Different feeling for Sharks entering their third season

In four quarters of play since the end of its second season, the Ponte Vedra football team has given every indication that Year 3 is going to be vastly different.

Coming off a 17-0 spring victory (in varsity play) over Mandarin, the Sharks continued the momentum Friday by blasting visiting Terry Parker 28-0 in the first half of a preseason classic.

"I thought the kids did some nice things," Ponte Vedra coach Mike Loyd said. "We started this thing three years ago, and it's night and day (difference) right now."

One person the Sharks didn't have in the spring is transfer quarterback Perry Orth, who displayed his skills Friday. The junior completed his last eight passes of the game and finished 8 of 10 for 124 yards and two touchdowns and no interceptions.

"It was awesome," Orth said of his first game action with Ponte Vedra.

"I was so proud of the offensive line. They gave me time to throw. I was just doing my job."

Ponte Vedra needed less than a minute of possession to take the lead for good. After the defense stopped Parker on three plays on its opening drive, Ponte Vedra scored on its second play.

Sophomore Cole Mazza, who was coming off a strong effort in the spring game, ran 48 yards for a touchdown that made it 7-0.

The Sharks found the end zone three times in the second quarter -- two times by Brett Mueller.

Mueller's first reception came on a third-and-18 play. Orth rolled to his left and slipped the ball to Mueller in the front corner of the end zone.

Mueller added a second touchdown on a 7-yard catch with 27 seconds left to play.

Otto Gruhn ran in from a yard out for Ponte Vedra's other score. The drive was led by Orth, who completed all four of his pass attempts for 57 yards before Gruhn finished it off with two runs.

As impressive as the offense was -- including no turnovers -- the defense for Ponte Vedra was equally impressive.

Parker never got the ball into the red zone and barely advanced into Ponte Vedra territory. The Braves managed just 34 yards of total offense.

"Overall on defense I thought we did a good job tackling, a good job pursuing the ball," Loyd said.

The Sharks had three sacks and forced a turnover -- an interception by Joey Carzoli that set up Ponte Vedra's final touchdown.

The season begins with the first official game Friday at Paxon. After taking some big losses in two years, the Sharks now head into that season opener with some serious momentum after shutouts in the spring and fall exhibitions games.

"This is a lot better feeling for sure," Loyd said. "I guarantee we're a better football team than last year."