Frank Jolley: 'I took a break for Thanksgiving, but local sports didn't'

I’m back! 

From vacation, that is.

As is my wont, I took Thanksgiving week off to wind down a bit in anticipation ahead of the upcoming boys and girls basketball and soccer seasons. My co-workers — well, nowadays, it’s actually one co-worker — have always been gracious enough to give me the flexibility to take my time around Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Frank Jolley: Leesburg High's Oates 2.0 working to restore Yellow Jackets to prominence

Besides, I use need to use the time I’ve accrued before the end of the year or I’ll lose it.

And while I shut down for the week, local high school sports and a few area standouts who have moved on to compete at next level did not. Florida high school football teams — including one local program — played regional championship games last week and there were countless college basketball tournaments. 

Here’s an update:

Keon Ellis

Ellis was a key player on Leesburg’s back-to-back Class 6A state championship state championship basketball teams in 2017 and 2018. The 2018 champions, in fact, compiled a 30-1 record and is, arguably, the greatest high basketball team in Lake and Sumter history.

That, of course, excludes Montverde Academy, which competes on a national level and does not play for state championships.

Frank Jolley: 'My favorite Lake and Sumter basketball teams of all time'

More: Lake, Sumter enjoying solid NCAA tournament

After Leesburg, Ellis improved his stock at Florida SouthWestern State College in Fort Myers, where he graduated as the fourth-best scorer in program history and is second all-time in steals and third in blocked shots. He holds the Buccaneers’ single-season record for points (562), and possesses the single-game record for points with 41.

In other words, his name is all over the FSW record books. 

Ellis’ play attracted the attention of coach Nate Oats, who offered the Leesburg grad one of the first scholarships in 2020 after he took the reigns for the Crimson Tide. Ellis did not disappoint in his first season at the Capstone, averaging 5.5 points and 4 rebounds per game and helped Alabama reach the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament.

And then he spent the offseason getting even better.

Ellis has more doubled his scoring average through the first seven games of his senior season and has become — in the minds of multiple national pundits — among the best two-players in the nation. The 6-foot-6 guard is third on the Crimson Tide in scoring (with an average of 13.3 points per game) and leads the team with 7.3 rebounds per game. 

Most recently, Ellis helped Alabama to a 2-1 record at the ESPN Events Invitational tournament over the Thanksgiving break at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex in Lake Buena Vista. In the Crimson Tide’s final game of the tournament, a 96-64 blowout Sunday of Miami, Ellis scored 22 points — his single-game high in an Alabama uniform — on 8-of-11 shooting, including 5-of-6 from behind the three-point arc. 

With Ellis providing the spark, the Crimson Tide — Alabama entered the tournament ranked 10th in the nation — sports a 6-1 record. 

Next up for Alabama is a key clash Saturday against Gonzaga in Seattle. The game, set for an 8 p.m. tipoff, will be televised on ESPN2.

The Villages football 

After reaching the regional finals for the second time in four years, the Buffalo’s season ended Friday with a 54-21 loss to state powerhouse Cocoa in the Class 4A-Region 2 championship game.  

The Villages, which advanced to regional title game in 2018 before losing 43-41 to Dunnellon, wrapped up the season with an 11-1 record. 

High school football: The Villages dominate Keystone Heights in semifinal win

Cocoa led from start to finish, building a 40-7 lead at halftime and cruising from there. The Tigers led 54-15 after three quarters and a running clock was used for much of the second half.

The Buffalo defense was riddled for 468 yards by the Tigers, including 296 yards through the air and 172 on the ground. Quarterback Davin Wydner completed 12-of-13 passes from 292 yards and three scores, while O.J Ross paced Cocoa’s ground attack with 158 yards on just nine carries — an average of 17.6 yards per carry — and three touchdowns. 

Cocoa also scored on fumble return and a kickoff return. 

The Villages did not post stats in time for this edition.

The Buffalo entered the regional finals as the last team still playing from Lake and Sumter counties. Umatilla, Tavares, South Sumter, and Wildwood lost in earlier rounds of the FHSAA playoffs.

Mount Dora Christian played for the Sunshine State AAAA state title — its second SSAC title game in as many years — on Nov. 20 in Lakeland, but lost 14-13 to Orlando Lake Highland Prep.

Bradley Douglas

As a senior at Eustis, Douglas lit up scoreboards all over Lake and Sumter counties. 

Douglas averaged 22.1 points per game in 2019-20 — his final season with the Panthers — and surpassed 30 points on five occasions, including a season high 36 points in back-to-back games to open the year.

And his ability to put the ball in the bucket earned Douglas an opportunity to compete at the next level with Santa Fe College in Gainesville, With the Saints, Douglas has shown his senior season at Eustis was no fluke.

In his freshman season, Douglas averaged 15.3 points per game with the Saints and surpassed the 30-point mark twice. His season high in 2020-21 was 38 points on March 20 against Eastern Florida State College in Melbourne. 

This year — which he is also considered his freshman season due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic — Douglas is scoring a team-high of 15.8 points per game. He has reached in double figures in each outing while helping Santa Fe race out to an 8-1 record. 

In his most recent game, an 83-55 win Friday against Central Georgia Technical College, Douglas scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds in 29 minutes. He hit 8-of-15 shots — 53% — was 2-of-5 from distance. 

Douglas is shooting at 51.4% clip while dishing out 4.7 assists and pulling in 4 rebounds per game. 

Among his teammates are Nasir Mann, younger brother of former University of Florida standout Tre Mann, and Brandon Farmer. Mann and Farmer played locally at The Villages. 

Write to Frank Jolley at frank.jolley@dailycommercial.com.