FLEMING ISLAND – Put the shovels away. The notion of Fleming Island High School’s football team qualifying for the District 3-7A playoffs is not dead yet.

Despite a summer exodus of players taking advantage of the Florida High School Athletic Association’s new rule making transfers eligible to play without any waiting period, the Golden Eagles looked ready for prime time Friday night, blasting visiting Westside 45-0 in a preseason game Friday night at Fleming Island High School. Fleming Island hosts 5A-Clay Friday in the season opener for both teams.

Two newcomers in critical skill positions shined. At running back, Chauncey Garrison, who moved to Fleming Island from Alabama over the summer, ran for 114 yards and three touchdowns to spearhead the Golden Eagles’ offense. The junior showed good speed and toughness, rarely going down upon first contact.

“Chauncey is a hard runner,” said Fleming Island’s Damenyum Springs, who is in his first full season as the head coach. “He is willing to put the team on his back.”

Freshman quarterback Dean Hyams also excelled. Forced to play when Brian Brown, a transfer from Orange Park who was expected to start, was held out of the game, Hyams showed no nerves in orchestrating the Golden Eagles offense. The ninth grader picked up 45 yards rushing on six carries and completed an efficient five of eight passes for 66 yards with no interceptions.

“He did a wonderful job for a freshman,” said Springs of his quarterback. “He’s a baller.”

Springs said that next week’s starter would be determined in practice this week.

Junior Anfernee McCaskill, a Golden Eagle track 100 meter specialist, got the hosts off to a great start with a 64 yard return on the opening kickoff. On the next play, Garrison took a hand-off, saw nothing up the middle, cut left, broke a tackle and sprinted 23 yards to the end zone. The Golden Eagles never looked back, scoring on their next three possessions to take a 28-0 lead into halftime.

In contrast to last October, when Westside racked up 517 yards of offense in a 42-33 loss to the Golden Eagles, the Fleming Island defense stymied the Wolverines, forcing three turnovers and holding the visitors to just five first downs and 62 total yards. The Golden Eagles secondary, consisting of safeties Isaiah Walker, K.B. Ashe and Dede Grey and cornerbacks Naji Inman and Ozzie Ramirez, shadowed Wolverines receivers all over the field. As a result, Wolverines quarterback Winston Sweeting, who has drawn interest from several college programs, completed only two passes in 12 attempts for a paltry 12 yards. Walker was also effective in coming up to support the run defense.

Jackson Bull excelled at outside linebacker, sacking Sweetman twice and making two other tackles for losses, one of them a hit on Wolverines punter Dale George that forced a fumble recovered by Golden Eagles tackle Darius Gooden at the Wolverines 11 yard line. Fleming Island converted the turnover into points on a four yard run by Walker.

The Wolverines’ deepest penetration came late in the second quarter on a drive that reached the Fleming Island 34. Golden Eagles linebackers Brandon Mackey and Zach Dawsey made sure the visitors got no closer, sandwiching Sweeting at the line of scrimmage on fourth and four to preserve the shutout.

“Our philosophy is to get 11 hats to the ball,” said Fleming Island defensive coordinator Stephen Creech, an assistant coach at Oakleaf last season.

One of those hats rests on the head of reserve linebacker Marquavin Wright, who punctuated the host’s feel-good evening by reading Westside’s intent to set up a middle screen, jumping in front of the intended receiver, swiping Sweetman’s pass and rumbling 43 yards to the goal line for the game’s final score.

Noah Hamlett looks like he will continue Fleming Island’s tradition of a strong kicking game. The converted soccer player showed off a strong leg while going a perfect six for six on extra point attempts and splitting the uprights from 22 yards out on his lone field goal attempt. The junior put half of his kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks.

Fleming Island dressed only 42 players, a roster as small as it has been in the school’s 14-year history. Several players played both offense and defense, and the Golden Eagles can ill afford an injury to one of those players.

It remains to be seen whether they have the strength or depth on the lines to compete in what promises to be a rugged District 3-7A or with cross-county rival Clay, who the Golden Eagles host in the season opener Friday night.

“Next week, we will have to tackle well,” said Springs. “And we can’t beat ourselves.”