The Gainesville Quarterback Club held its annual holiday dinner at the Best Western Gateway Grand on Tuesday night.

In their final meeting of 2024, there were jabs thrown at Florida State, which included the return of the Governor’s Cup after it resided in Tallahassee for the past two years.

Plus, former Gainesville Sun columnist Pat Dooley talked about the Gators and their upcoming bowl game against Tulane.

The Gainesville Quarterback Club, which is known as the “Oldest Gator Booster Club in the World” presented a $5,000 check to Gator Boosters, Inc. That is part of their 10th scholarship endowment fund that they have with them ($50,000 endowment).

But highlighting the event were the annual awards given out to the top high school players and achievements in Alachua County from this past fall.

“It’s a celebration of the whole season basically, and having an opportunity to honor some players at the local level who are going to go on to the next level is something that we’re very excited about,” said Jay Nordqvist, the outgoing captain, also known as the president.

The first presentation was for the Buchholz football team, which won the city championship for the sixth straight year.

The award recognized the best team among the largest schools in Alachua County (Buchholz, Eastside, and Gainesville).

The Bobcats have won 11 in a row against Eastside, including a 35-7 win in September, and they ran their win streak to six in a row against GHS with a 52-7 win in October. The Hurricanes last defeated the Bobcats, 31-21, in 2017.

“It really is a pleasure having this to compete for with Gainesville and Eastside,” Buchholz coach Mark Whittemore said as he received the award. “We just really appreciate you guys for your constant support and for you not only looking out for the University of Florida but also local schools.”

Justin Williams of Buchholz received the Offensive Player of the Year award following a sensational junior season.

“It means a lot,” he said. “It really represents our team, our program. Coach Whit did a great job of developing me and turning me into the player that I am today.”

Although he had played running back some, Williams was moved to running back full-time against Tocoi Creek (St. Augustine) on Monday, Oct. 14, and he had his coming out party in the backfield with 10 carries for 146 yards and five touchdowns.

He added a pair of touchdown receptions to set the school record with seven touchdowns in a game.

“We had our starting running back quit, they needed me to fill a role and I was willing to do it and it was history from there,” said Williams, who played running back in middle school and was moved to wide receiver in eighth grade.

This past year, Williams helped lead Buchholz (10-4) to its fourth straight state semifinal by rushing for over 1,000 yards (108 carries for 1,023 yards and 16 touchdowns) and adding over 1,400 yards receiving (85 receptions for 1,473 yards and 13 TDs).

“I am really pushing to get him on the ballot for the Florida Dairy Farmers Player of the Year,” Whittemore said. “We had Creed (Whittemore, 2022 Mr. Football), and then Myles (Graham) as runner-up…from a production standpoint, it’s unheard of. He’s a special player.”

In the season finale last Friday, a 41-35 loss to Osceola (Kissimmee) in the Class 6A state semifinals, Williams had 11 catches for 180 yards with three touchdowns.

He has drawn comparisons to Deebo Samuel Sr. and Christian McCaffrey of the San Francisco 49ers, based on his ability to play running back and wide receiver.

“I would say I’m both, but it doesn’t matter to me which position I play,” he said. “As long as I’m on the field, I’m having fun and getting the balls in my hands.”

Williams, who has offers from Ole Miss and USF, averaged 178 yards rushing and receiving per game.

“Our game plan was to put the ball in his hands a lot and the easiest way to do that was as the running back position,” Whittemore said. “It was a move that took us from 3-3 to the final four. He is arguably the best running back and the best receiver in our area, simultaneously.”

Newberry defensive tackle Jarquez Carter was named the Defensive Player of the Year. The Ohio State University signee finished with 84 tackles, including 17 sacks and 48 tackles for a loss.

“He’s the best high school football player I’ve ever seen from a mental aspect, preparation, dedication, football IQ, a plan, a focus. He’s driven, he’s humble, he’s a Christian, he follows God, and then you watch him on Friday nights and he rips off the opposing team’s heads,” Newberry football coach Ed Johnson said as he introduced Carter. “He has an insane amount of big plays for us…if you see him work, you’re not surprised about it, and I know that Ryan Day (Ohio State football coach) and those Buckeyes are getting one hell of a player.”

Carter has amassed over 300 career tackles in his four-year career with the Panthers.

Johnson was named the Coach of the Year after leading the Panthers (10-3) to their first district title since 2007 and their first 10-win season since finishing 13-1 that season.

They defeated last year’s state runner-up, Bradford (Starke), twice, including a 21-7 win at home in October to win the 2A-District 5 title. They also defeated the Tornadoes on the road last month, 34-19, to advance to the elite eight.

“It’s a complete honor,” said Johnson, who also thanked his former high school basketball coach, Scott McDaniel, and his former football coach, Kevin Purvis, who were both in attendance. “I want to thank God, I want to thank my wife, and my kids, my assistant coaches, they’re a big part of this. I can’t do it by myself, and obviously our players. You’ve got to have good players to be a good coach.”

It was the second award for Johnson, who also won in 2019 after guiding the Panthers to a 9-2 record and playoff appearance in his first season as head coach.

“I think we exceeded everybody’s expectations,” he said. “We won 10 games, first time we’ve done that in a while, got to practice on Thanksgiving, which was the first time for me as a coach, so that was a blessing, and the kids fought. They came together as a group and saw that when you really work together for a common goal you can do special things.”

Zane Spires of Newberry received the Scholar Athlete of the Year award thanks to a 4.2 grade point average.

“It’s the biggest honor I’ve ever gotten,” said Spires, who will take a recruiting trip to Buena Vista University in Iowa this Friday. “Not only to show that I can prove my skills on the field, but I can also show my skills in the classroom off the field, and I think it speaks volumes for who I am as a person.”

Spires, who is on the Panthers’ boys soccer team and has been playing soccer since he was the age of six, never kicked a football until Johnson saw him playing kickball in PE and asked him to try out his sophomore year.

“Zane kicks butt in the classroom first off, we never have to worry about his grades, and then on the field he grew,” Johnson said. “We got to see him grow year by year which is the special part about high school coaching.”

As a senior, Spires made 31-of-33 extra points and was 8-of-13 on field goal kicks, including two 49-yard field goals against Lafayette (Mayo) in the Kickoff Classic and the regular season finale at Trinity Catholic (Ocala). He also finished the year with 24 touchbacks.

Next year the Gainesville Quarterback Club, which was founded in 1950, will celebrate its 75th anniversary. For more information about the GQC, visit them online at https://quarterbackclub.org/