The St. Augustine Yellow Jackets are making an early statement in the 2026 high school football season. After four games, St. Augustine sits at 4-0 overall and 1-0 in district play, putting the Yellow Jackets among Northeast Florida’s teams to watch. The Yellow Jackets have outscored their opponents 159-36, including three victories by at least 26 points.
Head coach Brian Braddock has his team playing confident football on both sides of the ball. St. Augustine opened the season with a dominant 49-0 victory over Palatka, then held off Nease 28-22 in a much closer battle. The Yellow Jackets followed that with a 34-8 win over Menendez before closing out the first four games with a convincing 48-6 victory over Middleburg.
The offense has been led by senior quarterback Cash Downey, who has thrown for 649 yards and 9 TDs through the first four games. Downey has also contributed 34 rushing yards, giving him 535 total yards.
Senior running back and receiver Durell Preston Jr. provided a strong presence in the running game early on in the season, with and 80 yard performance. However, with him going down after one game, the Yellow Jackets have another reliable option as they look to control the clock and keep defenses off balance.
Chance Carter Jr. has made his impact felt around the goal line. The junior running back/quarterback leads the Yellow Jackets with five total touchdowns and rushing for 257 yards so far this season. Against Middleburg last Friday, Carter racked up 153 yards and 2 touchdowns leading the way to the 48-6 romp.
Sophomore wide receiver and defensive back Ray’shawn Jeffries has also emerged as an important playmaker. Jeffries has 175 yards receiving and 3 TDs,s averaging 43.8 receiving yards per game, giving Downey a young but productive target in the passing game.
Then there is another sophomore Anthony Washington who currently leads St. Augustine in receiving yards with 193 yards and tied with 3 touchdowns. Coach Braddock has once again found young talent to fill the shoes for talent wide receivers that have come before these men like Samourian Wingo Jr and Carl Jenkins Jr.
The defense has been just as impressive.
Senior middle linebacker Andy Birchall is averaging 9.0 tackles per game, while junior linebacker Mason Beane leads the team with 24 tackles and 1.5 sacks. Senior cornerback Ma’kari Spencer has also recorded an interception along with 6’1 defensive back Karon Robinson who leads the team with two picks, including one against Midleburg recently.
Special teams have been productive as well, with senior Jake Fischer leading the team with 11 kicking points.
Evans Up Next
The Yellow Jackets return home Friday, September 18, to face Evans at 7 p.m. St. Augustine will enter the matchup riding a four-game winning streak and coming off its most dominant district performance of the season.
Quarterback William Jackson has passed for 1,182 yards and 8 touchdowns on the season. He has also rushed for 141 yards and 2 touchdowns. Daveon Williams has rushed for 232-yards and 5 touchdowns. Brian Dillard leads the team with 377 yards receiving and 3 touchdowns.
Evans will have the difficult task of slowing an offense that has already scored 159 points while facing a St. Augustine defense that has surrendered only 36.
For the Yellow Jackets, the formula will remain simple: protect the football, establish the run, allow Downey to make plays through the air and continue playing aggressive defense. Evans comes into the contest at 2-2 falling to powerhouse Jones 12-6.
At 4-0, St. Augustine has already established itself as a team capable of making noise in Northeast Florida defeating Nease 28-22. The Evans matchup is without question the toughest, and the next opportunity for Braddock’s team to keep the momentum rolling.
Images by Heather Isbell
