For the second consecutive year, the Williston football team finished unbeaten during the regular season under head coach Robby Pruitt and made the Class 1R state playoffs, falling a game short of the state semifinals in 2023.
The Red Devils are just one of the storylines heading into the 2024 season.
Adam Gore is back in Chiefland for his third stint, Dixie County and Bronson also have first-year head coaches, and Trenton looks to take another step after narrowly missing the playoffs in 2023.
The first regular season high school football game is a week from this Friday. Here is a look at my top game each week in the Tri-County area (Levy, Gilchrist, and Dixie counties) during the fall season.
Friday, Aug. 16 – Oak Hall at Bell, 7 p.m.
Last meeting: Oak Hall 34, Bell 14 (Oct. 4, 2019)
Last year the Bell football team struggled due to injuries as 17 starters missed games.
The Bulldogs, who were just 2-8 last season, are a member of the Sunshine State Athletic Association (SSAA) and don’t have a kickoff classic so this game officially kicks off their season.
“Our week zero game counts and you have to play another SSAA school so we’re going to play Oak Hall,” said Bell coach Joey Whittington, who enters his 12th season. “We start our season without a preseason game which will be a little different, but we’ve played Oak Hall on and off a few times throughout my tenure at Bell. They’ve played each other a lot historically so we’re looking forward to getting them back on the schedule.”
The visiting Eagles, who were 7-2 last year and advanced to the SSAA state playoffs, are led by the father-son duo of interim head coach Randy Brower and senior quarterback Dakota Brower, who has offers from Air Force, Navy and Bryant University.
Friday, Aug. 23 – Williston at Chiefland, 7:30 p.m.
Last meeting: Williston 44, Chiefland 7 (Aug. 25, 2023)
Gore is back for his third stint with the Indians, who get to host Williston this year for the Levy Cup. Although it’s an early season game, Gore said the Indians were tested in the spring.
“I think kids are excited,” Gore said. “I think going through spring and being able to go and compete against Dunnellon the way we did, it gave them some confidence. It gave them some excitement.”
Last year the Red Devils cruised to a 44-7 victory in Williston.
“We are excited to play Williston in Week 1 to open the season,” Gore said. “They have been one of the top programs in 1A the last couple of years and everyone loves playing or coaching against teams of their caliber. Hopefully, we can give them a competitive game and represent our community in a way that will make everyone proud. Levy County has a lot of good athletes in this county and that will be on display Week 1 in Chiefland.”
It was just a two-score game at the half, 21-7, but Williston outscored Chiefland, 23-0, in the second half to win for the second straight time in the series.
“Chiefland will be bringing back an experienced team that will have a defensive front that has several 3- and 4-year starters that are very good,” said Williston coach Robby Pruitt. “I think they will be one of the better teams in our area.”
Friday, Aug. 30 – Dixie County (Cross City) at Trenton, 7:30 p.m.
Last meeting: Dixie County 42, Trenton 0 (Sept. 18, 2023)
The visiting Bears have a new coach this season. Well, kind of.
Last year’s offensive coordinator, alum Ric Whittington, enters his first season as head coach of the Bears. This is one of two rivalry games for Dixie County, which will host Chiefland on Oct. 4.
“We call that the Suwannee River rivalry,” Whittington said. “It seems like in every school we all know each other. It seems like there’s some type of poster, t-shirt somewhere that talks about it. Last year we were fortunate enough to win both of those games. I like talking about them because in this day and age where traditions are changing, those are constants for us. That’s small-town football and what Dixie County is and what Trenton is, and what Chiefland is…those are going to be premiere games for us.”
Dixie County has won five in a row in the series including a 42-0 win last year and a 46-0 victory two seasons ago.
Friday, Sept. 6 – Branford at Bell, 7:30 p.m.
Last meeting: Branford 40, Bell 0 (Sept. 9, 2023)
The Bulldogs face a tough challenge once again against the visiting Bucs, who finished 7-3 and advanced to the first round of the Class 1R state playoffs.
Branford’s 40-0 win last year gave the Bucs their 11th straight victory against Bell and their third straight shutout in the series. Bell’s last win was 22-6 on Nov. 6, 2015.
“Always look forward to the competition with Branford,” said Bell coach Joey Whittington. “Coach Clark does a great job with those guys in having them ready to play. The close distance between the two schools brings a natural rivalry to the game.”
Friday, Sept. 13 – Bronson at Cedar Creek Christian (Jacksonville), 7:30 p.m.
Last meeting: Bronson 45, Cedar Creek Christian 12 (Sept. 13, 2013)
The Eagles have a new coach this season in Shawn Holmes. Bronson, which was 1-8 last season, returns five starters on both sides of the ball.
“I’m excited,” Holmes said. “I love the small-town atmosphere and the close-knit community is similar to where I grew up (Auburndale), which is a little bit bigger but there’s that same kind of pride and enthusiasm for the program, and I’m just excited to get to work with the kids. It’s been fun so far.”
Although he is new to the area, one of the key games that Holmes marked on the calendar, was a rematch against Cedar Creek Christian.
“They got us in the spring pretty good spring,” he said.
Friday, Sept. 20 – Williston at Eastside, 7:30 p.m.
Last meeting: Eastside 42, Williston 20 (Aug. 31, 2018)
The Red Devils have posted back-to-back undefeated regular seasons under Pruitt. This is one of several games on Williston’s schedule against tougher competition.
They step up in classification against the Class 3A Rams, who have won back-to-back district titles and advanced to the state playoffs the past two years.
Friday, Sept. 27 – Trinity Catholic (Ocala) at Williston, 7:30 p.m.
Last meeting: Trinity Catholic 59, Williston 13 (Oct. 22, 2010)
Last year the Trinity Catholic (Ocala) football team made a run all the way to the Class 1S state championship game before a last-minute 31-27 loss to Cardinal Mooney (Sarasota) in the title game.
The visiting Celtics “backed off” the brutal schedule they had last season to play games closer to home.
“I think after we figured up all the miles and everything between Key West, Cincinnati, Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Naples, Melbourne, I mean it was ridiculous,” said Trinity Catholic coach John Brantley. “That’s a wonderful experience for a high school kid to go through all of that but we’re back down to more of a normal schedule.”
They backed off but they didn’t back down as eight of the 10 teams they’re playing this year were in the playoffs last year, including the 1R region finalist Red Devils.
The last time these two teams met the Celtics defeated the Red Devils, 59-13, en route to a 15-0 season and the Class 2B state title.
Friday, Oct. 4 – Trenton at Branford, 7:30 p.m.
Last meeting: Branford 7, Trenton 6 (Oct. 6, 2023)
This is a key game circled on the Tigers’ schedule.
Last year, Branford edged Trenton, 7-6, to win its second straight game in the series.
“Last year we went 5-5 and we felt like we let three games slip away,” said Trenton coach Cameron Porch. “Branford converted on a fourth down and we were in the red zone four times and couldn’t score, so we felt like we gave that one away. That was a heck of a game though.”
Trenton won eight straight in the series from 2010-2017, but Branford has won four of the last six games between the two teams.
Friday, Oct. 11 – Williston at Hardee (Wauchula), 7 p.m.
Last meeting: First meeting
It’s another matchup of state playoff teams from 2023 as the Red Devils take on a Hardee team that finished 8-3 and made the Class 2S state playoffs.
Friday, Oct. 18 – Trenton at Lafayette (Mayo), 7:30 p.m.
Last meeting: Lafayette 35, Trenton 28 (Oct. 20, 2023)
Last year’s loss to the Hornets stung. With a potential playoff spot hanging in the balance, turnovers were costly in a 35-28 loss at home to Lafayette.
Trenton looks for revenge this year after suffering its third straight loss in the series.
“We only had one turnover heading into our last two games of the season (against Lafayette and Hamilton County), and we had nine in those two games,” said Trenton coach Cameron Porch. “We felt like down the stretch if we take care of the ball in weeks nine and 10, we’re playing in the postseason, so that’s an emphasis this year.”
Friday, Oct. 25 – Newberry at Williston, 7:30 p.m.
Last meeting: Williston 24, Newberry 22 (Oct. 6, 2023)
If you remember last year’s game, you’ll know why this is one of the biggest games of the year in the Tri-County area.
The Panthers had the Red Devils on the ropes last year, including a 22-18 lead with less than a minute to play. However, Williston coach Robby Pruitt called a statue of liberty play and Williston escaped with a 24-22 win on the road to keep an unbeaten regular season intact.
This will be a good measuring stick for both teams as the playoffs approach.
Friday, Nov. 1 – Union County (Lake Butler) at Chiefland, 7:30 p.m.
Last meeting: Chiefland 29, Union County 27 (Nov. 26, 2021)
The last time these two teams met was three years ago for the right to advance to the Class 1A state semifinals.
Chiefland took advantage of three first-half Union County fumbles and three Clint Thomas touchdowns for a 29-27 win in a 1A-Region 3 Final. It was the first loss of the season for the Tigers (12-1) and also snapped a six-game losing streak in the series.
“Union is another great program we get to compete against at the end of the season,” said Gore. “Andrew (Thomas) has done an outstanding job there and they’ve been in the playoffs every year under his leadership. They are always physical and well coached. That will be a revenge game for them after the 2021 season, so we better be ready for them when they come to Chiefland.”