Defense wins championships.

Buchholz and Eastside each won a district title in 2025, so it comes as no surprise that the Bobcats and Rams would be well represented on that side of the ball when it comes to postseason accolades.

They each placed four selections on the 2025 Bosshardt Realty All Area big school (Class 2A-6A) defensive football team.

It starts up front, and the Bobcats had two selections on the defensive line, led by Central Michigan signee Evan Walker.

“Evan transitioned to our bandit position this season from a more traditional defensive end spot that he played as a junior,” said Buchholz defensive coordinator Chuck Bell. “He flourished in the position and kept up the streak of having our starting bandit named to the Mainstreet Daily News All Area defensive team every season since its inception.”

This past season, Walker (6’3, 225) finished with 71 tackles, 20 tackles for a loss (TFL), and six sacks for the Bobcats (12-2), who won the 6A-District 3 title and the 6A-Region 1 title, before losing to West Broward (Pembroke Pines) in the 6A state semifinals.

“His physical gifts and stats speak for themselves, but his relentless effort is really what makes Evan stand out as one of the best defensive players in the state,” Bell said.

Joining Walker in the trenches is defensive lineman Amir Sheppard.

“Amir was relatively unknown in the area prior to this season but made an immediate name for himself and became one of the most disruptive defensive players to play at Buchholz in the last decade,” Bell said. “His quick get-off and ability to go from speed to power against offensive linemen created havoc for opposing offenses all fall.” 

The junior finished with 57 tackles, 25 TFLs, two blocked punts, a pick-6 and 12 pass breakups.

“It’s (stats) even more impressive when you consider the fact we played one of the 10 statistically toughest schedules in the state of Florida,” Bell said.

The third All Area selection on the D-line is senior Nate Raymond of Bradford (Starke), who finished 11-2 and won the 2A-District 5 title.

Raymond (6’, 190) had 92 tackles, 24 TFL and a team-leading 11 sacks.

While Buchholz led the All Area team up front, Eastside had two of the four selections in the middle.

Senior linebacker Demarco Daniels, a Delaware signee, was a part of three district titles in four years for the Rams (9-3), including the 3A-District 5 title this past October following an overtime win against South Sumter (Bushnell).

“A three-year starter, leader, the captain, the alpha dog of the team,” said Eastside coach Harold “Gator” Hoskins. “He gets those guys going. He meant a lot to the team. That’s going to be a guy that we will definitely miss.”

In just eight games played, Daniels had 54 tackles, an average of 6.8 tackles per game, one interception, a fumble recovery, and a blocked punt.

Senior Tramayne Montague (6’3, 200) joined Daniels after recording 50 tackles, 7 TFL, three sacks, three interceptions and a blocked punt.

“Tramayne Montague, another dog,” Hoskins said. “He’s a good linebacker. Great kid, flies around, comes off the edge. He meant a lot to the team, a great player.”

Columbia (Lake City) senior Kameron Mills, the Lake City Reporter’s Defensive Player of the Year, joins the group after leading the Tigers (9-3) with 78 tackles and 20 TFL, and he tied for the team lead with 11 sacks.

Mills (6’1, 220), who transferred from Mandarin (Jacksonville), added two interceptions, including a pick-6, and two blocked punts.

“They (Columbia) used me as the player I am, not trying to limit me to certain things,” Mills told the Lake City Reporter. “They used me to what I could handle and that was obviously a lot because they used me all over the field. I played nickel, I played off the edge, I played a little bit of safety here and there, so they used all my abilities and they maximized them. And I really appreciate Columbia for that.”

Rounding out the linebacker position is junior Zay Robinson of Buchholz.

“Zay is one of the most talented linebackers I’ve ever coached,” Bell said. “Playing inside linebacker in our scheme demands a level of high football IQ and communication that stats won’t show or measure, but cannot be undervalued on elite defenses. No player I’ve coached at Buchholz has ever had a better grasp and understanding of our defense, so having Zay on the field is like having a coach on the field.”

Robinson was third on the Bobcats with 65 tackles. He added nine TFL, four sacks, a safety, an interception and a fumble recovery.

“It makes me so happy to see him recognized individually on the MDN All Area team because he is arguably the most important player on our team and I can’t wait to see him continue to grow and flourish next season as a senior,” Bell said.

Buchholz senior Caleb Young Jr. is one of four All Area selections in the secondary.

“Caleb had another tremendous season for us at the safety position and even contributed as a linebacker during our playoff run,” Bell said. “He was the team leader in tackles for the second season in a row and finished his high school football career with over 400 tackles, an absolutely eye-popping number for a safety.”

Young had 77 tackles in 2025, including a team-leading 51 solo tackles. He added 6 TFL, 3 interceptions, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

“What I love most about Caleb is his unselfishness and focus throughout the week in the meeting room and on the practice field,” Bell said. “Sometimes high school athletes can overlook the importance of absorbing knowledge and remaining focused in preparation, but Caleb treated every practice like a game and it paid off with another selection to the All Area team this season.”

The final two Eastside selections include sophomore Malicah Williams in the secondary and athlete Kamariyon Mack.

Williams, who had five interceptions as a freshman, finished this past season with an interception, nine passes defended, a fumble recovery and 34 tackles.

“Malicah, lock up corner man,” Hoskins said. “We feel very comfortable about the young guy. Kind of put him out there on the island. We know on that side, he’s pretty much going to lock it up. He meant a lot to the team, having a guy like that, especially coming back next year.”

Mack finished off his senior campaign with a team-leading 91 tackles and 14 TFL. The senior, who had seven touchdowns on offense, rushing and receiving, averaged 8.3 tackles per game and added 4.5 sacks.

“The leader, man,” Hoskins said. “He was a two-way starter for us this year, played a lot of offense and defense. Held it down for us when some of those guys got injuries and missed some games. That was a guy who was very, very consistent for us this year. Heck of a football player, heck of an athlete as well.”

Senior Julian De La Cruz (5’10, 160) of Columbia and Newberry senior La’Harry Debose (6’, 158) round out the secondary.

De La Cruz led the Tigers with four interceptions and finished with 49 tackles, while Debose, a first team All Area selection last year, finished with a pair of interceptions, nine passes defended, a fumble recovery and 26 tackles.

“Harry has been a vocal leader for our secondary and the entire defense for the past few seasons,” said Newberry coach Ed Johnson. “He is a versatile player that can play both safety and cornerback, which allows him to move around and make plays. He has a very high football IQ, a solid open field tackler, and he makes plays on the ball when it’s in the air.”

2025 Bosshardt Realty All Area Big School Defense (2A-6A)

DL – Amir Sheppard, Buchholz (Jr.)

DL – Nate Raymond, Bradford (Sr.)

DL – Evan Walker, Buchholz (Sr.)

LB – Zay Robinson, Buchholz (Jr.)

LB – Kameron Mills, Columbia (Sr.)

LB – Demarco Daniels, Eastside (Sr.)

LB – Tramayne Montague, Eastside (Sr.)

Secondary – La’Harry Debose, Newberry (Sr.)

Secondary – Caleb Young Jr., Buchholz (Sr.)

Secondary – Malicah Williams, Eastside (So.)

Secondary – Julian De La Cruz, Columbia (Sr.)

ATH – Kamariyon Mack, Eastside (Sr.)

Honorable mentions

Bradford (Starke) – Jy’quez Cason (DB, Sr.), Kingston Booker (LB, Sr.), Jackson Parmeter (DB, Sr.), Johnathan Andrews (DL, Sr.), Justin Hall (LB, Sr.), Parviele Lee (DL, Jr.), Danny Torres (DL, Jr.), Caiden Carn (DB, So.)

Bucholz – Matthew Johnson (LB, Sr.), Troy Fleming (DB, Jr.), Amaris Bryant (DL, Jr.), Jayvyn Williams (LB, Jr.), Camron Burse (DB, So.)

Columbia (Lake City) – Vondarius Lane (DB, Sr.), Terry Henry (DL, Sr.), Kyten Davis (DL, Sr.), Jaylen Underwood (DL, Jr.), Jaden McCray (DL, JR.), Bryson Grinstead (LB, Jr.), Wesli Haywood (LB, Jr.), Alfonso Curry Jr. (LB, Jr.)

Eastside – Galen Miller (DL, Sr.), Xavier Manuel (DL, Sr.), Orian Ellis (DB, Sr.), Chad Hall (DL, Sr.), Ja’Marian Reaves (DB, Jr.), Jayvyn Comer (DB, So.), Demetric Bass (DL, Jr.), Brandon Goode (LB, So.)

Gainesville – Josef Scott (DB, Sr.), Nehemiah Washington (DB, Sr.), Zaire Francis (LB, Jr.), Jason Velez (LB, Jr.), Trezon Richardson (DL, So.), Neriah Washington (DL, So.)

Newberry – Devon Rim (LB, Sr.), Jymir Williams (LB, Sr.), Luke Bennett (DL, Sr.), Darius Debose (DL, Jr.), Isaiah Johnson (LB, Jr.), Deandre Alford (DB, So.), Hernando Garvin (DB, Fr.), Kaiden Bush (P, Fr.)

Santa Fe (Alachua) – Markell Johnson (DB, Sr.), Hunter Crevasse (LB, Sr.), Malcolm Merriex (DB, Sr.), Zach Perez (DL, Sr.), Cole Chong-you (DL, Jr.)

Suwannee (Live Oak) – Hunter Watson (DL, Sr.), Kyler Watson (DL, Jr.), Travis Fead (LB, Jr.), Koy Frier (DB, Jr.), Marco Rojas (LB, So.), Josh Johnson (LB, So.)

Complete stats and/or coach nominations were not available for Keystone Heights