- Earnest Graham became Santa Fe's head football coach in 2025 after a 2-37 four-season slump and now has the team one win from a district title.
- Santa Fe defeated Eastside, 44-14, at Citizens Field in rainy Gainesville by scoring 23 unanswered points in the second half.
- Santa Fe will face undefeated Dunnellon for the district title on Thursday in Alachua, aiming for their first district title in over 10 years.
When Earnest Graham became Santa Fe’s head football coach in 2025, the Raiders had gone 2-37 over the previous four seasons while cycling through three head coaches.
After leading Santa Fe to a 7-4 record and the 3A state playoffs a year ago, Graham now has the Raiders one win away from a district title.
On Thursday evening at a rainy Citizens Field in Gainesville, Santa Fe (Alachua) scored 23 unanswered points in the second half to pull away from host Eastside for a 44-14 win in a District 5-3A game.
Santa Fe (6-1, 2-0 3A-5) bounced back from their first loss of the season to Buchholz on Oct. 1 and now sets up a showdown with undefeated Dunnellon on Thursday in Alachua for the district title.
Playing in steady rain through most of the first half, Santa Fe struggled through penalties and mistakes and only led the host Rams (1-7, 1-2) 21-14 at halftime.
“Gator (Hoskins) is a phenomenal coach and historically this Eastside program has always been good, ” Graham said. “Right now, I know they are going through a change, so every night you have to be ready to bring it. I know he’s going to keep coaching and soon they will be right back at the helm again.”
Senior running back Jasiah Powell got Santa Fe on the board in the opening quarter on a 1-yard run and Santa Fe led 7-0 as both teams struggled to move the ball in the rain.
Eastside tied the game at 7-7 as senior running back Braeden Brockington scored from nine yards out with 7:43 left in the second quarter.
Santa Fe’s offense woke up, though, scoring touchdowns on the next two drives. Junior quarterback Gavin Peterson gave the Raiders a 14-7 advantage on a 16-yard run to paydirt and Peterson found senior wide receiver Jadathun Bryant on a 33-yard scoring pass for a 21-7 lead.
Seconds before halftime, Brockington broke a 67-yard touchdown run to pull Eastside within 21-14.
The rain mostly stopped at halftime and Santa Fe took control.
“Once it stopped and it felt like a dry game and we could get the ball out of their hands a little bit,” Graham said. “Once we did that, we wore them down a bit and we do what we do.”
Santa Fe also targeted Brockington as Eastside junior quarterback Andrew Sutherland struggled to throw.
Powell’s second touchdown extended Santa Fe’s lead to 28-14 in the third quarter. The Raiders added 16 fourth-quarter points on a safety, Peterson’s 2-yard touchdown run and Bryant’s 30-yard scoring run to seal the final margin.
That sets up Santa Fe’s showdown with Dunnellon for the district title on Thursday.
“It’s going to be big. It’s been quite some time, I think 10 years or more, since we had a district title,” Graham said. “To be here in two years, I’m excited for a chance to do it and win it in front of our home crowd.”
