It’s Senior Night tonight at Citizens Field for the Buchholz football team, which is three wins away from its first unbeaten regular season since 2001.
The Bobcats (7-0, 2-0) get their biggest test of the season against Bartram Trail (St. Johns) in a battle for the Class 4S-District 3 title.
Both teams are ranked in the top 11 of the latest regional all-classification football rankings.
The Bears (4-3, 2-0) defeated the Bobcats during the regular season last year to win the district title. However, Buchholz won at 12-0 Bartram Trail, 21-20, in the 4S-Region 1 final and advanced to the state semifinals.
Their three losses this season have come against Class 3S No. 1 Mainland (Daytona Beach) by four points, at 3S No. 2 St. Augustine by three points, and to nationally ranked IMG Academy (Bradenton).
They boast two Division-I players in their offensive backfield.
Quarterback Riley Trujillo (UCF commit) is a 3-star prospect according to 247Sports. The senior has thrown for 643 yards and rushed for 174 yards (6.0 yards per carry) despite missing three games due to injury.
Senior running back Laython Biddle (Navy commit) averages 136 yards rushing per game and has scored 13 rushing TDs. He should go over 1,000 yards rushing tonight (953 yards).
“We’ve become very familiar with both Biddle and Trujillo over the last three seasons,” Bell said. “Both are outstanding players who can stress a defense in a lot of ways. We’ll have to generate a consistent pass rush if we hope to limit Trujillo’s passing and emphasize gang tackling against Biddle if we hope to limit his rushing abilities.”
The Bobcats have been getting it done on defense, particularly in their past three games against Vanguard (Ocala), GHS and Oakleaf (Orange Park), allowing a total of 20 points.
For the season, Buchholz is giving up just 12 points and 221 yards of total offense per game.
“Experience has been the key for us defensively this year,” said Buchholz first-year coach Chuck Bell. “Of our 11 starters on defense, eight were returning starters from last season. The scheme we run on defense is relatively complex for the high school level, so the more experience kids have in our system the better they play and the better our unit produces overall.”
Buchholz counters with two Division-I commits, so far, on defense.
Florida commits Kendall Jackson and Myles Graham are tied for fourth with 26 tackles, but leading the way is senior outside linebacker Matthew Kade, who has 47 tackles, three sacks and eight tackles for a loss.
The Bobcats have their own playmakers on offense.
Sophomore quarterback Trace Johnson has thrown for 1,399 yards with 19 TDs and only four interceptions, while senior running back Quinton Cutler has carried the ball 84 times for 576 yards in six games (6.86 ypc).
Sophomore Justin Williams leads the team with 32 catches for 569 yards and nine receiving TDs.
Bell believes there is one thing in particular that will separate the winner from the loser.
“The tougher team will win on Thursday,” he said. “In a game like this, both physical toughness and mental toughness will be necessary to get the job done and to bring home the win.”
Kickoff is at 7 p.m. You can listen to the game online at Mainstreet Daily News beginning at 6:45 p.m. with Marty Pallman (Play-by-play) and Cam Parker (Color) on the call.
Our radio broadcast (106.9 FM “I am Country”) is P.K. Yonge at Newberry.\
The Blue Wave had a rare meeting against Oak Hall this past Friday.
P.K. Yonge built an 8-0 lead at the half, but the host Eagles rallied with 20 unanswered points in the second half to win 20-8, dropping the Blue Wave to 3-4 on the season.
Newberry, which is ranked fourth in Class 1R in this week’s state football rankings, cruised to a 38-0 win at Class 2S Eastside.
The Panthers (5-2) bounced back from a 24-22 loss at home in the final minute to Williston, which is ranked No. 1 in Class 1R in the latest FHSAA football rankings.
“It was good to get back on the field after a tough loss and I was happy to see our response as a group,” said Newberry coach Ed Johnson. “Our defense was definitely the key, especially our front 7, they dominated all night.”
Johnson said they were able to keep the Rams out of the end zone by “getting a lot of pressure on their QB and tackling their athletes in space.”
It was the second shutout of the season for Newberry, which was in the Rams’ offensive backfield all night.
Junior Mykah Newton had four of the Panthers’ 10 sacks, while junior Logan McCloud registered three sacks and four hurries.
Sophomore quarterback Keil McGriff threw for 211 yards, giving him over 1,000 yards on the season (1,047). He has completed 59% of his passes with 12 touchdowns and only four interceptions.
Running back Kaleb Woods has a chance to go over 1,000 yards on Friday. The sophomore, who rushed for 105 yards on 17 carries with a TD last week, has 927 yards on 125 carries this season (7.2 ypc).
Another sophomore, Hayden Moore, had 112 yards receiving and a pair of touchdowns on eight catches last week.
This is the first year for alum Willie Jackson, Jr., who was hired in May as head coach of the Blue Wave.
Their offensive line weighs an average of 300 pounds and recent transfer quarterback Lawrence Wright Jr., has 351 yards rushing (6.9 ypc) in just four games.
“PKY is a well-coached team with some athletes that can make plays,” Johnson said. “We will have to contain their QB, not give up any big plays, and execute on the offensive side of the ball.”
Here is this week’s broadcast info:
Thursday, 6:45 p.m. (PREGAME) – High School Football, 7 p.m. (Kickoff)
Bartram Trail (St. Johns) at Buchholz
‘Live’ & ‘archived’ AUDIO: https://www.mainstreetdailynews.com/sports/live-stream/
Join Marty Pallman (Play-by-play) and Cam Parker (Color) for the Class 4S-District 3 title from Citizens Field. It’s also Senior Night for Buchholz. The visiting Bears won the district title last year but the Bobcats defeated the Bears in last year’s region final to advance to the state semifinals.
Friday, 7 p.m. (PREGAME) – High School Football, 7:30 (KICKOFF)
P.K. Yonge 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 Alachua County showdown.