The Baker Beat

02/10/2021

We do it Wildcat style here in Baker! JV Football wins with a 60-8 score and swim takes over the pool with our amazing Wildcat swimmers.

19/09/2021

With a score of 42-7, the Wildcats add another win to their record. Go Cats!

11/09/2021

The Wildcats take on the Ponte Vedra Sharks and win with a 26-7 score. Add a little throwback to our own rodeo style home game and we’ve got two weeks full of football!

03/09/2021

The Wildcats are excited for their first home game tonight against Viera. Today we celebrated with a Pep Rally for juniors and seniors in the gym.

31/08/2021

31/08/2021

School is back and so is the Baker Beat! Check out what’s been happening at Baker County High School this year.

25/02/2021

Important information for our seniors!! Please make sure that you turn in all of these things by the due date!!

25/02/2021

Parents! Please share!

A couple of deadlines if you’ve missed this from our friends at Daily Growl.

07/10/2020

Picture day is this Friday! Don’t forget! 🐾

05/09/2020

BREAKING: Wildcats Earn 33-6 Win over Bradford
By Chloé Johnson

The first game of the season with long-time rival, the Bradford Tornados, had fans enthusiastic for Friday night lights with a stadium so packed that tickets sold out before half-time. It’s no secret that the possibility of this season was on the rocks for a while, but that made tonight’s experience all the more worthwhile including players, parents, other fans, and especially our student section.
Ty Adcock, a senior, says “being in that student section to help lighten up the game and scream out to keep the energy alive will never cease to disappoint!”
With a 33-6 win, the Cats were finally able to restart our winning streak against Bradford and get a strong start to the rest of the season.
Despite the obstacles that COVID has presented for our team and their season’s preparations, they did not fail to impress in their performance in tonight’s game.
Offensive Line coach, Scott Macdonald, says that due to COVID they had to “think outside the box” to get the high-intensity training that the players needed to prepare for a strong season. Nevertheless, the athletes worked hard and fought for tonight’s win. Macdonald says Bradford is a “high-quality opponent and we did a very good job competing with them.”
Head Coach Kevin Mays says the team put lots of hard work into this game and this win was well-earned.
This season is looking bright for the Wildcats as they travel to Orange Park next Friday to take on the Raiders.

Interviews by Kelsey Craig and Ansley Crews
Photos by Kelsey Craig, Ansley Crews, Reagan Gipson, and Malorie Pippins

05/09/2020

Photos by Kelsey Craig, Ansley Crews, Reagan Gipson, and Malorie Pippins

03/09/2020

24/06/2020

24/06/2020

If you have not already purchased one, they are first come first serve for $100.

23/06/2020

Pull through the bus loop and come to Mr Finley’s back door!

19/04/2020

Comment below or message Andrea Pelfrey to submit the information! For any seniors not going to college, just submit a picture and favorite memory of high school!

23/03/2020

parents with baseball or softball pictures to send them in ASAP to [email protected] or to [email protected]

18/03/2020

Due to the corona virus, we need your help!! To salvage the yearbook, any parents, students, athletes, or teachers please comment or message us any pictures (team, individual, or group) of spring sports, extracurriculars, or clubs! Thanks so much for all of your help!

You can also email them to [email protected]

11/03/2020

https://forms.gle/EJ2AK7gXSQAKh14y5

27/02/2020

Seniors, stop by Mr Finley’s to turn in quotes, send them baby pictures to our page!

25/02/2020

SENIORS! Quotes and baby pictures are due Friday, swipe to see the students who have them turned in. Full Time students can message this account to get it turned in!

26/11/2019

Another win for the Wildcats

23/11/2019

Soccer Streaking
From staff reports

Photos by Kendal Deen and Emily Hill

Through four games, both soccer teams at Baker County remain undefeated with postseason aspirations ahead.
In the fourth year for both programs, neither team has made the playoffs, but each team is hoping they are primed to change that this season with senior leadership overloading both side.
For the boys, there are eight seniors leading the way including a forwards Chad Anger and Zach Auger, who have accounted for 15 of the team’s 20 goals.
The Lady Wildcats have six seniors, but it’s a sophomore who has helped provide some extra scoring along with senior Andrea Pelfrey. Pelfrey and Sophia Szelak have each accounted for 10 goals, while Lydia Szelak has four.
“Before Sophia joined the team, I didn’t have another girl on the team who could match me in skill level and intelligence on the field,” Pelfrey said. “Those first two years I felt like I had a role of being every position on the field, but Sophia and the other girls have eliminated that and allowed me to be a play maker, which has been a key to our success.”
Although Brandon Kazmierczak only shows up on the stat sheet occasionally due to his position on the field, Coach Brandon Finley said he is one of the most important players on the field for the Wildcats. It’s a role that Kazmierczak fully embraces.
“My role allows me to be anywhere on the field whether we are playing offense or defense,” he said. “I provide the extra support that my teammates need in order to have more people in numbers compared to the other teams. On defense, I’m able to pressure the other team while my teammate comes in and takes the ball and vise versa. On offense, I provide an extra pass and am also able to send in through balls for our offense to get their goals.”
Kazmierczak also opened up the scoring for the Wildcats against Baldwin as he helped the team pull out to a 5-0 lead. But one of the keys for Kazmierczak has been finding a replacement for Keaton Padgett as a void was left John his graduation. He believes Sophomore Jacob Gipson has done just that.
“Jacob has come in with a huge passion to learn,” he said. “Every tip that we have given him of being a goal keeper he has used to his advantage. He knows when to come out of his area and get the ball and he also knows when to stay put and block the shot. His positional awareness is great and he knows where he needs to be and when. As far as saves go, his athletic ability is incredible. He can get to a shot whether it’s in the top corner or if it’s in the bottom corner. Against Duval Charter, he made one of the best saves I have ever seen in my life, including professional goalkeepers. He was able to finger tip the ball out of the bottom right corner to save our lead in the game. With plays like that, Jacob has come in and filled Keaton’s shoes within his first season of playing.”
On the girls end, there’s not a worry about replacing a goalkeeper as the back third of the field is filled with experience, starting with keeper Rebekalyn Barber.
“Between our back line and keeper, 3/5 of them are seniors that have played since freshman year,” Pelfrey said. “With that being said, that experience is what has worked for us this year. We have two really strong centerbacks, our fullbacks have speed, and our keep can read the play very well. That experience is very relieving because it makes my job way easier because I only have to help them out a few times rather than being there the whole game.”
Both senior captains feel that this is the year that the programs go from simply having winning records to pushing into the playoffs.
“All the girls, not just the seniors, see the talent and potential this team has,” Pelfrey said. “We’ve set our goals to make it past playoffs because we all think with the skill level we have and the knowing of how each other plays, it gives us a dangerous advantage. The past couple of years have been leading to this season.”
Kazmierczak feels the Wildcats have their eyes set on the biggest picture.
“The chemistry this year is way better than in the past, he said. “We all want to win and we don’t care who scores as long as someone does. I feel like our entire team from top to bottom are great friends. Every one has the ability to play and we all know this. So whenever someone gets playing time we aren’t scared because they’ve never played soccer before but we are all now happy that they get to see their hard work pay off. This year we have began praying before and after every game and practice. I believe this has also helped our chemistry because each one of us know that we are playing for something greater than our individual self, greater than our team, and even greater than our school. We are playing for God’s glory and I think this has brought us to become more of a family than a group of teammates.”
While Pelfrey thanked her coaching staff, Kazmierczak had one final request from everyone in Baker County.
“Even if you have never seen a soccer game and know nothing about it, come out and give us the support needed to be great and not just good,” he said. “Every cheering fan there helps us play and we especially need the support in our harder games.”
One of those harder games is the Wildcats home opener on December 7th against Palatka. The Lady Wildcats begin the action at 11, with the boys following up at 1.

20/11/2019

Baker County picked up wins for both the Wildcats (5-2) and Lady Wildcats (8-0) at Baldwin last night. Here are a couple of shots from the game. Both teams remain undefeated on the year.

15/11/2019

Both teams looking to go 2-0 this evening in Gainesville.

Boys and Girls Soccer heads to Gainesville today to take on St. Francis! Let’s Gooooooooo!

24/10/2019

Passing along the good word from our friends at Dailygrowltv

There will be a Letterman Jacket Fitting, 11/12/19 @ 10:15am in the cafeteria. Jackets are $175 and must be paid for the day of fitting.

09/10/2019

Leading From the Stands
By CHLOE JOHNSON
Baker Beat Reporter
If you take a look and listen hard in the stands this Friday, you may notice something a little different. That’s because Baker County’s No. 1 supporter will be absent from the stands. Benny Fish is as much a part of the Wildcat experience as the game itself with his BC flag and cheers coming from the stands. It’s a tradition that now dates 30 years.
“It was in ‘87 (he guesses a Starke game), it was the quietest home team there was around,” Fish said. “You score a touchdown and nobody did nothing, you know? So I just started doing it.”
Although Fish has never had a kid on the team, he’s there to support the community.
“I just enjoyed watching them,” he said. “Then my wife made my flag for me and that thing is 32 years old now.”
After a while, Fish noticed that he went from being just one of the fans to part of the show.
“It seems like everywhere I go someone says ‘oh you know him, he’s the one with the flag at the football games,” Fish said. “After a couple of years (people started to recognize me). But now it’s all they know, like ‘oh you’re the one with the flag’”
Fish said that he feels like he’s part of the environment now and when the Wildcats are down, the crowd backing them can help the team on the field. He said it’s not just him and a flag, but a community backing its team.
“When the people get involved with it (it’s exciting), especially when the team needs some backing,” Fish said. “I hate going up there when I’m doing it and nobody does anything, (it) makes me look stupid, but when everyone is involved in the game and does it, that’s what is fun about it”
Although Fish can be seen at most every game and has even missed work to cheer on the Wildcats, he will not be in attendance this weekend. He will, however, be listening to Jack Baker and Mike Crews for the play-by-play.
“I’ve been to most all of them,” he said. “I used to work at the Steel Mill in Baldwin, and I would work Friday nights and have to take off, and be back at work by 11. Because of the hurricane, the Orange Park game was rescheduled to October 11. I went and made my vacation around that open day (original date) so I’ll be in Boston for that one. I’m gonna have to listen to the stream of it from Boston.”
Benny made sure to say that he’s not only a fan of football, but all things Wildcat related. He’s been seen at various sporting events over the years. If you’re not sure who he is, just look for the flag.
“I used to do it for basketball a lot, and I’ve also done it for softball,” he said.
Benny L. Fish

02/10/2019

Baker County’s cross country team has been training hard and would love the community’s support a their upcoming home meet on October 8 at 5 pm. Come watch the Cats go the distance.

Photos courtesy of cross country coach Pam Robinson.