The Gainesville football team faced another setback Friday night.
Before the team’s Homecoming and Senior Night game at Citizens Field, junior running back Javaris Gardner became ill and was taken to UF Health Shands Hospital.
However, offense, defense and special teams all contributed to a 23-16 win against Mount Dora in a Class 4A-District 5 game.
“It’s been a long week,” said interim GHS coach Ray Smith. “Obviously, we had a double header this week, right? We had to play on Monday (at Lake Weir) and then bring it back, right back around this Friday. Yeah, it feels good to get a dub with my guys, man. These guys deserve it. They’ve been through a lot.”
The host Hurricanes (3-5, 2-2) overcame turnovers and penalties, along with opportunities to put the game away, but they never trailed against the visiting Hurricanes (3-5, 1-3).
“We had some high peaks and we had some lows,” Smith said. “Obviously, we need to clean up the penalties, the unsportsmanlike calls; I gotta make sure my house is in order before I step foot on another gridiron again. But in conclusion, I enjoyed the win.”
Senior Zohn-ray Rochelle set the tone when he blocked a punt on Mount Dora’s opening possession from their own 39-yard line. The ball rolled out of the end zone for a safety and a 2-0 GHS lead with 6:30 remaining in the first quarter.
“I had one against Eastside, same type of way,” Rochelle said. “I told my teammate Sam (Warren) that I was gonna block it before he even kicked it… I knew this game was gonna be very special for me. You know, last one, last year, so it just means a lot.”
Junior Anthony Jenkins returned the ensuing kick into Mount Dora territory, giving GHS the ball at the 49-yard line to begin their first offensive possession.
Junior running back Keihonest Perry ripped off a 28-yard run and Jenkins capped the scoring drive with a 17-yard touchdown reception from junior quarterback Joshua McClellan. Senior Sebastian Jimenez’s extra point extended the lead to 10-0 with 3:34 to play in the first quarter.
Early in the second quarter, following a turnover on downs by GHS in their own territory, Mount Dora moved the ball inside the Purple Hurricanes’ 10-yard line. Mount Dora senior Kobe Blackmon fumbled, and Rochelle recovered to end the drive.
Gainesville picked up a first down but was flagged for holding, which moved the ball back to the GHS 4-yard line.
A fumble in the end zone on the next play was recovered by the visiting Hurricanes for a touchdown and senior Anthony Castillo’s extra point cut it to three, 10-7, with 8:27 remaining in the half.
That’s the way the first half ended, but GHS quickly regained the momentum on the second-half kick, which was returned by Jenkins from inside the 10-yard line to the Mount Dora 44-yard line.
On the first play from scrimmage, Perry took it to the house. His 44-yard touchdown run gave the Purple Hurricanes a 17-7 lead just 18 seconds into the second half.
Mount Dora had a turnover on downs and a punt on their first two possessions of the second half, but the visiting Hurricanes got within a score on a 35-yard field goal by Castillo with 7:46 remaining in the game.
An 11-yard sack by GHS senior Jyquan Wooden-James helped hold Mount Dora to a field goal.
Gainesville began its next drive at its own 46-yard line and got runs of nine and three yards by Perry to move the ball to the Mount Dora 39-yard line. A 15-yard pass play from McClellan to senior Byron Jones down the GHS sidelines moved the first-down sticks.
On the next play, Jenkins scored on a 24-yard jet sweep for a 23-10 lead with 5:28 left.
“AJ’s a great athlete,” Smith said. “Obviously, we’re going to clean up some of the things when it comes to mechanics, but he’s a good guy. He’s a leader. He does the nasty work, right? He’s on the block. You see, when he’s got the ball in his hands, he’s able to get more out of it because he has that grit about him.”
Mount Dora answered on a 33-yard pass from senior quarterback Nick Kerr to senior Chase Strickland with 4:02 remaining, but the Gainesville defense forced a turnover on downs on their final possession, putting GHS in victory formation.
GHS will end the regular season next Friday with a district game at Leesburg (0-7) with a chance to double its win total from the 2025 season (2-8).
“We’ve been through a lot as a team, but you know all we can do really is give all glory to God,” Rochelle said. “We fought through adversity as a team. We’ve been practicing hard, and it’s been a lot that we’ve been going through…but we can finish strong, so that’s what we’re trying to do for these last two district games that we have.”
Thursday, Oct. 15
Dunnellon 22, Santa Fe (Alachua) 17
Friday, Oct. 16
Baker County (Glen St. Mary) 34, Fort White 32
Bell 56, P.K. Yonge 20
Bradford (Starke) 27, University Christian (Jacksonville) 24
Chiefland 20, Moore Haven 6
Columbia (Lake City) 42, Ed White (Jacksonville) 22
Countryside Christian 26, Cornerstone Academy 0
Gainesville 23, Mount Dora 16
Hawthorne 38, Hardee (Wauchula) 3
Hilliard 28, Dixie County (Cross City) 22
Lafayette (Mayo) 19, Trenton 14
Newberry 13, Palatka 7
Oak Hall School 21, St. Joseph Academy (St. Augustine) 14
Paxon (Jacksonville) 50, Keystone Heights 0
Saint Francis Catholic Academy 57, Calvary Chapel Academy (West Melbourne) 6
Union County (Lake Butler) 56, Father Lopez Catholic (Daytona Beach) 38
Williston 52, Hamilton County (Jasper) 21
OFF – Branford, Bronson, Buchholz, Eastside, Suwannee (Live Oak)
