Round one in competitive sports usually features mismatches in most tournaments of 32. But in the Best of the Best series, round one is literally a celebrity death match. Each first round matchup in the Best Player of All Time series is literally star-studded. They are all studs at their positions, and their star statuses most times led to collegiate and pro football careers. However, this is the Best of the Best High School Player, so we’ll just highlight what they did here in Northeast Florida as Preps players on the gridiron.
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Maurice Wells vs Brian Dawkins
Maurice Wells
Sandalwood has had a stable of running backs in the past. From Turk Williams, to Ronnie Powell, and even most recently Logan Wright. Yet as far as numbers, Maurice Wells is the most accomplished of them all. Considered one of the top running backs in the country when he came out, Wells rushed for career totals of 5,955 yards and 55 touchdowns. He led the state of Florida in rushing as a junior with 3,076 yards and scored 31 touchdowns. In nine games as a senior, he rushed for 1,908 yards and 18 touchdowns. He also set, at the time, the Florida single-game rushing record with 429 yards in two and a half quarters in a blowout of Stanton Prep High School as a junior. A Super 24 for the Florida Times Union, and the FHSAA Class 6A Player of the Year in 2003, Wells was the star of stars at runningback in the area for that span.
Brian Dawkins
Raines High School’s iconic list of athletes is unprecedented here in Jacksonville Florida. If you were to start naming names that set records or won championships you’d be here all day. Ironically, someone who makes our list isn’t someone who set records or won football championships at the school. However, he was the fiercest defender the school has ever known. Brian Dawkins was an incredible athlete. His agility, speed and quickness allowed him to play multiple sports. He was a member of the Raines Class 3A State Champion Basketball team as well as the Track & Field team. In football, he was a true iron man. He began on offense and transitioned to defense where he excelled beyond measure.Helped Raines to 3 straight district titles from 1989-91 and an unbeaten regular seasons in 1989 and 1990. A Florida Times-Union Super 11 Pick in 1991, also named to the FHSAA top 100 players in 100 years. Ironically, although he was tremendously talented on offense, he was even better on defense, due to his aggressiveness and intense playing style. That style would take him further in football than any other Jacksonville/ Northeast Florida High School Football athlete before or after him.
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