JACKSONVILLE - In his post game speech, Oakleaf High football coach Frank Garis exclaimed to his team "welcome to 8A football!" after his Knights went into one of the most intimidating football environments in Duval county and earned a hard fought 37-22 district 1-8A win at Sandlewood.

"Our defensive goal was to contain number 10 (Sims)," said Garis. "They have guys all over the field that can score from anywhere. I thought we did a great job of allowing him not to hurt us in the passing game. Although our guys were gassed by the fourth quarter in fact both teams were gassed because it was that type of intense game."

Though, it was the first taste of 8A football for an Oakleaf team that has likely played one of the most difficult schedules in the state of Florida, defending 8A state champion Mandarin is next in just two weeks.

"We have to have depth to compete in 8A in order to survive all these great teams," said Garis. "Along with that, our best players have to make great plays which they did tonight."

The game featured some of the biggest names in high school recruits on both teams along with many college coaches there to watch the wealth of talent such as Miami Hurricanes head coach Manny Diaz (Oakleaf defensive end Chantz Williams and offensive lineman Jalen Rivers among Diaz's most prized committs) and several assistant coaches of major programs as well.

The Oakleaf offense sputtered early on their first possession; perhaps adjusting to the intense sunlight and heat due to the early 6pm kickoff for Duval county schools. The defense struggled also on their first appearance as Sandlewood quarterback and Florida State commit Jeff Sims ran for 26 yards on a third down to set up the Saints at the Oakleaf 37 yard line. Two plays later Sims would find Bowling Green commit Javonte Robinson for a 28 yard touchdown pass and a 7-0 lead five minutes into the game and bringing the capacity crowd to their feet on homecoming night.

Oakleaf quarterback Walter Simmons III would quickly find his mojo converting a third down run 12 yards to the 43 yard line. Simmons III would find his favorite target, wide receiver Sean Washington, on a 26 yard pass to the Saints 17 yard line. Simmons would later find Washington on a 14 yard touchdown pass to tie the game at seven with 3:23 left in the first quarter.

Sandlewood would quickly drive down the field on a 32 yard pass to Robinson to the Oakleaf 38 yard line. The drive would stall when Miami commit Chantz Williams chased down Sims for a sack and 14 yard loss. The Saints only glaring weakness was their punting game as they decided to go for it on fourth down and 15 only to turn the ball over to Oakleaf at midfield on downs.

Simmons III would make the Saints pay as he led the drive using his legs, picking up three separate double digit quarterback runs and ending the drive with a seven yard touchdown pass to Terrance Anthony for a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter.

"Based on their defense, we knew we would have opportunities to run the quarterback. Walter did a great job of finding chunks of yards and making smart decisions" said Garis.

After the Oakleaf defense forced three plays and a punt, the offense again drove down the field led by the legs of Simmons III. The drive would result in a 29 yard field goal by Damian Rogers for a 17-7 lead with just under five minutes until halftime.

After a Sandlewood punt the Knights would again drive the ball, nearly at will, down the field until Simmons III would make one of his few mistakes and throw an interception to Sandlewood's Akil Lampley who ran 40 yards to the Oakleaf 20 yard line with just over one minute until halftime. The Saints would score on the next play with a 20 yard touchdown pass to Robinson with 1:01 left in the half.

Most teams would run one or two plays up the middle and be happy with a halftime lead considering the team just turned the ball over on their last possession, but most teams don't have the firepower the Knights possess. They came out throwing and a great one handed catch by Washington that netted 23 yards to the Sandlewood 33 yard line put the Saints on their heels. Simmons III then scrambled to the 16 yard line with :15 left and added a pass to Anthony to the three yard line with eight seconds left. The Knights then lined up with defensive end Chantz Williams at quarterback in the Wildcat formation and the senior ran up the middle and powered his way in for the touchdown at the buzzer for a 24-14 commanding halftime lead that the Knights statistically dominated on both sides of the ball.

"I was really impressed with our offense and their decision making on that last drive before half. Taking the clock all the way down to zero and scoring a touchdown was huge," said Garis.

The third quarter saw both teams turn up the intensity on defense. Oakleaf forced a Sandlewood punt while the Saints defense stiffened and forced a 39 yard field goal attempt that was blocked. Sandlewood would start on their own three yard line after the blocked field goal and drive to near midfield after a fourth down run by Sims. The drive would stall after a pass was caught but the ball was lost after a vicious Oakleaf hit allowed the ball to pop into the air. Knights defensive lineman GerJuan Brown sprinted and stretched out like a nimble safety and made a spectacular diving catch for the interception at the Knights 39 yard line. Oakleaf would then go to the "ground and pound" led by Simmons III and running back Adrian Grey. They would drive to the one yard line and Williams would again line up at quarterback and bull his way up the middle for his second touchdown of the game and a 30-14 lead one minute into the fourth quarter. Damian Rogers would miss the extra point to keep the Saints within two possessions of tying the game.

Williams again made a huge play with a third down sack to force a Saints punt that Omahr Toliver would return 40 yards to the Saints 27 yard line. However, the Saints defense would hold Simmons with no gain on a 4th down and one yard to go to keep their ever slimming hope alive. However, the Saints would again turn the ball over on downs after a key second down sack by Knights defensive end Josh Murrell forced a long fourth down conversion attempt that failed.

Simmons III would fumble on the next possession with 3:46 left trying to run out the clock on the ground and fatigue started to set in on both teams in this battle of heavyweight programs.

Sandlewood would complete a 36 yard pass to Robinson to the Oakleaf 43 yard line then Sims would find Kinsey for a another 36 yard completion to the Oakleaf seven yard line. The Saints would score on the next play with a touchdown pass to Winford Anderson with three minutes left. Sims would call his own number and run in for the two point conversion and suddenly the Saints were within one score and needing one defensive stop to get the ball back.

Simmons III would close the door on any comeback with a 53 yard touchdown run with 2:15 left in the game to up the lead to 37-22. Defensive back Jordan Randall would close the door completely with an interception on the first Saints play to seal the all important opening district game road win.