Key Points
- Justin Williams of Buchholz was named Offensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive year after surpassing 1,000 receiving yards and scoring 21 total touchdowns in 2025.
- Buchholz's Evan Walker earned Defensive Player of the Year honors after leading a defense that allowed only 211 points and recorded two shutouts this season.
- Earnest Graham, Santa Fe's first-year head coach, was awarded Coach of the Year after improving the team to a 7-4 record and 2A playoff appearance.
- Aaron Akins of Oak Hall won Scholar-Athlete of the Year after throwing for over 1,000 yards and 23 touchdowns leading his team to the SSAA 3A Championship title.
The Gainesville Quarterback Club honored local high school football players Tuesday evening at its 2025 High School Awards Dinner, which took place at the Best Western Gateway Grand.
Buchholz senior Justin Williams was named the Offensive Player of the Year by the club for the second straight year. The University of Florida commit didn’t have the season he did in 2024, when he went over 1,000 yards rushing and receiving, but did go over 1,000 yards receiving this season with 12 touchdowns and rushed for 492 yards with nine more scores.
The Bobcats (12-1) advanced to the state semifinals for the fifth straight year and will host West Broward (Pembroke Pines) this Friday with a spot in next week’s 6A state championship game in Miami on the line.
“What a career. He’s our (Buchholz’s) career receptions leader, our career yardage leader, and I believe our career receiving touchdowns leader,” Buchholz coach Mark Whittemore said. “We’ve had some really good players and he’s very special amongst the teams we’ve had. The things he can do on the football field are just dominant.”
Another Buchholz player, senior defensive end Evan Walker, was selected as the Defensive Player of the Year. A Central Michigan commit, Walker helped lead a Buchholz defense that allowed only 211 points (16.2 per game) and pitched two shutouts this season.
“Just a phenomenal, phenomenal football player,” Whittemore said. “I loved what has happened in his life to help him get to this point.”
Whittemore was also awarded the trophy for the city football champion, which Buchholz won for the seventh straight year. Buchholz didn’t play Gainesville in 2020 due to COVID-19. This year, the Bobcats defeated Eastside, 29-19, and shut out GHS, 44-0.
But Buchholz has an even bigger game coming up on Friday night at Citizens Field against West Broward (11-2).
“They (West Broward) come in with a record almost similar to ours,” Whittemore said. “They were a two-seed and they are going to be a formidable opponent. We have to get ready.”
The Coach of the Year award went to Santa Fe’s first-year head coach Earnest Graham. The Raiders went 7-4 and advanced to the 2A playoffs, after going 2-37 the previous four seasons. On hand for the evening was Graham’s son, Myles, a former Buchholz standout and current linebacker for UF.
The Scholar-Athlete of the Year was awarded to Aaron Akins of Oak Hall. Oak Hall, which won the SSAA 3A Championship with a 27-10 win over Cambridge Christian (Tampa) on Nov. 22 at The Villages Charter School, was led by the senior Akins, who threw for over 1,000 yards with 23 total touchdowns in his first year as a quarterback.
“He’s (Akins) has been a rock for us really since he was in 8th grade,” Oak Hall coach R.J. Fuhr said. “He’s just a leader on and off the field. He leads by example.”