Mike Ridaught
While there was a total of six winless high school football teams in the Mainstreet Daily News coverage area heading into this week, there were nine unbeatens.
However, one of those undefeated teams suffered its first loss of the season this past Monday night.
Trenton lost at Dixie County (Cross City), 42-0, to drop to 2-1 on the season.
“Any time we get a win over those folks from Trenton that’s a big thing for our community,” said Dixie County head coach Brock Canaday. “They’ve been going at it for a long time here, have had some heated moments, I’m just glad our kids were able to prepare with a two-day week good enough to compete like they have tonight.”
It was the third straight win for the Bears (3-1) since a season-opening 7-6 loss at home to Lafayette (Mayo).
Trenton’s defeat leaves Oak Hall, Bradford (Starke), Buchholz, Fort White, Branford, Suwannee (Live Oak), Hawthorne, and Williston as the remaining eight teams without a loss.
Oak Hall (4-0) and Bradford (4-0) are both off this week, so their unblemished record will remain that way for at least another week and they both should be undefeated heading into October.
The Eagles will host Eagles View (Jacksonville) (2-2) next Friday, Sept. 29, while the Tornadoes will host Keystone Heights, which is 1-2 heading into its home game tonight against Interlachen.
Buchholz might have the toughest game of the group.
The Bobcats (4-0) host Vanguard (Ocala) tonight at Citizens Field on 106.9 FM “I am Country.” The visiting Knights are also 4-0.
The visiting Knights are led by Fred Gaskin III. The USF commit is a 3-star safety according to 247Sports, but he’s also the team’s dual-threat quarterback.
“Fred has really embraced the idea of being a quarterback,” Bell said. “I respect the heck out of him but I’ll be glad when he graduates. He’s a pain in the backfield. He can create things with his legs, his arm has really gotten a lot better…”
“If we can keep him in the pocket to the best of our ability, and that’s easier said than done, I think we’ll have a little bit of success. But Fred Gaskin is one of the most electric players that we’ve played against, coached against, in any game over the last three or four years.”
Last year’s game came down to a Buchholz game-winning kick with 14 seconds to play.
Fort White faces its toughest game of the season at home against Williston.
The Indians (4-0) have won four games at Taylor County (Perry), Keystone Heights, Jefferson County (Monticello), and against Hamilton County (Jasper), but those teams have a combined 2-10 record.
Williston went undefeated during the regular season last year and the Red Devils are certainly capable of running the table again.
They ran past Class 2S Dunnellon, 42-12, last Friday to improve to 4-0.
The Red Devils finished with 386 yards on the ground. They are averaging 307.7 yards per game rushing.
It’s a game that likely separates the contender from the pretender in this Class 1R showdown.
Last year, Williston won this game, 56-28, at home.
However, the addition of Chiefland running back Dakota Fisher (102 yards rushing per game, 9 TDs) and the return of head coach Demetric Jackson make the Indians a sleeper this year.
Branford (3-0) has wins against Cedar Creek Christian (Jacksonville), Bell, and Hilliard, all at home. The Bucs play their fourth straight game at home tonight against Paxon (Jacksonville).
Suwannee is also off to a 3-0 start with wins at home against Flagler Palm Coast and Munroe (Quincy), sandwiched around a 33-18 win at Chiefland on Sept. 8.
The Bulldogs will host North Marion (Citra) at 7:30 p.m. The visiting Colts (1-1) bounced back from a season-opening loss at Forest (Ocala) with a 31-17 win against Santa Fe (Alachua) last Friday.
Hawthorne has proven that they are a legitimate threat to repeat in Class 1R.
Last week the Hornets rallied past Class 2S South Sumter (Bushnell), 41-21, to improve to 4-0.
Tonight at 7 p.m., they will travel to P.K. Yonge (2-1), which lost its first game of the year last Friday at Union County (Lake Butler).