P.K. Yonge Football Looks to Turn Tide Against Oak Hall

P.K. Yonge football looks to turn the tide Friday night when it hosts rival Oak Hall for homecoming. 

The Blue Wave are playing for to their first win of the season. They enter the matchup 0-4, while Oak Hall is 3-1. 

The once-successful program has struggled to find its footing in recent seasons and enters the 7 p.m. contest on a 17-game losing streak dating to Oct.25, 2024. The streak is the third longest among North Florida teams entering the week. P.K. Yonge has been outscored 184-20 this season.

For first-year coach Israel Wilcox, however, rebuilding the program goes beyond the results on the scoreboard. 

“I think we kind of lost our identity here in the sport,” Wilcox said. “You know, everybody goes through it, a phase.”

Wilcox said his focus since taking over the program has been establishing a foundation that can bring the program back to where it once was. 

“It’s easy to build a team and you’ll have one good year, but to build a program is what keeps them here,” he said. “So my thing, when I came in, I wanted to build a program.”

The Blue Wave will also see two familiar faces on the opposite sideline Friday. Oak Hall quarterback  BJ Johnson and running back Darius Medley played baseball at P.K. Yonge before transferring.

But Wilcox said history with the school will not change the Blue Wave’s approach. 

“We’re really just locked in on ourselves,” he said. “Just trying to build a framework here and hold on to what we got.”

P.K. Yonge has a young roster with just eight seniors. Despite the team’s record, Wilcox said the players have continued to put in the effort and improved. 

“Very young team here,” Wilcox said. “But the kids are actually buying in, they’re working hard, they are getting better every day, every practice, every down, every game.”

Category: Football, Gainesville, High School Sports, Oak Hall High School, PK Yonge High School