For the first time this season, the Buchholz football team put together a complete game effort on Friday night.
Offense, defense and special teams all contributed in a 27-7 win against visiting Nease (Ponte Vedra) in the Class 6A-District 3 opener at Citizens Field.
“We punted well, we kicked well, we kicked off well, all touchbacks,” said Buchholz coach Mark Whittemore. “A 44-yard field goal, the quarterback ran the ball well, our running back ran the ball well, our offensive line blocked. It was a complete victory.”
Buchholz (5-1, 1-0) led from start to finish against the Panthers (4-2, 0-1) in a matchup of two of the top four teams in Class 6A.
“It was a good win,” said Buchholz quarterback Andrew Whittemore, who scored a pair of rushing touchdowns. “You know, we had a good plan coming in. The O-line blocked great…all season, they have just been incredible. They are a veteran group. We were expecting a lot out of them coming into the season and they’ve definitely given what we thought they were going to do.”
It was the confidence in the offensive line that allowed 6A No. 3 Buchholz to go for it on 4th-and-1 from their own 34-yard line less than two minutes into the game.
Although the Bobcats didn’t score on their first possession, they set the tone, marching from their own 25-yard line to the Nease 22-yard line before senior running back Justin Williams was stopped short on another 4th-and-1.
However, Nease quarterback Aiden Phifer, who entered the game with nine touchdown passes and only one interception, was picked off by senior defensive back Troy Fleming at the Nease 41-yard line.
It was one of two interceptions for the Bobcats, who scored a total of three touchdowns and allowed just one touchdown to an offense that was averaging 36.2 points per game.
“The whole week through practice, we preached be relentless, effort on every play,” said senior defensive back Caleb Young Jr., who made a diving interception in the third quarter. “We all flew around. Everybody was flamboyant. I really liked the effort, the tenacity we played with. I feel like we outmanned and outstrenghened them, and just overall we outplayed the opponent.”
It took Buchholz just five plays following Fleming’s interception to put the ball in the end zone.
Whittemore flipped the ball to senior Chris Johnson on an end-around and Johnson carried it 18 yards. Three plays later, the Bobcats capped the 41-yard drive with a 2-yard scoring run by Whittemore and a 7-0 lead with 4:28 to play in the opening quarter.
Nease, which was ranked No. 4 in 6A, had trouble getting off the field defensively.
On their next offensive possession, the Bobcats ate 7:30 off the clock, beginning the drive at their own 15-yard line.
Whittemore completed an 18-yard pass to sophomore Marquel Brooks and a 12-yard pass to Johnson to cross midfield. Although they turned it over on downs on a 4th-and-3 at the 38-yard line, it didn’t take the Bobcats long to get the ball back.
Following a 3-and-out, Williams returned a punt 21 yards to midfield.
With 4:29 remaining in the half, Whittemore completed a 42-yard pass to Williams across the middle, with Williams grabbing it just beyond the first down marker and turning it into a big gain after the catch.
Buchholz faced a 4th-and-goal at the 1-yard line and senior kicker Jay Giunta made an 18-yard field goal for a 10-0 lead with 1:34 left in the half.
Whittemore said he didn’t rethink the decision to go for it.
“No, just wanted two scores,” he said. “At that point, you don’t know if it’s going to be 27-7. We just needed a two-score ball game, and I always confer with Chuck (Bell) on that, my defensive coordinator, and he was like, ‘I’ve got to have another score,’ and we felt good about our defense that we were going to be able to hold them. And sure enough, it was just that long run. That’s it tonight.”
That long run came just two plays into the second half.
Nease running back Enrique Ordonez ran for six yards on the first play of the second half, followed by a 71-yard touchdown run.
Junior kicker Aric Davis-Baer’s extra point put the Panthers right back in the game at 10-7 just 54 seconds into the third quarter.
Once again, the Bobcats took a big chunk of time off the clock, driving from their own 27-yard line to the Nease 28-yard line on passes of 6, 10, 12, 7 and 9 yards from Whittemore.
Although the drive stalled, Giunta drilled a 44-yard field goal with plenty of room to spare for a 13-7 lead with 5:38 remaining in the third quarter.
“We’re 5-1 in large part because of his leg,” Mark Whittemore said. “I mean, without him, we’re definitely not 5-1, probably 3-2, maybe 2-3.”
The Panthers began their next possession at their 20-yard line and drove into Buchholz territory, but that’s when Young made his diving pick to end the drive.
He had dropped an easy interception late in the first half.
“I was pretty mad about it,” he said. “I was like, ‘Man, I just made a mistake. Man, I gotta shake back,’ and just looking at the play I’m like, “Man, I’m pretty embarrassed,’ and just overall, I was like, ‘You know what? I gotta make a play.’”
His big play gave Buchholz the spark it needed to create a little separation.
The Bobcats went 88 yards, capping the drive with Whittemore’s 2-yard touchdown run for a 20-7 lead with 7:22 remaining in the game.
Whittemore’s 28-yard pass to Williams and a 19-yard run by Whittemore were the two biggest plays on the drive, but sophomore running back Josh Menefee had 30 yards rushing during the possession.
After a Nease incompletion and a turnover on downs, Menefee put the icing on the cake with a 41-yard touchdown run.
Buchholz, which didn’t punt until there were two minutes left in the game, and will play city rival Gainesville High at Citizens Field at 7:30 p.m. next Friday.
“The bottom line is it was a complete victory,” Mark Whittemore said. “That bodes well moving forward for us. It just means that we’re playing complementary football right now, and we’re not just kind of out there one dimensionally.”
Williston 49, Trinity Catholic (Ocala) 21 – The Red Devils jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and led 28-7 at the half to give Williston football coach Robby Pruitt win No. 200 in Florida. He became the first high school football coach in the country to win 200 games in two different states.
Football scores
Thursday, Sept. 25
Florida School for the Deaf & Blind (St. Augustine) 36, Saint Francis Catholic Academy 18
Oak Hall 44, P.K. Yonge 0
Friday, Sept. 26
Buchholz 27, Nease (Ponte Vedra) 7
Eastside 16, Dunnellon 14
Newberry 20, Palatka 13
University Christian (Jacksonville) 49, Santa Fe (Alachua) 17
Williston 49, Trinity Catholic (Ocala) 21
Chiefland 41, Trenton 0
St. Augustine 41, Columbia (Lake City) 21
Bell 42, Dixie County (Cross City) 12
Bradford (Starke) 53, Keystone Heights 0
Branford 37, Hilliard 13
Union County (Lake Butler) 21, Paxon (Jacksonville) 17
Wakulla (Crawfordville) 30, Suwannee (Live Oak) 23
OFF – Bronson, Fort White, GHS, Hawthorne