The streak continues for the Buchholz football team.
Despite a sloppy game on both sides, the Bobcats pulled away in the second half for a 29-19 win against rival Eastside at Citizens Field.
It was their 12th straight win in the series.
After a 35-7 loss last year, this time things were much closer as the Rams (2-1) trailed by just two, 15-13, at the half.
“I like the way the defense played,” said Eastside coach Harold “Gator” Hoskins. “They played with a lot of intensity. We played with a lot of heart. We fought to the end of the game, but we started off really, really slow in the first quarter.”
The Rams’ first possession of the game was at their own 5-yard line, and they turned it over on downs on a bad snap in punt formation. Senior punter Antonio Cortez picked up the loose ball after a bad snap and tried to run with it, but he was stopped at the 8-yard line for a turnover on downs.
Three plays later, Buchholz sophomore quarterback Andrew Whittemore snuck it in from a yard out to give the Bobcats a 6-0 lead with 6:47 to play in the first half. Buchholz had their own issues as a bad snap led to a missed opportunity on the extra point.
Trailing 6-0, Eastside began its next possession at its own 10-yard line.
Another bad snap, this time over the head of Cortez and out of the back of the end zone, gave the Bobcats (2-1) a safety and an 8-0 lead with 5:40 left on the first quarter clock.
After a short kick from the 20-yard line following the safety, Buchholz took over at the Eastside 45-yard line. However, on 4th-and-3 at the Rams’ 38-yard line, senior running back Justin Williams lost 17 yards on the play and the ‘Cats turned it right back over at the 45-yard line.
The Rams marched 45 yards on four plays, scoring on a 9-yard touchdown run around left end by senior quarterback Nelson Tambling. Eastside lined up for the 2-point conversion, but a delay of game penalty forced them to kick the extra point to get within one, 8-7, with 2:31 remaining in the opening quarter.
Buchholz moved the ball from its own 15-yard line into Eastside territory, but a 32-yard run by senior running back Chris Johnson was called back due to a penalty, and on the first play of the second quarter, Eastside junior Ja’Marian Reaves intercepted Whittemore.
“There were a lot of penalties, especially in the first half,” said Buchholz coach Mark Whittemore. “Shoot, I would say we probably finished the game with over 25 penalties. Drive killers, just brutal, but we won the special teams battle, punted the ball super well, kicked it well, kicked it off well, you win the special teams battle, and you got a great chance of winning a football game.”
With a first down at the Buchholz 34-yard line, the Rams were able to capitalize. On 4th-and-6 at the 32-yard line, Tambling’s pass to sophomore tight end Jordan Johnson was dropped and the Rams turned it over on downs.
It was one of several dropped passes by Eastside.
“Those dropped passes, there’s too many,” Hoskins said. “You’re gonna get drops in the game, but when you need it on the third down or on a good drive, and you start off the drive with a drop, you know, it’s kind of demoralizing. But we had too many drops. We’ve got to get back in and work on that on Monday.”
Buchholz, which had a couple of holding calls on its next possession, moved the ball into Eastside territory before the drive stalled. Senior punter Jay Giunta pinned the Rams deep at the 4-yard line.
A few plays later, Buchholz senior linebacker Evan Amar stepped in front of Tambling’s pass and returned it 15 yards for a touchdown. The pick-6 gave the Bobcats a 15-7 lead with 3:33 to play in the half.
The Rams had the ball at their own 5-yard line, 10-yard line, and 4-yard line in the first half.
“Being backed up, it allowed them to pin their ears back and kind of bring some pressure at us,” Hoskins said. “Then when we had to punt, they got good field position, so that played a huge part of the game.”
Another dropped pass almost ended Eastside’s next possession, but a roughing the punter penalty by Buchholz gave them new life at their own 41-yard line.
On the next play, Tambling hooked up with senior wide receiver Marcus Coefield on a 59-yard touchdown pass, as Coefield bobbled it in the air but caught it in stride. The 2-point pass play failed with 2:07 to play in the half, but the Rams were within two.
However, that’s as close as Eastside would get.
“We showed a lot of fight,” Hoskins said. “It really sucks for the seniors. That was their last chance to be able to beat Buchholz. I really feel sad for those guys. But the fight that we had tonight, we’ve got to continue to bring that throughout the rest of the season and just take it one game at a time.”
Johnson put Buchholz on his back on the Bobcats’ first drive of the second half. The senior had 67 yards rushing on a 10-play, 68-yard scoring drive that consumed 5:10 off the clock, which ended with Johnson’s 1-yard touchdown run on 2nd-and-goal.
“In the first half, I wasn’t satisfied with my performance,” Johnson said. “I felt like we needed more energy during this game. It was a lot closer than we needed it to be, than what we thought it was, so really coming out and forcing that energy out of my teammates is really what got us to push through this game.”
Giunta’s extra point gave the Bobcats a 22-13 lead with 4:51 to play in the third quarter.
Johnson had five runs of eight or more yards on the drive.
“For me, it was amazing,” he said. “I love my O-line. They blocked their butts off the entire game, but especially during that drive, it was a surge after surge after surge. It really uplifted us and gave us the boost that we needed during that time.”
The senior would have rushed for over 200 yards, but he had two long runs called back due to penalties in the first half.
“I think he came out on fire,” Mark Whittemore said. “We knew that we were going to be able to lean on him a little bit in the second half and that proved to be the case. Chris ran the ball exceptionally well.”
Eastside will travel to Trinity Catholic (Ocala) next Friday for the first of three straight trips outside of Alachua County.
“This one is behind us,” Hoskins said. “We’ve got to go back to work on Monday, same intensity that we had last week, bring that, and take it one game at a time.”
Buchholz is at Manatee (Bradenton), who defeated the Bobcats, 34-27, last year.
“Just super pleased with the way our kids fought,” Mark Whittemore said. “It’s a county rivalry game, Eastside is a quality football team, that goes without saying, but you know, we’re in a situation where we need to dot our i’s and cross our t’s.”
Football scores
Friday, Sept. 5
Buchholz 29, Eastside 19
Gainesville 20, Crystal River 7
Hawthorne 33, Florida High (Tallahassee) 27
Santa Fe (Alachua) 50, Harvest Community (Jacksonville) 0
Oak Hall 52, Seven Rivers Christian (Lecanto) 30
Vanguard (Ocala) 27, Newberry 3
Zarephath Academy (Jacksonville) 44, P.K. Yonge 6
Branford 28, Bell 7
Trenton 21, Aucilla Christian (Monticello) 20
Chiefland 21, Belleview 14
Williston 49, Paxon (Jacksonville) 7
Fort White 41, North Marion (Citra) 40
Columbia (Lake City) 27, Hillsborough (Tampa) 0
Bradford (Starke) 14, South Sumter (Bushnell) 12
Merritt Island Christian 55, Countryside Christian 16
Madison County 49, Suwannee (Live Oak) 14
Taylor County (Perry) 54, Dixie County (Cross City) 18
Trinity Prep 27, Bronson 0
OFF – Keystone Heights, Union County
