There’s a new No. 1 team in Class 4S.
Buchholz, which has advanced to back-to-back state semifinal appearances, received 10 of the 13 first-place votes to move into the top spot of the USA Today Florida Network high school football state rankings for week No. 7.
If the season ended today, the Bobcats (5-0) would be the top seed in 4S-Region 1 in the FHSAA state playoffs, which begin on Nov. 10.
4S-Region 1
(1) Buchholz* vs. (8) Flagler Palm Coast
(4) Leon (Tallahassee) vs. (5) Ponte Vedra
(3) Pace vs. (6) Bartram Trail (St. Johns)*
(2) Niceville vs. (7) Creekside (St. Johns)*
Outside looking in: Oakleaf (Orange Park)*
*Class 4S-District 3 teams
“Couldn’t be more proud of the way our team has started the year,” said Buchholz coach Chuck Bell, whose team is 1-0 in 4S-District 3 with district fates to be decided this month. “Offensively, I’m proud of the idea that as the season has progressed, we’ve found different ways to attack opponents and keep defenses on their heels. Essentially, we’ve avoided being one-dimensional in any aspect.”
Offensively, they are averaging 41.6 points per game with a sophomore at quarterback (Trace Johnson) and senior running back Quinton Cutler out for a short period of time due to injury.
However, University of Florida commit Myles Graham helped fill the void in a 49-20 Class 4S-District 3 win against Creekside (St. Johns) with a career-high effort (204 yards), earning him Athlete of the Week honors.
Cutler returned to form in a 30-10 win against state-ranked Vanguard (Ocala) a couple of weeks ago.
After allowing 44 points in its first two games, the Bobcats have allowed just 30 points in their last three games.
“Defensively, I’m proud of the improvements that our players have made since the Kickoff Classic,” Bell said. “We’ve done a much better job eliminating big plays and increasing our physicality across the board on Defense.
The Bobcats, who step outside of district play at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday to play city rival Gainesville, were off last week.
“The bye week was very good for us,” Bell said. “First, we had some players that needed a little rest to get back to full speed for this week’s game against the Purple Hurricanes. We were also able to hone in on a few areas that needed improvement, specifically on special teams. We were able to install some new concepts on offense and defense to build upon as we go through our extremely difficult 3-game district stretch which begins on 10/13 against Oakleaf.”
Buchholz won last year’s meeting, 49-0, for its fourth straight win in the series.
GHS (1-4) snapped a 15-game losing streak with a 49-21 win against Santa Fe (Alachua) on Sept. 21.
Last week, the Hurricanes made mistakes, had costly penalties, and gave up big plays in a 30-14 Class 3S-District 4 loss at home to Menendez (St. Augustine), eliminating GHS from a spot in the postseason.
However, Bell knows his team must be ready to play.
“We expect the Purple Hurricanes to come out and give us their best shot at Citizens Field on Thursday night,” Bell said. “Our keys to victory will be managing our emotions in a rivalry game such as this, limiting turnovers on offense and eliminating big plays on defense.”
Thursday’s game will be broadcast online (audio only) at Mainstreet Daily News beginning at 7:15 p.m. with Cam Parker (Play-by-play) and Aiden Wacksman (Color) on the call.
Meanwhile, our radio broadcast (106.9 FM “I am Country”) this week is a Class 1R-Region 4 showdown between Williston and Newberry.
In the new FHSAA rankings which were released on Tuesday, the visiting Red Devils are the top-ranked team in Class 1R, followed by defending state champion Hawthorne (5-0) at No. 2 and No. 3 Newberry (4-1).
Last week Williston improved to 6-0 with a 56-0 win against North Florida Educational Institute of Jacksonville. It was the first shutout of the season for the Red Devils and the fourth time that they’ve held their opponent to seven points or less this season.
“So far we have gotten a little better each week,” said Williston coach Robby Pruitt. “We have to improve in several areas to be a complete threat, special teams, defensive secondary, and more consistent in the passing game.”
With 280 points scored, Williston is averaging 46.7 points per game.
They’re averaging 8.7 yards per carry on the ground and 287 yards per game rushing.
Junior Jamari Williams leads the team with 428 yards rushing. He is averaging 10 yards per carry and is tied with senior Jace McDonald (346 yards) with nine touchdowns rushing.
Newberry counters with the 1-2 punch of sophomores Keil McGriff and Kaleb Woods.
McGriff has completed 56.2% of his passes (36-of-64) for 586 yards, eight TDs, and four interceptions, while Woods (7.6 yards per carry) has rushed for 665 yards and 10 TDs, including four 100-yard games.
They are averaging 35.4 ppg.
“I’m pleased with how we’re playing right now up to this point of the season,” said Newberry coach Ed Johnson. “I feel like we’ve still got a lot of work to do. I think every coach says that, but we do. But I like where we’re at. We control our own destiny as far as the playoffs so we’re excited.”
Their only loss this season was a 40-10 defeat at home to second-ranked Hawthorne on Sept. 1.
There’s one thing Johnson said his team learned about the loss to the Hornets.
“A lot of humility,” he said. “I think that’s the biggest thing we took away from that game. If you want to play like champions, you’ve got to practice like champions. They’re a really good team. We learned that we’ve got to get a lot better.”
If the season ended today, Williston would receive a bye as the top seed in Region 4, while Newberry would host Dixie County (Cross City).
1R-Region 4
(1) Williston
(4) Pahokee vs. (5) Chiefland
(3) Newberry vs. (6) Dixie County
(2) Hawthorne
“Newberry is a very talented team with great size and speed,” Pruitt said. “They have improved week to week. We will have to stop the explosive plays on offense and do a good job on first down plays to have a chance at beating them.”
Johnson knows it will take a complete game effort to knock off the Red Devils.
“They are extremely well coached,” Johnson said. “I think Coach Pruitt is one of the best ever to do it. They’re discipline. They’re going to play hard. They’re going to be physical for 48 minutes. They’ve got a great quarterback (Shooby Coleman) that is a leader, a stable of running backs, so we’re going to have to play well and make them get in uncomfortable situations offensively. We’ve got to win on first down and put them in third and longs and situations they’re not used to.”
Catch both games ‘live’ and ‘archived’ on Friday night.
Thursday, 7:15 p.m. (PREGAME) – High School Football, 7:30 p.m. (Kickoff)
Buchholz at GHS
‘Live’ & ‘archived’ AUDIO: https://www.mainstreetdailynews.com/sports/live-stream/
Join Cam Parker (Play-by-play) and Aiden Wacksman (Color) for this city showdown from Citizens Field. The Bobcats won their fourth straight in the series last year.
Friday, 7 p.m. (PREGAME) – High School Football, 7:30 (KICKOFF)
Williston at Newberry
Radio: “I am Country” 106.9 FM Gainesville
‘Live’ audio: https://streamdb6web.securenetsystems.net/cirrusencore/WPLL
Join Mainstreet Daily News Sports Director Mike Ridaught (Play-by-play), former Gator football player Hank Rone (Color), and Aiden Wacksman (Pregame, Halftime, Postgame) for this Class 1R showdown. Both teams are ranked top three in the state.