Atlantic Coast stings Mandarin to end season

Stingrays survive sloppy game, rally for 28-20 win

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Atlantic Coast finished its season with a hard-fought 28-20 victory over visiting Mandarin on Friday night.

The Stingrays (7-3) survived a sloppy, turnover-filled game to earn their fourth straight victory.

"This season, four wins in a row. You go back to week four, we were one bad pass away from playing next week," Atlantic Coast coach Kevin Sullivan said. "But that's how the ball bounces. Real proud of the kids, the way they fought and got after it."

Atlantic Coast shot out to a 14-0 lead with two touchdowns in 16 seconds by senior Leishaun Ealey in the first quarter.

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Ealey returned an interception 36 yards for a TD, and then Atlantic Coast recovered a Mandarin fumble on the kickoff return. Ealey followed up with a 30-yard TD catch from sophomore quarterback Ashton Gonzales.

The Stingrays gave up 20 straight points to end the half, but rallied in the second half with a touchdown, two field goals and a safety.

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Junior Trey Simons hit field goals from 37 yards and 43 yards, and senior Daevon Dixon sacked Mandarin junior QB Tyler Greenlee in the end zone to tack on two more points.

Senior Rashad Saxton scored on a 19-yard TD run to put the Stingrays up by eight points, and the defense held on for the win.

Sophomore Aundre Ricardo Kearney scored two rushing TDS for Mandarin (6-4): one from 36 yards and one from 5 yards. He finished with 26 carries for 147 yards.

Greenlee also threw a 12-yard TD pass to senior Colby Mangan. 


About the Authors:

A Jacksonville native and proud University of North Florida alum, Francine Frazier has been with News4Jax since 2014 after spending nine years at The Florida Times-Union.