- The Gainesville Hurricanes ended a four-game losing streak against Eastside with a 24-10 victory, their first city win in five years.
- Running back Javaris Gardner led Gainesville's offense with over 150 yards and scored the game-winning touchdown.
- Defensive coordinator Ray Smith serves as interim head coach after Ashour Peera was placed on administrative leave by Alachua County Public Schools.
The Gainesville Hurricanes football team has had a month unlike any other program.
First, 17-year-old athlete Sebastian Jimenez and his family were detained by ICE in late August, with Jimenez sent to a detention facility in Texas. He returned to Gainesville on Sept. 4.
On Thursday, Alachua County Public Schools Human Resources placed first-year head coach Ashour Peera on administrative leave.
The off-field chaos over the last month could have been a distraction. Instead, it has forced GHS closer together and led to back-to-back wins.
On Friday, the Hurricanes beat Eastside, 24-10, to snap a four-game losing streak in the series and give GHS its first city win in five years.
“Obviously, we understand we got hit with some adversities yesterday,” said defensive coordinator Ray Smith, who is the interim head coach in Peera’s absence. “We stayed dialed even more. Today, whether it was our team meal, whether it was this morning when we had to make our announcements about things, guys took it like a champ, even-keeled.
“Everything’s on point, and y’all see the result. Look at that scoreboard, man.”
Fresh off last week’s 34-27 win over Lecanto, which snapped a 14-game losing streak in district play, the Hurricanes outscored Eastside 18-0 in the second half to take home the win.
Running back Javaris Gardner, an Eastside transfer, accounted for over 150 yards of total offense and the game-sealing 14-yard touchdown with 1:07 left. He accounted for over 70 yards on the Hurricanes’ final drive to drain the clock.
“That’s a huge win for the guys,” Gardner said. “It gives us good momentum going into the next game.”
Quarterback Joshua McClellan added a 16-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Jenkins in the second quarter, ending the Hurricanes’ four-year scoring drought against Eastside. He later scored on a three-yard run in the third quarter to give Gainesville a 12-10 lead. Keihonest Perry added a three-yard score to extend the lead.
Gainesville’s defense and special teams also stood out, with a blocked punt setting up McClellan’s touchdown pass before forcing a turnover on downs just outside the red zone midway through the second quarter. The Hurricanes also recovered a fumble, forced another turnover on downs in the fourth quarter and sealed the win with two sacks by Trezon Richardson on the final drive.
“Just a legendary moment for the team history, for our history, for my history,” Richardson said.
Most importantly, the Hurricanes looked unfazed by the outside noise and continued to grow closer each week.
“The one thing I love about our guys is that they stayed the course,” Smith said. “It’s not a secret that we’re building a program from the ground up. Literally, we were coming from scraps and debris, and we’re making it into diamonds now. Tonight is a testament to that.”
Gainesville will search for its third consecutive win next Friday at Vanguard, while Eastside will look to get back in the win column with a home game against Dunnellon.
Friday, Sept. 18
Bluffton (SC) 64, P.K. Yonge 6
Bradford (Starke) 48, Tocoi Creek (St. Augustine) 10
Branford 21, Port St. Joe 0
Bronson 27, Harvest Community (Jacksonville) 7
Buchholz 20, Jesuit (Tampa) 17
Columbia (Lake City) 27, Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) 20
Gainesville 24, Eastside 10
Hawthorne 50, Bayshore (Bradenton) 15
Keystone Heights 16, Bell 13 (OT)Lake Weir (Ocala) 48, Union County (Lake Butler) 21
Lafayette (Mayo) 49, Dixie County (Cross City) 42
Middleburg 20, Newberry 17
St. John Lutheran (Ocala) xx, Cornerstone Academy xx
Saint Francis Catholic Academy 39, First Academy-Leesburg 7
Santa Fe (Alachua) 41, Fort White 28
Suwannee (Live Oak) 45, Hamilton County (Jasper) 0
Trinity Catholic (Ocala) 25, Chiefland 12
OFF – Countryside Christian, Oak Hall School, Trenton, Williston
