtedly the worst lost of last year. Every player on the team felt this one.

This Friday, Atlantic Coast will have the opportunity for payback as they host Paxon in The Bay at 7:00PM.  There's little doubt that Paxon believes they can follow up last years comeback with an upset. There's also little doubt the Stingrays won't be letting up this year. This should be another great game to attend!

                                                                                                                                  Go Stingrays!

From Jacksonville.com reporter Garry Smits

The first game of what should be a natural Southside rivalry was over early, thanks to Mandarin's mistakes and Atlantic Coast's opportunism.

The inaugural meeting between the two schools, in Atlantic Coast's second year of football, ended with the Stingrays upsetting the Mustangs 32-20 at Mandarin, a statement if there ever was one for Kevin Sullivan's blossoming program.


Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/sports/high-schools/2011-09-03/story/atlantic-coast-makes-statement-knocks-mandarin#ixzz1Wurrd5Vj

Check our Photo page out for Filed Pro Photo galleries to our games

You can see some photos of Thursdays Kickoff classic on our Stingray Nation facebook page. We had some technical issues with focusing on a lot of game shots we're trying to work out by next week. Remember that we encourage you to share your Stingray football photo's with our community. Just email them to stingraysports@gmail.com and we'll include them in a future update.

                                                                                                                                    Go RAYS!

The 2011 Varsity roster is now live.  Feel free to update us if you find any errors.

We have new practice photo's posted on our Facebook Album.  Be sure to send us any Stingray football photo's you'd like to share with us.

   Although it's early in the new season, Atlantic Coast is getting little respect in national ratings polls. I respect that fact that we are in a tough division with perennial playoff powerhouse programs Bartram Trails and St. Augustine.  Fighting through will certainly be a tough battle....but not one that's insurmountable. It seems the "pollsters" don't put much into the fact that our entire starting lineup will be back for year 2, along with improvements in many positions.  We're quite excited to see the team hit the field this year.

   One of the "big" ratings websites, highschoolsports.net uses what they call "Massey Ratings", which is a computerized calculation comprised of historical data / strength of schedule to rate teams within their state. They use these numbers to make game score predictions / outcomes. Last year, the Stingrays ended their season with a Massey rating of 358 out of the state of Florida.

  This year, we're rated at 369. Wow. Really? Worse than last year? We are favored to win the Kickoff Classic vs Terry Parker. One of the most interesting things about this years schedule is that  rival Mandarin is rated at 247. Coming into the season  "under the radar" has it's perks, but this type of rating should light a spark under the seat. of an already fired up young rivalry.  The Stingrays have a lot to prove this season, and I'm feeling pretty good about year 2. It will be fun to keep an eye on how things change over the season.

We received a request from a parent to re-start our car pooling thread for this season. With next weeks 2 a days beginning later, we realize how this may put a strain on some. If you need help (or are willing to pick up a needful team mate), check out our Stingray Talk section

We have a new poll on our schedule page. Vote now!

Coach Kevin Sullivan is flanked by Seniors Blake Stone and Brandon Finkley for Media Day. Check out more behind the scenes photo's on our facebook page

Reports coming back from this years Down & Dirty linemen camp have been positive.  It looked like about 15 Stingray linemen attended the 3 day session. We'll be posting a group photo soon. In the mean time, we'll post a few pictures we took during the Sunday afternoon session. Check our Facebook page for many more photo's

Have you ever wanted to help out doing volunteer work for Atlantic Coast HS? It's as easy as filling out a form and submitting it online through the official school website.

Click Here to access the Duval County Volunteer form required and get into our volunteer database.

The Miami Herald is once again looking for submissions of high school football players who are looking for some extra exposure. Simply email some basic information and you'll be included in this years magazine, Friday Night Football. There are some Stingrays represented, but room for more. Here's a link explaining what to do.
Go Stingrays!

Here's a link to a recent write up from the folks at 1stCoastGridirn.com, an informative blog that covers football in our region.
As a football team, you've got to like a headline like that!


Monday, May 23, 2011
Fear The 2011 Atlantic Coast Stingrays.

Coming off their successful 2010 inaugural season with a 6-4 record. The Stingrays are looking to improve on their first year success with the entire starting group of players on both sides of the ball returning. With one of the best head coaches on the 1st Coast in Kevin Sullivan there will be nothing stopping this young team in trying to win their new touch district (6A - District 4).

Players To Watch
#3 Bennett Blanton - K - c/o 2012
#5 Keith Cumberbatch - LB/FB - c/o 2012
#7 Preston Edwards - WR - c/o 2012
#11 Brandon Finkley - QB - c/o 2012
#33 Kalin Anderson - LB/RB - c/o 2012
#44 Zach Burnett - LB/FB - c/o 2012
#50 Justice Sandlin - OL/DL - c/o 2012
#53 Center - Blake Stone - C - c/o 2012
#55 Jeffery Gay - DT- c/o 2012
#65 Travis Bennett - OT- c/o 2013

The second annual Atlantic Coast Spring Scrimmage was a great success. We didn't see any injuries throughout the game that might carry over into summer / fall. The Rays look like their second season will be an exciting one. 

Check out some photos from this event on the photo page

Free physicals are on June 8th, from 8:30 am to 2:00 pm. I will send forms tomorrow.  

On June 13 and 14th, there will be a FREE Offensive/Defensive Line Camp at ACHS, 5 pm to 8 pm. Jaguars Defensive Line coach Joe Cullen will run camp. 

We will be incorporating speed training into our morning work-outs, Tuesday and Thursday. James Coleman from Elite Performance Services will be the instructor. The cost is $20.00 a month. No need to go to HIT center or anywhere else.  

For your information, as of Friday, we have had 40 colleges in to our schools to look at our players. One player has an offer and 4 or 5 are on this schools radar. This is great for our program.
 
Kevin Sullivan Head Football Coach Atlantic Coast HS

Three Atlantic Coast rising seniors have made the qualifying round of floridahsfootball.com's list of "Class of 2012 FHSF Star 150 Watch List". Players are selected from all schools in Florida who field a football team. Jacksonville (and the surrounding area) are well represented.

Congratulations to Bennett Blanton, Jeffery Gay and Blake Stone for representing the Stingrays. We'll keep an eye on the final list of 150 (updated in July)

You can check out the entire list here.

As the spring and summer get into gear, I'm sure we'll be seeing more AC Stingrays getting noticed.

Parents / Coaches / Players- Contact us if you know of or see ant accomplishments you'd like to share on our site. 

Here's an excerpt from an article by Hays Carlyon of jacksonville.com / Times Union regarding this years spring practices:


Atlantic Coast (6-4 last season)

How do 22 returning starters sound? The Stingrays fared well in their inaugural season under former Jackson coach Kevin Sullivan. Now the squad appears ready to take another step.

District 4-6A is certainly challenging with St. Johns County power St. Augustine leading the way. Bartram Trail, a playoff regular throughout the last decade, is also in the mix.

The offense will lean on its three quality backs in Richard Montgomery, Kalin Anderson and Diavonte Wiggins. Brandon Finkley, the team’s top playmaker last season at quarterback, is also back.

Defensively, Atlantic Coast returns lineman Jeff Gay, who recorded 10 sacks a year ago.

Sullivan’s main focus this spring will be establishing more depth and developing the rest of the defensive line.


Read the entire article at Jacksonville.com

The Florida Time Union announced their annual  All-First Coast Football teams for this year.

Congratulations to Atlantic Coast Stingray Brandon Finkley for making the Honorable Mention List. It's a great accomplishment!

You can see the entire article here

Coach Strom , the Stingrays Assistant Offensive Line Coach, is also a 5th grade teacher at Bartram Springs. The Mandarin Newsline recently wrote a feature article about many Stingray football teammates who volunteered their time and expertise for the Bartram Springs Elementary Fall Festival.  You can read the entire story here

Although Atlantic Coast put up a spirited battle for their final game of their inaugural season, they fell short, loosing to Sandalwood 23-0. Plagued by turn overs early in the game, the Stingrays just couldn't move the ball against the 6A Saints. The game capped off a tremendous first season for Atlantic Coast. 

Atlantic Coast came out swinging for their  inaugural homecoming game (and last home game of the season)
The 6-3 Stingrays dominated the 2-6 Oakleaf Knights for the second time this season, spoiling the Knights attempt for revenge with a final score of 35-7
***The victory tonight  put Atlantic Coast in the record books as the 1st inaugural football team in Florida to have a winning season in year 1***
Go to Photo's page to view galleries

This Week....Sandalwood!

Click on the video below for highlights from Fridays historical game from First Coast News

The Stingrays took the biggest hit of their young career  Friday night against an unsurrendering Paxon team.  Final score: 30-31.
     For Stingray players and fans, it was a tough evening. With 7:41 on the clock in the 4th quarter, Atlantic Coast had a commanding lead 30-13. Paxon chipped away at the lead as our defense struggled to contain the Golden Eagle passing game. Paxon scored on it's last 3 possessions, which included a needed 2 point conversion to stun a great away crowd. The Stingrays did get the ball back but the offense could not keep a drive going, turning the ball back on downs. All we could do is watch as the Golden Eagles took a knee.

The Stingrays have a bye next week and won't return to action until the meet Oakleaf for a second time this year. This time, time Knights will have to come to The Bay during Homecoming.

Our thanks go out to eagle-eyed Susan Paxon for bringing this to our attention.

This past week, the Times Union Newspaper had several rankings for NE Florida teams.  How have the Stingrays fared? Not bad at all for a first year program. The team is fortunate enough to have a couple of players ranked in the top ten.

Bennett Blanton- K
  Blanton is 3rd , 5 FGM, 7 FGA, 39 LONG

Richard Montgomery- RB
  Montgomery is 10th with 106 att., 641 yds.,5 TD ,  Avg. is 6

The team is ranking as follows:
  Team Offense:
24th with ..6 giveaway turnovers,rushing 1,380 , passing 492, avg is 267.8     Team Defense:

      
Team Defense:
17th with 15 takeaway turnovers, rushing 779, passing 958, avg is 248.1

Independent Standings
ACHS                        5-2
Cedar Creek Christian 3-3
Paxon                       3-3
St. Joseph                 3-3
Oakleaf                     2-4
Stanton                     2-5
Fl. Deaf                     0-6



Although the Stingrays have no shot of a playoff berth our first year (as Independents), the team deserves recognition of a job well done. Congratulations on the good numbers! And it's not over yet folks! Atlantic Coast has a chance of guaranteeing a winning season with one more win.  We look forward to a fun filled, exciting end of season # 1 in the next few weeks.

The Stingrays started out the night by holding the first Titan drive to a 3 and out start. The offense took control with good filed position and ended their first drive with a touchdown by Junior Quarterback Brandon Finkley on a keeper, giving the Stingrays a 7-0 lead for the only score in the first quarter. Second quarter scoring started with a touchdown run by FB Kalin Anderson. With the reliable Bennett Blanton extra point added, this gave the Stingrays a 14-0 lead. The Stingrays stopped the next Titan drive with a fumble recovery, which lead to a 45 yard TD run by Finkley, extending the Stingrays lead to 21-0. University answered back with a 27 yard kickoff return, which set up a 25 yard touchdown pass, giving the Titans their first score of the evening with 3:27 left in the first half. The Stingrays took advantage of field position again as they started their next drive from their own 47 yard line, thanks to a University face mask call. This drive ended with a 36 yard touchdown run by Sophomore running back Richard Montgomery, padding the Stingray lead to 28-7. The Titans were driving in a 2 minute drill when Atlantic Coast DB Aaron Daniels had a big interception with .37 seconds in the half remaining, retaining the Stingray lead of 28-7 into the half.

The Stingrays opened up the 3rd quarter on a couple of long runs by Montgomery, but failed to get close enough for a score. University chipped away on a nice drive, scoring another touchdown and point after, making the score 28-14. The Stingrays started a long drive late in the first quarter that didn't end until 7:24 was left on the clock in the 4th. That's when Finkley threw a 5 yard TD pass to Sophomore FB Ja'Hairy Hines to give the Stingrays what proved to be their final score of the night. Although the Titans tried to rally, they didn't have an answer for a tough Stingray defense.

This win is the Stingrays 3rd in a row, bringing their inaugural season record to 5-2. Atlantic Coast travel to Paxon on Oct 22 to try to extend their winning streak.

From the Daytona Beach News Journal
By STEVE MASTER, Correspondent   October 9, 2010 12:05 AM

• Week 6

DAYTONA BEACH -- Father Lopez's first offensive play Friday night developed exactly the way the coaches drew it up. Blockers opened up a nice hole on the left, and freshman William Mitchell scooted through it for an 8-yard gain.

Unfortunately for the Green Wave, this would be their only positive play for what seemed like an eternity.

Jacksonville Atlantic Coast manhandled Father Lopez from start to finish, opening up a 50-0 halftime lead en route to a 57-0 triumph at Father Lopez Alumni Stadium.

"We knew coming in after looking at film it was gonna be a tall task," Lopez coach Jim Sweeney said. "They just had a big size and speed advantage on us."

Sophomore running backs Richard Montgomery and Leon Coleman led the charge for Atlantic Coast, which is coached by former Atlantic High coach Kevin Sullivan.

Coleman racked up 92 rushing yards and two touchdowns, and Montgomery ran for 78 yards and two scores. Ja'Hairy Hines also scored twice for the Stringrays (4-2).

Lopez (1-5), meanwhile, suffered through a painful night on both sides of the football.

On defense, the Green Wave struggled to corral the quicker Atlantic Coast skill players, who either eluded tackles or broke them en route to a storm of big plays.

The Lopez offense, meanwhile, was stymied by a swarm of bigger, stronger defenders who shook off blocks and made a procession of stops at the point of attack.

Lopez managed just 36 total yards and didn't gain a first down -- except by way of penalty -- until the final minutes, when freshman quarterback Joseph Boden hit Alex Fedorovich on a 27-yard pass play.

Mistakes were a problem for Lopez as well. The Green Wave lost two fumbles and an interception, with all three turnovers leading to short fields and easy scores. And they fumbled a punt attempt out of the end zone for a safety.

"We couldn't get kick-outs, couldn't get down blocks, which is what we need to do to sustain drives," Sweeney said. "We were hoping to take care of the football and sustain some drives, but they were just too much.

"Our three freshmen in the backfield got baptism by fire. It's gonna make them better, but right now it's kind of hard to swallow."

Atlantic Coast, a first-year program playing as an independent, set the tone early by taking the opening kickoff and driving 80 yards for a score. The march was highlighted by consecutive runs of 30-plus yards by Montgomery and Ciante McLemore, who capped the drive with a 1-yard TD run.

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

Atlantic Coast 28 22 7 0 --57

Father Lopez 0 0 0 0 -- 00

AC McLemore 1 run (Blanton kick).

AC -Montgomery 11 run (Blanton kick).

AC -Edwards 16 pass from Finkley (Blanton kick).

AC -Montgomery 10 run (Blanton kick).

AC -Safety (ball fumbled out of end zone)

AC Hines 12 run (Blanton kick).

AC Coleman 7 run (Blanton kick).

AC Hines 34 run (Kick failed).

AC Coleman 5 run (Blanton kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- AC: Coleman 10-92, Montgomery 9-78, McLemore 5-39, Reed 6-21, Anderson 1-13. Team: 37-261. FL: Mitchell 5-4, Bryant 6-0. Team: 16-6.

PASSING-- AC: Finkley 6-7-70-0, Milo 1-1-(minus 3)-0. FL: Boden 4-14-30-1.

RECEIVING -- AC: Edwards 4-56, Hines 1-9, Montgomery 1-5, Hughes 1-(minus 3). FL: Fedorovich 3-24, Bryant 1-6.

PUNTING AC: Kramer 1-51. FL: Jones 5-25.6.

GAME STATISTICS:

Penalties -- AC 5-45 , FL 0-0. First downs: AC 11, FL 1. Fumbles/lost: AC 1-0, FL 3-2.



October 15th, University High School of Orange City (Orlando) come to The Bay to attempt to bring a stop to the 4-2 Stingrays winning streak. The University Titans are another first year program.

The inaugural season for the Atlantic Coast Stingray team is not going unnoticed by the Florida Times Union. High School sports writer Hays Carlyon named Teldon Cobbs to the week 5 honor roll of players who had outstanding performances.
"Teldon Cobbs, Atlantic Coast, DE: Returned a fumble for a touchdown and recorded three sacks as the first-year Stingrays picked up their biggest win yet, beating Parker 17-12."

The team also got recognition for meeting or exceeding preseason expectations. The entire article can be read here

This is a direct reflection on Coach Sullivan and his staff plus the hard work our young men have put in throughout the summer / fall. To have a winning record halfway through the season playing seasoned teams with seniors is simply outstanding. The future looks bright indeed!

The Stingrays ended Terry Parker's hope of back to back wins and held on to finish a tough game 12-17 in front of yet another great crowd at home. The defense stepped up again to stop a last minute drive from the Braves. This brings the 'Rays record  to 3-2,  ending a short lived, 2 game loosing streak. Fill up the tank and head south next Friday. Don't miss the excitement as the team travel to Daytona Beach October 8th to face the 1-4 Father Lopez Green Waves.

GAME PHOTOS
Be sure to visit our new Photo page to view practice and game photos. The recent addition of Field Pro Photos shooting many of our games will give us great opportunities of getting professional shots of our young men in action. The boosters are also working on providing more game photos as well.
We will continue to update the galleries and provide links to outside sources who shoot our games.

The Stingrays are at an even 2-2 record for the season after loosing another tough one at University Christian. You can catch some highlights of the game below. We look to have a great rebound next week at HOME against visiting Terry Parker.

We are pleased to start off our photography gallery of upcoming games with the Stingray / University Christian game Sept 24, 2010. Check out the galleries here and check back for future games to be featured.

Friday nights game against Yulee proved too much as the Hornets took the Stingrays 35-6 in The Bay. This makes this game the 1st loss of the season. The Stingrays look for redemption next week at University Christian.

Richard Burnett has put together a great spot for parents to sign up for scheduling of many volunteer duties, such as bringing snacks / Gatorade, Concession stand duties, etc.
Get more info on our Booster Page

The Atlantic Coast Stingrays came away with a big victory against the Oakleaf Knights tonight with the final score of 38-7. This was the first away game for the Stingrays and the first game period for the Knights. 2-0 is a great way to start the season out. It's back to work Monday for the team as they prepare for the upcoming duel against Yulee at The Bay next Friday. See some highlights below

Another page of Northeasten Florida football will be written tonight. At 6:00, our Stingrays kick off against the Oakleaf Knights of Clay County. The Stingrays are coming off their season opening win against Mandarin Christian last week. The Knights have yet to play a game, so tonight will be their opener. Playing at home, we should expect a nice crowd. We need a great showing from the Atlantic Coast side to balance out the home field advantage. From what we've been seeing, that won't be a problem.

Show your support!
Let's spoil the Knight for Oakleaf!

Go Stingrays!

Cows parachuting in from planes...
Huge crowds cheering on the new team in town...
The smell of Sticky Fingers Barbecue and Chick-Fil-A at the concessions...
Lines in the bathroom...
All of these are signs of the return of high school football.
The excitement was electric at "The Bay" this evening as the Stingrays beat Mandarin Christian 31-20 before a large home crowd. It was a great effort from the team as a unit.
Both the offense and defense made key plays throughout the game to make this a memorable evening for all who attended.
Check out the video Highlights from First Coast News Below

Next up....Oakleaf


Be sure to pick up your Atlantic Coast Stingray gear at Baker Sports.

Don't forget to join the ACHS Stingray Booster Club as well.
All Booster Members
will get premium parking in the teachers lot
for home games!
Applications are available here

Go Stingrays!

Stingray Parents...

The team is in need of halftime hydration, electrolyte, and potassium needs

We need 2 cases of Gatorade, and 2 cases of water for each game.
Add a case of bananas to that for each home game.

The opening game tonight is taken care of.

Parents that can help should coordinate with Richard Burnett

You can also post what game / date you can help out at the Stingray Nation Forum

The booster club is requesting volunteers for helping out in a few areas for the next 5 home games.  If the Thursday night game is an indicator for the attendance level for this week, the players and the cheerleaders should be well supported for a big win against Mandarin Christian Eagles.

 

The understanding between the majority of the programs during football season is for a volunteer group of Varsity parents provide bodies for concessions and other tasks during JV games and that JV volunteers provide for the Varsity games. 

 

Our immediate needs for the first Varsity game are for managers to oversee the concessions, parking, and ticket sales.  The Sweetwater Retirement Community has expressed to Coach Blount that they can provide a significant workforce to man these stations.  That participation level is not clear yet and we may need more parents to help out than anticipated. 

 

For our inaugural game, we would welcome any and all help we could get.  Please email or call if you can participate in any way.  JV or Varsity.

 

FWIW….Anyone volunteering will receive 7 personal speed training sessions for your player(s) in the off season by myself and the former NFL/Arena/NCAA players that Zach Burnett has trained with the last year and a half.   We are discussing other reward systems for recognition of the booster hours donated to the kids.

 

Richard Burnett

I wanted to bump this article to let everyone know the folks at The Miami Herald are updating their ongoing list of underclassmen. I scanned the list and saw very few players from Atlantic Coast. It's free and easy to add your name.

ACHS Stingray players and parents. Here's a great chance to get some extra recruiting exposure thanks the the Miami Herald. Be one of the first Atlantic Coast Stingray members to add your name

The Miami Herald is trying to give every football player in the state of Florida exposure. While there is no guarantee that every athlete listed will be offered a collegiate scholarship, the names are out there for colleges and universities to check out.

You can do your part by making sure that the names, schools and other information is correct. We have contacted every high school coach in the state who has also provided us with game film of teams and players, which helps us evaluate every player who puts on a uniform in the state of Florida.

If there is anything you need to add to this list, please send the correspondence on to Larry Blustein at LBlustein@miamiherald.com.

We provide this service, along with other information to help the recruiting experience. Keep in mind that we add over 100 names per week to these lists!

Here's a link to the story which also leads to other future classes.

Fletcher HS Spoils Atlantic Coast Debut Ed Coker


Neptune Beach, Fla. -- The Fletcher Senators defeated the upstart Atlantic Coast Stingrays in a Thursday night Kickoff Classic, 35-0. Full story / video highlights here

Jacksonville.com high school sports writer Hays Carlyon did a nice piece on Coach Sullivan
Here's an excerpt:

There were plenty of game-changing transfers this offseason. Several high school football standouts are switching uniforms this fall, bringing exciting expectations to their new teams.

However, one move stood out as having the most impact on high school football on the First Coast.

On Jan. 19, new Duval County high school Atlantic Coast made a supreme power play. The school, located on Baymeadows Road just east of Florida 9A, hired longtime Jackson coach Kevin Sullivan, winner of 22 of his last 24 games.

Catch the entire article here

Jacksonville.com High School Sports writer, Francine King gave their Independent League High School Football Preview. Here's what they said about the Stingrays:

Atlantic Coast

Head coach: Kevin Sullivan (first year, 19 years overall, 149-65).

Key players: Travis Bennett (OL, So., 6-3, 265), Bennett Blanton (K/P, Jr., 6-0, 180), Zach Burnett (LB, Jr., 6-0, 190), Brandon Finkley (QB, Jr., 5-9, 175), Jeff Gay (DL, Jr., 6-2, 240), Blake Stone (OL, Jr., 6-2, 260).

Outlook: The Stingrays have a strong nucleus of young talent, led by experienced junior QB Finkley. But former Jackson coach Sullivan pointed out the Stingrays' talent is coming together from 13 area schools, so jelling quickly will be key in the program's first year.

Here's a link to the rest of the Independents in the area

We are pleased to announce our sister site for all Atlantic Coast athletes, StingrayNation.com, is now open.
Feel free to start some posts on the upcoming season, practice, games, coaches.....introduce yourself and enjoy
Stingray Nation!

The first week of practice (including 4 brutal 2-a-days) is now behind the Stingrays. It's clear to those who "survived" why this is affectionately called "hell week". By Friday evening, when many parents came out to watch the evening session, it was clear to see the team has been putting in the overtime.

  I thought I would pass on a little behind the scenes news to players and parents of Stingray football who have desires to further their playing in college. Coach Sullivan and his crew are indeed influential and are bringing eyes from all over the country to the new team. I track where visitors come from on a weekly basis. AtlanticCoastStingrays.com is getting looks from over 25 states in the past 30 days...many are from cities that host major colleges.  It will be fun to watch as the season progresses.

For those who are interested in car pooling for the summer / fall practices, please visit our blog page and leave a comment. There's an open discussion on stingray nation dedicated to this now as well.

                                      Iron Stingray Testing

I was recently a guest for the Tuesday session of the Iron Stingray workout. I've posted some photo's I took during the day in the Photos section. Sorry about the poor quality. My auto focus is starting to fail me! I tried to get a shot of all of the young men who attended, but I'm sure a few were unintentionally left out. Remember, if you want to share any Stingray Football photo's, just send a copy to me and I'll do my best to get them on!

                                                    GO STINGRAYS!

From Coach Sullivan:

  Last thing make sure your young men are loading up on their fluids. Water. water. gatorade, and water. No soda.  

It was a very productive summer, we have improved in many areas. Look forward to a good Fall.
Kevin Sullivan Head Football Coach Atlantic Coast HS

Here's a link to an interview with First Coast News and  Coach Wilson

Tuesdays practice brought yet another first for Spring Practice. The Atlantic Coast High Stingrays were visited by Jacksonville's Fox News Crew (Shown in picture) as well as First Coast News  on Channel 12 to see what Coach Sullivan was up to with his new team. The video highlight of the FCN story can be found here. It's great to see the excitement about the team getting the exposure it deserves. 

 We will be holding a "Meet the Coaches Meeting" for parents and athletes on Thursday, June 10th at 6pm in the auditorium. This will be an opportunity for parents and students to meet all the coaches that have been hired, ask questions, get information about summer activities, etc. In addition, we will discuss the Booster Club.   

Jaguars GM, Gene Smith was seen at Atlantic Coast Stingray practice on Wednesday evening, taking a look at the future talent  Coach Sullivan is molding. Various collegiate scouts / coaches are rumored to be dropping by the next week or so (one dropped by this evening). This is a tremendous chance for the young men to get some early looks for recruitment efforts in the future. We encourage visitors to chime in and report any notable sightings in our Stingray Talk Blog Area

Although many may have not recognized the big guy hanging around practice Tuesday night, as he was not hard to spot. Many probably don't know who the mystery man was. Former NFL Veteran Dave Widell took in the Stingray Football team practice tonight. Still looking intimidating at 44, he watched throughout the evening as Coach Sullivan and crew put their young team through upper drills.

Widell was known for his hard playing style as an offensive lineman for the Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos, Jacksonville Jaguars and the Atlanta Falcons. His 11-year NFL career included three seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars from 1995-98. As the starting center for the Jags during their inaugural campaign in 1995, Widell was the only Jag to play every offensive play during the team's first season.

On Monday, the hitting resumed. Here, Coach Palmer gets his future Stingray Linemen schooled in the art of blocking. The Schools new Videographer is seen shooting the scrum.

Friday May 7, the new Stingray team got it's first taste of playing under the lights in the Atlantic Coast High School football stadium. It was a nice display of the cumulative weekly work the coaches and players have put in.

A new era in Jacksonville High School sports has arrived. Saturday, May 1 was the first official Stingray Football team spring practice. As promised, a light workout was in store for the group of young men who will have the honor of being the inaugural Stingray Team.

The real fun started on Monday at 6:00 PM. Due to the factor of the new student body of ACHS being combined from several local surrounding schools, the 6:00-8:00 evening practices offer time for the players to get home from their current schools, get some homework done...then grab their gear and head to the new practice fields.

It's quite a luxury having two brand new practice fields to work the young men out, allowing the team to be grouped by current grade (incoming 8th graders through incoming Juniors). This flexibility is rarely seen in high school systems and to my knowledge, only available at Atlantic Coast in Jacksonville.

From the first couple of days I've witnessed, I'm confident that Coach Sullivan and his capable staff will put this beautiful facility into high gear in the coming weeks.

Spotted in the group were several of Coach Sullivan's Jackson High standout Seniors helping out with drills and enjoying seeing their "Old" coach in his new environment.

Practice jerseys and pads were handed out on Tuesday. Although helmets were the only thing worn this particular day, the new Stingrays are anxious to don pads and start hitting. They'll be getting their wish soon enough.

Coach Sullivan has let word out that parents are encouraged to come out and watch their son(s) practice. AS I have seen in the few practices I've been able to attend, doing things the "Stingray way" might not be what you've been used to. The coaches are stressing fundamentals from the start and watching them in their element clearly shows the experience they'll be bringing to the team.

Come on down...there's plenty of room!