FLEMING ISLAND - Fleming Island quarterback Cibastian Broughton ran for one score and threw for another as Fleming Island got the Derek Chipoletti era off to a good start with a 33-7 drubbing of visiting Westside in a preseason classic on August 16.
Broughton, who is committed to play at Akron in 2025, accounted for the hosts’ first two touchdowns. He opened the scoring with his feet, faking a handoff to Brady Digman before following Digman to the goal line from two yards out halfway through the first quarter. Given the opportunity to orchestrate a two-minute drill near the end of the half, the senior stepped up in the pocket and hit receiver Oliver Piechota in stride on a crossing route. Piechota did the rest, evading a diving tackle attempt by the Wolverines’ Jahnare Wells and speeding up the sideline for 44 yards and a touchdown. Parker Sirdevan’s extra point gave Fleming Island a 19-0 lead heading into the intermission.
Broughton finished an efficient night with 49 yards on four carries and completed six of nine passes for 103 yards without an interception.
“A lot of what he brings is improvisation, but tonight he really played within the offense and executed the offense,” said Chipoletti, Fleming Island’s interim head coach since the abrupt departure of Chad Parker on August 8. “He read the option well, so we were happy with that.”
Broughton was the star on the field, but the storyline on this night was the man in the green polo and khaki pants walking the home sidelines.
Chipoletti’s father, Neal Chipoletti, was the first football coach in Fleming Island history, starting the program when the school opened in 2003. The elder Chipoletti coached the Golden Eagles until 2008, compiling a record of 29-34 with Derek Chipoletti as his offensive coordinator. Derek had hoped to replace his father when Neal departed.
“I applied for it and did not get it. So it is exciting for me,” Chipoletti said. “I love these kids. They deserve to have a great year. And my dad’s legacy deserves to be kept alive as far as what he built when he started here.”
For some in the community, naming Chipoletti the head coach rights a 16-year-old wrong. But Chipoletti was not bitter about being passed over.
“I needed to grow up at that point in my life,” he said. “I needed to go out and be my own man. I had been coaching for a long time with my dad and it was good for me. I had success on my own.”
Indeed, Chipoletti sports a 50-41 record as a high school head coach, a record which would be 57-34 without 11 forfeits declared while he was the head man at Williston in 2009. He coached at Oakleaf from 2012 to 2015, where he led the Knights to their first-ever postseason appearance, and went 12-1 in 2014. Oakleaf had won only one game in the two years before his arrival. Chipoletti went 15-7 at Bradford, where the Tornadoes went to the playoffs for the first time in more than five years under his guidance.
Chipoletti is not certain whether the interim tag will be removed from his title, but is focused solely on this season.
“We are going to have a fun three and a half months, and see what we can do with these seniors and send them out right,” he said.
In the second half, the Golden Eagles delivered a heavy dose of their running game to put the contest out of reach. Demhir Jackson covered all 54 yards on the Golden Eagles’ opening possession of the third quarter, carrying the ball on four of the five plays. The senior, who finished with 100 yards on 11 rushes, ran up the middle for 11 yards without being touched to cap the drive. Sirdevan extended the lead to 26-0 with his point after.
One aspect of the Golden Eagles’ game that looked different from 2023 was special teams, which cost Fleming Island in several close games last season. Sirdevan excelled, drilling a 48-yard field goal and nailing all four extra point attempts. The junior put five of his six kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks.
“He has improved so much,” said Chipoletti, who also has been impressed with the work of new kicking coach Mark Michaels. “Parker is a weapon this year, both as far as scoring points and being one of our best defenders, putting the ball into the end zone on kickoffs. Starting on the 20 is huge for us on defense.”
The punt block team got into the act as well, setting up the Golden Eagles’ first touchdown and scoring a safety. Jarius Rodgers flew in from an end spot to recover a fumbled punt snap after a three and-out on Westside’s opening possession. The short field led to Broughton’s opening score. On the Wolverines’ next punt attempt, Arion Whitt pushed Westside punter Kinard Life out of the end zone for two points after Life had recovered a snap that had sailed over his head. Whitt partially blocked a punt in the second half.
The Fleming Island front four of ends Rodgers and Nate Van Hof and tackles Kevin Reyes and Lavell Howard proved unblockable for Westside. Rodgers, who finished with two and a half sacks, and Van Hof, who registered one and a half, made life miserable for Westside quarterback Heyward Smith, Jr. Reyes, who starts on both offense ad defense, and Howard left no room to run inside, as the Golden Eagles limited Westside to 60 yards rushing on 32 attempts. Chipoletti was mostly pleased with the performance.
“We put a lot on them mentally— we did not sit in base,” he explained. “There were some breakdowns, but we ran to the ball, we were relentless to the ball.”
Trevon High closed out the scoring by catching a four-yard slant pass from sophomore Eric Gentry in the fourth quarter.
The Golden Eagles begin the regular season on the road, traveling south for their traditional opener against Clay on August 23. Chipoletti will miss the game due to a previously scheduled vacation. Defensive coordinator Chris Otero will be in charge of daily operations during the week, while Kyle Rice, a former head coach at Tallahassee Lincoln who is Fleming Island’s tight ends coach, will make the game-day decisions.