Buchholz dominates in 13th straight win over Eastside

It was not pretty by any means, but it was enough and then some for the Buchholz Bobcats on Friday night against Eastside at Citizens Field. 

Despite some offensive miscues and uncharacteristic penalties, the Bobcats dominated the rival Rams, 49-7, to clinch yet another city title.

The Bobcats, fresh off a win over Gainesville, used a consistent rushing attack, with quarterback Andrew Whittemore and running backs Josh Menefee and Ashton Norris, behind a dominant offensive line, to spark their offense. Whittemore accounted for five touchdowns, four of which came in the first half.

“There’s always going to be games that you sputter a little bit, and tonight there was a lack of communication on the offensive side,” head coach Mark Whittemore said. “I’m glad we were in a game that we had well in hand to be able to work through some of those kinks, but it’s going to be super important to work through that.”

Whittemore recorded three rushing touchdowns, including a 15-yard keeper on third down, in the first half. He also added a pair of touchdown passes, with one going to FAU commit Dominick Harvey from 11 yards out in the second quarter and another to Avery Norris from 15 yards out on fourth down in the third quarter.

“If things don’t go your way on one drive, you just gotta come back and be playing hard. I think we did that pretty well,” Andrew Whittemore said.

Buchholz’s defense, meanwhile, continued its season-long dominance. The Bobcats held Eastside’s offense scoreless and allowed only one first down, which came by defensive penalty. The Rams’ only points came in the second quarter, when Malicah Williams returned an interception for a touchdown.

The Bobcats also recorded a safety off a bad snap from Eastside in the first quarter, forced a turnover on downs in the third quarter, recovered a fumble in the fourth quarter and blocked two punts on special teams, both of which came from Caden Dowdell.

“We practiced that,” Mark Whittemore said. “Out of 420 snaps before this game, 100 of those snaps were special teams. That’s 25 percent of the game right there that we are playing on special teams. We practice, and we prepare. We knew our launch angles, what we needed to do, and we got it done.”

Although the scoreboard reflected Buchholz’s dominance, the Bobcats still have plenty to clean up before district play begins next week. They were hurt by holding calls on passing plays and several procedural penalties, though the mistakes did little to slow them down against Eastside.

“That happens, and you just have to kind of roll with it, find a way to win,” Mark Whittemore said. “And we did that, too.”

Buchholz improved to 3-0 and travels to West Port (Ocala) on Thursday to open play in 5A District 3. Eastside, meanwhile, fell to 0-3 with the loss and travels to 3A District 5-foe Belleview on Friday, hoping to avoid its first 0-4 start since 2021.

Friday, Sept. 4 
Bell 27, Branford 14 
Bradford (Starke) 56, Zarephath Academy (Jacksonville) 0 
Bronson 14, Halifax Academy (Daytona Beach) 6 
Buchholz 49, Eastside 7 
Chiefland 49, Crystal River 28 
Countryside Christian 32, Shorecrest Prep (St. Petersburg) 12  
Newberry 14, Cocoa 13 
Columbia (Lake City) 27, Madison County 13 
Hawthorne 38, Hernando (Brooksville) 0 
Hilliard 49, Keystone Heights 0 
Mount Dora Christian Academy 36, P.K. Yonge 6 
Oak Hall School 30, Seven Rivers Christian (Lecanto) 23 
Saint Francis Catholic Academy 32, Geneva Classical Academy (Lakeland) 8 
Santa Fe (Alachua) 17, Chatfield (Littleton, CO) 0 
Suwannee (Live Oak) 15, Gainesville 14 
Trenton 43, Impact Christian Academy (Jacksonville) 8 
Paxon (Jacksonville) 26, Williston 25 
OFF – Dixie County (Cross City), Fort White, Union County (Lake Butler)