- The Buchholz girls golf team will appear on "The Prep Zone Sports Show" on Wednesday.
- Gainesville and Eastside football teams each won their first district games last week and will face off Friday at Citizens Field. It will be livestreamed on mainstreetdailynews.com.
- Bell football, unbeaten at 4-0, will play Keystone Heights in an SSAA game broadcast on 106.9 FM I Am Country at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
It has already been a busy week for the Buchholz girls golf team.
On Monday, the Lady Bobcats traveled to Quail Heights Country Club to face Columbia (Lake City). Then on Tuesday, they hosted Bartram Trail (St. Johns) at Hawkstone Country Club (formerly Haile Plantation Golf and Country Club).
Tonight from 6-7 p.m., head coach Marc Ellard and the Lady Bobcats will be our guests on “The Prep Zone Sports Show” from the locally owned Sonic Drive-In of Gainesville (39th Avenue).
Join Mainstreet Daily News sports director Mike Ridaught as he talks about the season to date, upcoming matches, plus the postseason, which begins with FHSAA district tournament play in a little over a month (Oct. 26-28).
You can listen to the show ‘live’ and ‘archived’ online at ThePrepZone.com & Mainstreet Daily News (MDN).
Then at 7 p.m. on Friday, the Gainesville football team will host rival Eastside in a city showdown at Citizens Field.
Last week, GHS and Eastside picked up their first wins of the season, and both games were district games.
Eastside defeated Belleview, 13-9, on the road in the Class 3A-District 5 opener for both teams.
The Rams converted a fourth-and-15 at the Belleview 44-yard line with 1:11 to play as junior quarterback Andrew Sutherland threw a 41-yard pass down the right sideline to senior Elijah Hamilton.
Following a false start at the Rattlers’ 3-yard line and a 2-yard rushing loss, Sutherland threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to junior Malicah Williams as the Rams (1-3) scored the game-winner with 40 seconds to play.
GHS (1-3) defeated Lecanto, 34-27, in the Class 4A-District 5 opener for both teams. It was also the first victory for first-year head coach Ashour Peera.
Eastside transfer running back Javaris Gardner scored three touchdowns, including an 80-yard kickoff return on the final play of the first half.
Last year, the Rams defeated the Hurricanes, 63-0, on Senior Night for their fourth straight victory in the series. In fact, Eastside has outscored GHS, 174-0, during the current winning streak.
Join Cam Parker (Play-by-play) and former University of Wisconsin football player/coach Mac McCray (Color) beginning at 6:45 p.m. on MDN.
The trend continues for our radio broadcasts.
All four football game broadcasts have been decided by single digits, including Suwannee’s 1-point win in Live Oak against GHS in Week 3.
This Friday could be the exception.
Unbeaten Bell will host Keystone Heights in a Sunshine State Athletic Association (SSAA) game at 7:30 p.m.
The visiting Indians (1-3) have been outscored 190-54, including a 56-7 loss at Hilliard last week, under first-year coach Cameron Porch. Its lone win came against P.K. Yonge, 33-8, on Aug. 28.
The host Bulldogs (4-0), who picked up a forfeit win against Harvest Community (Jacksonville) last week, have home victories against Hamilton County (28-26) and Branford (27-14), along with a 13-7 win at Interlachen.
“We’ve been playing really good on defense in the first half of the season,” said Bell coach Joey Whittington, who is in his 14th season. “We are winning the turnover battle and holding opponents to low scores. Needed to clean up penalties after the Hamilton game but have done a good job of playing clean vs. Interlachen and Branford. Establishing our run game and controlling the clock has helped us play our style of football.”
In three games, senior quarterback R.J. Leffler leads the team in rushing with 342 yards on 62 carries with four touchdowns. He has also completed 12-of-19 passes for 158 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Senior running back Landin Williams has carried the ball 50 times for 277 yards with four touchdowns.
“The O-line has been playing pretty decent but still have a ways to go,” Whittington said. “We lost our center, Clayton Hancock, in the first half of the Hamilton game, so we had to do some shuffling there, but those guys have stepped up and are leading the way.
Williams and Leffler are averaging 5.5 yards per carry behind an offensive line that returned four starters.
“We didn’t run the ball very well against Interlachen, due to their coaches having a great game plan,” Whittington said. “However, against Branford and Hamilton, we were able to get it going a little better. R.J. and Landin do a great job within our system and are both tough runners for us who can get loose when given the opportunity.”
Before the season, Whittington said avoiding injuries would be Bell’s biggest challenge this season.
“For the most part we are healthy, but we’ve lost a two-way starter in Hancock,” he said. “The guys are stepping up into those positions; he’s hard to replace, though. We have a few more banged up but playing through it, which is good to have tough kids. We’re definitely in a better situation than the beginning of last year.”
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.