Oakleaf Hosts Columbia in a Non-Conference High School Football Match Up

The Oakleaf Knights will host the Columbia Tigers in a non-conference football match on Friday at 7 p.m. Both teams are 1-0 and are looking to keep their engines going ahead of a long high school football season.

Columbia Tigers

The Tigers initiated their season by defending their home turf last Friday beating Jacksonville’s Trinity Christian Academy 38-7.

The Tiger’s head coach, Brian Allen, believes there are things the Lake City team needs to improve on despite an opening day win. Allen and Columbia have their eyes on a title run and he believes that his player’s mindsets need to be elevated.

Quarterback Jordan Smith totaled 285 yards against Trinity Christian. Out of the 285 yards, 219 were passing yards and the remaining 66 were on the ground. 

The score at halftime, 17-7, was identical to last year’s score between the two sides in Jacksonville. The Knights went on to win that game.

Allen believes that the reason why the Tigers came on top this time around was due to Smith’s concentration in the pocket and the team’s ability to not turn possession over.

Columbia is ranked 58th in the nation and is now the top ranked team in the state in its classification.

Oakleaf Knights

The Knights might not be at the same level as the Tigers, but Allen is not underestimating them at all.

Just to put things into perspective, Oakleaf is ranked 293rd at a national level and 30th in the Sunshine State.

The Knights had to travel to Orange Park High School to play their first game of the season and secured a 42-21 away win. The team has momentum going its way and Allen is preparing for it.

Allen is looking forward to the game against Oakleaf High School. He’s not letting social media or ranking get in the way of his preparations.