Anyone wishing to understand how the Oakleaf High Knights’ 12-0 football team has delivered possibly the greatest Cinderella story in the state this season — just three years after going 0-10 — it’s necessary to go back to 2008, before the school even opened. On the other end of Clay County at Fleming Island High, the father-son tandem of head coach Neal Chipoletti and offensive coordinator Derek had quickly turned that startup program into a state title contender. The Golden Eagles reached the Class 5A regional finals in the school’s fifth year (2007), and Neal’s plan after an 8-2 record the following season was to step down and pass the job along to his son. A few weeks after Neal resigned, he was thrown a curve ball. Derek got snubbed by then Fleming principal Sam Ward, who instead hired his good friend, 60-year-old Jeff Webb, as head coach, which left Neal Chipoletti fuming and Derek to begin searching for jobs elsewhere. “There was resentment at first,” said Neal, now in his last year as athletic director at Bradford County High in Starke. “It took me a while to get over it. We set that table for success at Fleming Island, and I thought Derek would be the one taking it to that next level.” Now fast forward six years. It turns out Fleming Island bypassing Derek, who went on to compile a 21-10 record from 2009-11 as head coach at Williston and Bradford County (he was hired before Neal became AD), opened the door for an ideal merger at Oakleaf. The Knights went through two coaches in their first two years, losing 18 of 20 games. Oakleaf principal Dave Broskie then decided to give Derek Chipoletti the chance to build another Clay County program from scratch, as he and his father did at Fleming Island. The payoff has been nothing short of extraordinary. In his third season, Derek is 22-10 and has the Knights three wins away from a state championship, starting with Friday night’s Class 7A regional final at home against Niceville (10-2). “I have a process [to build a program] and I stick with it,” said Derek. “I had confidence I could turn it around. Now I didn’t think we’d be 12-0. It’s been a great ride with these kids.” And here’s the best part: Oakleaf likely won’t be a one-year wonder because it starts only seven seniors. Quarterback Jordan Johnson, a two-year starter, and cornerback Nick Roberts (7 interceptions), are sophomores. The team’s high-impact players, linebacker Shaquille Quarterman (a University of Miami commitment), and receivers Marcus Johnson and Desmon George, are all juniors. Before the 2013 season, Derek didn’t like what he perceived as too much of a “me-first attitude” among his players, so he sent a lot of non-conformists packing. The Knights went 4-6, but Oakleaf’s 37-year-old boss felt it was important to establish a culture of doing things the right way to ensure program stability. “I made a conscious decision to do a youth movement and we’re reaping the benefits of it now,” said Chipoletti. “This place needed an overhaul of a mentality. Too many kids were worried about a college scholarship instead of enjoying the high school experience and sacrificing for the team. “It was addition by subtraction. I just couldn’t build a foundation for a program with what was going on here.” Derek could take the bold step of losing some good players for two reasons. One, Broskie would support him all the way because the principal had already consented to every coaching hire he wanted to make. Secondly, Oakleaf had a plentiful feeder system like Fleming Island, ensuring a steady stream of talent to replace older players that didn’t buy into the program. In 2011, when Chipoletti was coaching his last season at Bradford County, his team routed Oakleaf 46-7 and it made no sense to him that the win came so easily. “I thought there was too much talent [at Oakleaf] for us to win that badly,” Derek said. “I knew there were athletes running around here and that it could be a good job. When the economy was down, the Oakleaf area was one of the few places where you saw buildings going up. “You drive around here and there’s not a field not being used for Pop Warner [football].” Neal, who lives less than two miles from the school, thought Oakleaf could be another fast-rising power like Fleming Island, saying: “I really felt like in five years [after school opened in 2010], this could be the pearl of the county.” Dad was right. In Derek’s first year, he pocketed a signature win by beating district rival Fleming Island 22-21 on a last-minute field goal. This season, the Knights overcame 14-0 deficits to beat Fletcher in the playoffs and Fleming Island in the regular season. Oakleaf was outplayed against Atlantic Coast, but won 16-14 on a Hail Mary, 42-yard touchdown pass from Johnson with three seconds left. The ball deflected off two players and into the waiting arms of Darius Perry. Johnson is hardly a chiseled quarterback (5-foot-10, 158 pounds), but like many teammates at Oakleaf, he has grown into the job. Now those young Knights, including Derek’s son, Hunter, a starting sophomore fullback, are on the ground floor of northeast Florida’s fastest-rising program. “One of the reasons I came here was the big opportunity to make history,” said Johnson. “I wanted to make the playoffs last year, but the team wasn’t as together as it is now.” The Knights face a huge challenge against a tradition-rich program like Niceville, last year’s state runner-up. But given the resources at Oakleaf, and Chipoletti’s knack for building a program, the Knights won’t be slowing down any time soon. Six years after he fumed over his son not getting the Fleming Island job, Neal Chipoletti, 59, marvels at how Derek has Oakleaf on a fast track to being a state contender. “Derek is a student of the game, he knows more about football at 37 than when I took the Fleming Island job,” said Neal. “I really believe God puts you where you need to be. There’s a reason we didn’t know at the time why Derek didn’t get the Fleming Island job. This has been a perfect fit for him.” So far, Oakleaf has a perfect season to show for it. Gene.frenette@jacksonville: (904) 359-4540
Posted on: Fri, 28 Nov 2014 13:57:38 +0000
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