Photo courtesy of Lynn Damm Ponte Vedra knocked out a fierce District 6 rival, Nease, Friday night and scored its fifth district championship title en route to the playoffs. The Panthers jumped out with a quick 3-0 lead over Ponte Vedra with goals by Brent Whiting (3) and Logan Smith (1). Nease’s defense also played aggressive ball. The Sharks struggled to find the net until attackman Miles Silva scored the first of his whopping seven goals of the night. At the end of the first quarter, Nease led 4-1. But some ferocious PV defense, including several nice stops by goalie Colin Peaks, coupled with offensive strikes by Eric Applegate (2 goals and 4 assists) and sophomore Reid Smith tied the game at 4 apiece. With less than one second left in the period, Silva caught an amazing behind-the-goal pass from Smith and scored, putting the Sharks up 5-4. Following a hard-fought first half, Ponte Vedra came out blazing in the third quarter with an astounding ten points. Smith added to his total of four goals and three assists in the game. Rob Peeters, Ryan Wiele, Ben Buchanan, and Cord Bishop each scored a goal. Nease’s Stephen Hemingway tacked on two more for the Panthers but that was all they could muster in the second half. The final score was 17-6. Ponte Vedra, with a record of 17-3, faces Bolles (8-5) at home in the first round of playoffs Friday, April 17th. Nease ends its season under new head coach Pat Harnett with a 13-5 record.