We are entering the final week of the regular season for high school football.
We’ll find out on Sunday who made this year’s FHSAA state playoffs.
If the season ended today, a total of 14 teams in the Mainstreet Daily News coverage area would make the postseason.
The Eastside football team, which has been somewhat predictable this year, is one of them.
The Rams (6-3) have easily beaten the teams that they should have, and they’ve struggled mightily against better competition.
But that bodes well for Friday night as the Rams host 1-8 GHS on Senior Night in a city showdown from Citizens Field.
Fridays’ rivalry will be broadcast online (audio only) beginning at 7:20 p.m. with Cam Parker (Play-by-play) and Matt Rothmann (Color) on the call. Kickoff is at approximately 7:35 p.m.
Last week Eastside cruised to a 47-0 win at Santa Fe (Alachua) to win the Class 2S-District 7 title.
In head coach Harold “Gator” Hoskins’ first season last year, the Rams won their first district title in 10 years.
“It feels great, especially locking in a spot in the playoffs, that feels great,” Hoskins said. “To go back-to-back as district champs, first time that’s happened at Eastside in quite a while, so it feels great.”
In games against Inlet Grove (Riviera Beach), Keystone Heights, North Marion (Citra), Ridgeview (Orange Park), St. Joseph Academy (St. Augustine), and Santa Fe, who have a combined record of 12-42, Eastside is 6-0 and has outscored the opposition, 231-9, including five shutouts.
Only Keystone Heights (5-4) has more than three wins.
Against state-ranked teams Buchholz, which is No. 1 in Class 4S, 2S No. 3 Bradford (Starke), and 1R No. 4 Newberry, Eastside has been outscored 107-7.
Their opponent on Friday night, GHS, has been outscored 316-111. Their only win came against winless Santa Fe on Sept. 21 to snap a 15-game losing streak.
However, GHS has been shutout in their last two games against Matanzas (Palm Coast) and St. Augustine and outscored by a combined 91-0.
“It’s a city rival,” Hoskins said. “It has nothing to do with the records. Everybody is going to be playing tough, everybody knows everybody so I’m expecting them to come out and give us their best shot.”
Last year the Rams blanked the Hurricanes, 36-0, and picked up their first win in the series since 2008. That snapped a 14-game losing streak in the series.
Meanwhile, our radio broadcast this week is Buchholz at Trinity Catholic (Ocala).
The Bobcats improved to 9-0 last week, but it wasn’t easy.
Buchholz trailed Class 4S-District 3 opponent Fleming Island (Orange Park) on the road at the half, 7-6, and they were behind, 21-13, at the end of the third quarter.
However, the Bobcats were able to outscore the Golden Eagles, 22-0, in the fourth quarter thanks to a couple of turnovers, which helped give the offense some much needed short fields.
“We had a lackluster week of practice and that carried over to Friday’s slow start,” said first-year Buchholz head coach Chuck Bell. “A lot of credit should also go to the Fleming Island coaching staff and their players. They played very hard and were able to go toe-to-toe with us for three quarters.”
The victory helped the Bobcats stay on track to complete their first perfect regular season since 2001.
On Friday night they will travel to Ocala to face Trinity Catholic, which was in the Class 1S state championship game last year.
The host Celtics (3-6) imposed a running clock on P.K. Yonge last Thursday in a 49-8 drubbing of the Blue Wave to claim their second straight Class 1S-District 3 title.
“Anytime you face a John Brantley-led team you expect to see a disciplined team with a big offensive line, this year is no different,” Bell said. “They have played some very good teams this year and kept it close with all of them, so their overall record is not indicative of the quality of team that Trinity Catholic has this season. They are coming off of a state championship appearance and have competed against some of the top talent in the state.”
Last week’s scare could rejuvenate the Bobcats, but Bell said there are several keys to securing a win on the road.
“Defensively, we’ll hope to disrupt their quarterback as much as possible, and on the offensive side of the ball we hope to execute with more efficiency than we did last week in the run game,” he said. “In order to win the game and finish the regular season undefeated we need to play with more energy than last week and do a better job of limiting turnovers.”
I’ll handle the play-by-play of the game along with former Gator football player Hank Rone (Color) and Aiden Wacksman (Pregame/Halftime/Postgame) on 106.9 FM “I Am Country” and audio online at IamCountryRadio.com.
Our coverage begins at 6:30 p.m., followed by the kickoff at 7 p.m.
Catch both games ‘live’ and ‘archived’ on Friday night.
Friday, 6:30 p.m. (PREGAME) – High School Football, 7 p.m. (KICKOFF)
Buchholz at Trinity Catholic (Ocala)
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 University of Florida football player Hank Rone (Color), and Aiden Wacksman (Pregame/Halftime/Postgame) for this Alachua County vs. Marion County showdown. With a win, the Bobcats would finish the regular season unbeaten for the first time since 2001.
Friday, 7:20 p.m. (PREGAME) – High School Football, 7:35 p.m. (Kickoff)
Gainesville at Eastside
‘Live’ & ‘archived’ AUDIO: https://www.mainstreetdailynews.com/sports/live-stream/
Join Cam Parker (Play-by-play) and Matthew Rothmann (Color) for this city showdown. The Rams won last year’s meeting for the first time since 2008.