orange park high school

Of the six losses suffered by last year's Orange Park boys basketball team, three of them came at the hands of the Mandarin Mustangs. Not only did those losses knock the Raiders from the unbeaten ranks and keep them from winning their district championship, but the third one, in the district title game, forced them onto the road for the playoffs, where they lost in the first round.

Tuesday night, the Raiders proved that 2007 won't be a rerun as they defeated the Mustangs, 60-48, to remain undefeated at 8-0.

Clarence Tillman gets fouled on his way to the basket.

Kam Fasnacht threw for nearly 300 yards and Deron Talley made 11 catches for 245 of those yards, but on a night when Gainesville's running game could not be stopped, visiting Orange Park came up a little short, 20-16, in a mostly meaningless game for third place in District 3-5A Thursday night.

The loss leaves the Raiders at 1-8, 0-3 in the district, while the Purple Hurricane (1-7, 1-2) claimed its  first victory of a brutal 2007 schedule. Orange Park plays its final game of the season next Friday, Nov. 9,  at home against Tallahassee Chiles (5-3).

Friday night's final

Buchholz 18, Orange Park 6

A strong second half wasn’t enough to bring the Orange Park Raiders back for a win against district foe Buchholz Friday night, and the Bobcats left Clay County with an 18-6 win.

Intermittent rain throughout the day made for soggy conditions at Hoyt B. Cotney Stadium in Orange Park, and both the Bobcats (2-4, 1-0 District 3-5A) and the Raiders (1-5, 0-1 District 3-5A) bogged down in the first quarter. After trading punts, the Bobcats’ offense took advantage of a break in the rain in the second quarter and aired the ball out for a 12-yard touchdown pass.

The host Orange Park Raider football team made a win difficult for themselves, but an opportunistic defense helped them to a 40-14 win against the Bishop Kenny Crusaders Friday night.

The Crusaders owned the air, with a passing attack that gobbled up 178 yards and two touchdowns, but the Raiders defense smothered the ground game and forced the visitors into many third and long situations. This need for yardage caused the Crusaders to gamble and lady luck didn’t smile in their direction too much Friday night.

Senior Raider linebacker, Caleb Barker, grabbed Orange Park’s first interception of the game with about one minute left in the first half. Sophomore free safety, Antonio Thomas, picked off another pass after the Raiders fumbled on the opening kickoff in the second half.