Nease High School coaches organized a cleanup Friday morning after eggs and cottage cheese turned up on the football field and stands ahead of the school's rivalry game against Ponte Vedra. The cleanup came just hours before kickoff in the Battle of the Bridge, forcing staff to scramble so the field would be ready for the 7 p.m. matchup.
A St. Johns County School District spokesperson confirmed the incident. Eggs, cottage cheese, shrimp and other food items were dumped across the field and bleachers, as reported by sjcitizen.com. Ponte Vedra High students were suspected of carrying out the prank, per the same account.
Coaches Race the Clock Before Kickoff
Nease coaches arrived early and quickly marshaled a cleanup effort once they discovered the mess, according to the site's report. The good news for Nease: the school's newer turf suffered no serious damage, and the field was expected to be green and ready in time for the showdown.
The timing made the prank especially inconvenient. The game came amid a rivalry that already carries plenty of weight in St. Johns County.
A Rivalry Nease Has Owned Lately
Ponte Vedra holds a 12-5 edge in the all-time series, a program history rooted in the fact that Ponte Vedra High opened in 2008 specifically to relieve overcrowding at Nease, per sjcitizen.com. But recent years have tilted toward the Panthers, who have won three straight meetings in the rivalry.
Nease entered Friday's game at 5-3 while Ponte Vedra sat at 3-5, per sjcitizen.com. Nease had been a 1-3 team about a month earlier, according to Jacksonville.com. That turnaround included a key district win over Fletcher, according to a separate jacksonville.com report that described the Panthers as officially ready to pounce once more.
Playoff Stakes Add to the Pressure
Nease was ranked No. 3 in the Region 1-5A playoff standings, while Ponte Vedra sat sixth.
