- Eastside High School boys swim team won the Rob Ramirez City Championship for the fourth consecutive year, and the girls won their second straight title.
- Buchholz and Santa Fe football teams, both undefeated, will face off Thursday in the 'War on I-75' broadcast on Mainstreet Daily News.
- Eastside will host undefeated Bradford football team Friday with coverage starting at 7 p.m. on 106.9 FM and online at IamCountryGainesville.com.
Tonight from 6 to 7 p.m., Eastside High School girls and boys swimming & diving coach Jon Allen and members of both swim teams will be our guests on “The Prep Zone Sports Show” from the locally owned Sonic Drive-In of Gainesville (Archer Road).
This past Saturday, the EHS boys swim team won the Rob Ramirez City Championship for the fourth straight year while the girls won their second straight title. Last year, the boys finished fifth at the FHSAA Class 2A state meet while the girls placed seventh.
Join Mainstreet Daily News sports director Mike Ridaught as he talks about the season to date, last week’s city titles, plus the postseason, which begins with district tournament meets at the end of October (Monday-Saturday, Oct. 26-31).
You can listen to the show ‘live’ and ‘archived’ online at ThePrepZone.com and Mainstreet Daily News (MDN).
For the second straight week, we have a matchup of unbeaten football teams as part of our broadcast coverage.
On Thursday at 7 p.m., Buchholz will travel to Santa Fe (Alachua) for an Alachua County showdown. It has been dubbed the “War on I-75.” This is the first time the Bobcats and Raiders have faced each other on the gridiron since Buchholz’s 52-0 victory on Nov. 5, 2020.
Last Thursday, the visiting Bobcats (6-0) scored 24 unanswered points to rally past Forest (Ocala), 38-20, in a Class 5A-District 3 matchup at Citizens Field. Santa Fe (5-0) remained undefeated with a 47-0 win at North Marion (Citra) in a 3A-District 5 game.
Both offenses have shown explosive ability. The Bobcats average 34.2 points per game, and the Raiders average 37.2 PPG.
Buchholz junior quarterback Andrew Whittemore, who holds an offer from Florida, has thrown for 805 yards with 10 touchdowns and four interceptions. He has also rushed for a team-best 416 yards on 60 carries (6.9 yards per carry) with five touchdowns.
Santa Fe senior running back Jasiah Powell, who transferred from Buchholz two years ago, is 13th overall in the state and second in Class 3A with 834 yards rushing and he is second in 3A and 13th in Florida with 14 touchdowns.
Join Marty Pallman (Play-by-play) and former University of Wisconsin football player/coach Mac McCray (Color) beginning at 6:45 p.m. on MDN.
Last Friday, the streak continued for our radio broadcasts. For the sixth consecutive week, our high school football Game-of-the-Week on 106.9 FM “I am Country” was decided by single digits.
In fact, the combined margin of victory in the last two games broadcast on the radio totaled five points. Two weeks ago, Keystone Heights upset Bell, 16-13, in overtime, and last week Dunnellon edged Eastside, 23-21, at Citizens Field in a 3A-District 5 battle.
This Friday, Eastside (1-5) will host another undefeated team. Visiting Bradford (Starke), which is 6-0, looks to extend its winning streak to six in a row in the series.
The Tornadoes, who average 47.7 points per game, are led offensively by junior quarterback Cy Cubbedge, who has offers from FIU and Wake Forest University. He has thrown for 875 yards with 12 touchdowns and only one interception. He also has 260 yards and six touchdowns on the ground on 38 carries (6.8 YPC).
Bradford has a one-two punch in the backfield in junior Iyen Addison (70 carries, 603 yards, 100.5 yards per game, 7 TDs) and senior Drew Simmons (78 carries, 566 yards, 94.3 YPG, 2 TDs).
Six different players have caught a touchdown, led by junior Kaidrin Jackson (15 receptions, 247 yards, 5 TDs) and sophomore Calvin Mosley (11 catches, 240 yards, 3 TDs).
Ross Baker is in his first season as head coach of the Tornadoes.
In last week’s loss to the Tigers (6-0), Eastside junior quarterback Andrew “Cade” Sutherland had touchdown passes of 54, 91 and 50 yards. Senior wide receiver Braeden Brockington scored the first two and junior Malicah Williams had the third touchdown.
Join Mainstreet Daily News Sports Director Mike Ridaught (Play-by-play) and former Gator football player Hank Rone (Color) for all the action.
Coverage begins at 7 p.m. on 106.9 FM “I am Country,” followed by the kickoff at 7:30 p.m. In addition to radio, audio coverage of the game is available at IamCountryGainesville.com.
You can also listen to our weekly football interview with Becky Dee previewing our Game(s)-of-the-Week every Thursday at 7:50 a.m. on 106.9 FM “I am Country” and online at IamCountryGainesville.com.