Mike Ridaught
Senior quarterback Creed Whittemore of Buchholz High School has been named the 2022 Florida Dairy Farmers Mr. Football following a final round of voting by a statewide panel of high school football coaches and media representatives.
“I was running routes when my dad called me and told me,” Whittemore said. “The coolest thing is the guys who came before me. It’s great to be on the same trophy that they were on.”
Whittemore, the Class 4S Player of the Year, easily won the award by finishing with 15 of the 25 first-place votes and 183 points. Class 2S POY Blake Boda of Cocoa was the runner-up, receiving four first-place votes and finishing with 116 points.
“Blessed to have been a small part of Creed’s high school career,” said new Buchholz football coach Chuck Bell, who was the team’s defensive coordinator last season. “His tenacity and electricity on Friday nights was something to behold.”
Whittemore, who has signed to play at Mississippi State, led Buchholz to a 10-3 record and its second straight state semifinal appearance by completing 179-of-305 passes for 2,693 yards with 35 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. He also rushed for 1,285 yards (8.29 yards per carry) and 17 TDs.
“I couldn’t have been in this situation without my teammates, and my coaches as well who put me in positions to make plays,” Whittmore said. “If my offensive line doesn’t block, I don’t run for that many yards, and if my wide receivers don’t make the plays, I don’t throw for that many yards.”
Whittemore’s win marks first time that a football player from Alachua County has won the prestigious award, which has been given annually since 1992 to the best overall football player in the Sunshine State.
“This is a historic award for our school and our county,” Bell said. “Creed was already on the Mt. Rushmore of Buchholz athletes. This award proves he should be considered one of the best athletes in Alachua County high school sports history.”
Whittemore, who also had six picks on defense, led the Bobcats to a 22-5 record and back-to-back state semifinal appearances his junior and senior seasons.
“It’s hard for me to sum it in one word but I think consistency would be the word,” Whittemore said when asked to sum up his prep career. “Buchholz is going to stay at the top. We are going to continue to see the name Buchholz in the papers, in articles and on TV. We started something that a lot of kids are going to carry on and that word ‘consistency’ is going to carry on.”
Meanwhile, Hawthorne’s Jailen Ruth, the Class 1R Player of the Year, finished seventh in the voting.
Ruth finished his senior season with 94 tackles, including 64 solo. The senior defensive end had 27 tackles for a loss, 19 sacks, 2 interceptions and 7 forced fumbles.
Hawthorne football coach Cornelius Ingram finished fourth in the voting for the overall Coach of the Year.
Ingram was named the 1R Coach of the Year after leading the Hornets to a 12-0 record and the Class 1R state title, their first state football championship in program history.
Lakeland’s Bill Castle, who recently announced his retirement after 47 years as Lakeland’s head coach, was named the Coach of the Year. Castle won his eighth state title in 2022, leading his team to a 14-0 record and the Class 4S state championship.
2022 MR. FOOTBALL – FINAL VOTING RESULTS (Note: Points awarded on a 10-7-5 basis)
Player Total Points 1st-place Votes
Creed Whittemore, Buchholz 183 15
Blake Boda, Cocoa 116 4
Keyone Jenkins, Central 78 4
Cedric Bailey, Chaminade-Madonna 65 1
Alberto Mendoza, Columbus 36 0
Cedric Baxter, Edgewater 27 1
Jailen Ruth, Hawthorne 22 0
Damarcus Creecy, Mainland 17 0
Olsen Henry, First Baptist Academy 5 0
Nehemiah Vann, Seven Rivers Christian 0 0
Past Mr. Football Winners:
1992 – Jammi German, Fort Myers
1993 – Shevin Wiggins, Bradenton Manatee
1994 – Daunte Culpepper, Ocala Vanguard
1995 – Frankie Franklin, Jacksonville Sandalwood
1996 – Travis Henry, Frostproof
1997 – Zain Gilmore, Tampa Robinson
1998 – Anquan Boldin, Pahokee
1999 – Willie Green, Kissimmee Osceola
2000 – Adrian McPherson, Bradenton Southeast
2001 – Leon Washington, Jacksonville Jackson
2002 – Andre Reese, Pierson Taylor
2003 – Xavier Lee, Daytona Seabreeze
2004 – Antone Smith, Pahokee
2005 – Tim Tebow, Ponte Vedra Nease
2006 – Robert Marve, Tampa Plant
2007 – Jacory Harris, Miami Northwestern
2008 – A.J. Graham, Tallahassee Godby
2009 – Matt Elam, William T. Dwyer
2010 – Quentin Williams, Tampa Jefferson
2011 – Randy “Duke” Johnson, Miami Norland
2012 – Derrick Henry, Yulee High School
2013 – Dalvin Cook, Miami Booker T. Washington
2014 – D’Andre Johnson, Jacksonville First Coast
2015 – DeShawn Smith, Brooksville Nature Coast Tech
2016 – Nick Tronti, Ponte Vedra
2017 – Bryce Carpenter, Venice
2018 – Carson Beck, Jacksonville Mandarin
2019 – Demarkcus Bowman, Lakeland
2020 – Trey Wainwright, Niceville
2021 – Jaylon Glover, Lakeland Lake Gibson
2022 COACH OF THE YEAR – FINAL VOTING RESULTS (Note: Points awarded on a 10-7-5 basis)
Player Total Points 1st-place Votes
Bill Castle, Lakeland 127 8
Dave Dunn, Columbus 89 6
Tavaris Johnson, Lake Wales 83 3
Cornelius Ingram, Hawthorne 67 4
Gibudale Joseph, Central 64 2
Ryan Schneider, Cocoa 37 2
Dameon Jones, Chaminade-Madonna 26
Billy Sparacio, First Baptist Academy 14
Ben Bullock, Lake Highland Prep 12
Phillip Simpson, Homestead 7
Past Football Coaches of the Year:
1992 – Wally Dunne, Coral Springs
1993 – Paul Maechtle, Bradenton Southeast
1994 – Rod Shafer, Lake Wales
1995 – Bob Withrow, Jacksonville Sandalwood
1996 – Robby Pruitt, Lake Butler Union County
1997 – Danny Green, Lake City Columbia
1998 – Bill Castle, Lakeland
1999 – Milton Watson, Belle Glade Glades Central
2000 – Nick Coleman, Venice
2001 – Al Morrell, Clewiston
2002 – Richard Wood, Tampa Wharton
2003 – Bill Kramer, Naples
2004 – Bill Castle, Lakeland
2005 – Joey Wiles, St. Augustine
2006 – Robert Weiner, Tampa Plant
2007 – Billy Rolle, Miami Northwestern
2008 – Robert Weiner, Tampa Plant
2009 – John Wilkinson, Cocoa
2010 – Dale Salapa, Orlando Dr. Phillips
2011 – Robert Craft, Tallahassee North Florida Christian
2012 – Tim Harris, Sr., Miami Booker T. Washington
2013 – Tim Harris, Sr., Miami Booker T. Washington
2014 – Tim Harris, Jr., Miami Booker T. Washington
2015 – Deran Wiley, Jacksonville Raines
2016 – Billy Rolle, Miami Southridge
2017 – John Peacock, Venice
2018 – Bobby Ramsey, Jacksonville Mandarin
2019 – Cameron Duke, Orlando Edgewater
2020 – Eric Lodge, Sanford Seminole
2021 – Matt Thompson, Tampa Jesuit