Never before have two Alachua County football teams played for a state title in the same year.

That could change tonight.

Last night the Hawthorne football team advanced to its fourth straight state championship game with a dominating 49-0 win against Blountstown in a Class 1R state semifinal.

Tonight, at Citizens Field, Buchholz (13-0) will host defending state champion Lakeland (10-3) in the Class 4S state semifinals.

The game will be broadcast on 106.9 FM “I am Country” with audio online at IamCountryRadio.com beginning at 7 p.m. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. The game will also be video streamed via the NFHS Network.

Last Friday, Buchholz advanced to its third straight state semifinal, a first, with a 37-17 win against Bartram Trail (St. Johns) in the regional final.

Running back Quinton Cutler earned Athlete of the Week honors after rushing for 200 yards while UF commit Myles Graham added 135 yards and three touchdowns.

“This is the first time in the 50-plus year history of Buchholz High School that the football program has won three consecutive regional championships,” said first-year head coach Chuck Bell. “Obviously, at a school with a history of winning football, setting records like that is a great feeling for our players and coaching staff. It has raised the level of expectations for our program on a year-to-year basis, but we embrace that pressure at Buchholz and look forward to continuing the winning tradition for many years to come.”

In order for Buchholz to advance to its first state title game since winning the Class 4A state title in 1990, they will have to beat a Lakeland team that defeated Lake Minneola, 77-48, in last week’s regional final. The 125 points scored ranks No. 2 all-time in FHSAA playoff history.

“Lakeland is the most talented team we have faced this season and they have athletes at every position on the field,” Bell said. “Lakeland knows what it takes to play for and win state championships, so we’ll have to match their level of preparation and experience in order to win on Friday.”

Lakeland has won eight state titles, including a 21-14 win against Venice in last year’s title game to finish 14-0.

The Dreadnaughts are led by running back D’Marius Rucker (5’9, 185), who is ranked No. 121 overall in Florida by 247Sports. He has offers from Tennessee, South Carolina and USF, among many others.

In last week’s rout of the Hawks, Rucker rushed for 351 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

The defending state champions had TDs from six different players.

They are averaging 36.5 points per game and giving up 16.4 ppg, while Buchholz’s offense averages 41 points and allows 13 ppg.

There will be Division-I athletes all over the field.

Lakeland safety Brayshon Williams holds over 30 offers, including Michigan, Florida State, Georgia and Florida.

Cornerback Jameson Young is a 3-star recruit with offers from Iowa State and Western Michigan.

Safety Keon Young is rated the No. 28 junior in Florida according to 247Sports. He is a 4-star recruit who holds offers from Florida, Oklahoma, Tennessee and South Carolina, among others.

Graham is ranked No. 13, while fellow UF commit Kendall Jackson is ranked No. 45.

“The keys to victory and our first state championship appearance since 1990 for our defense will be eliminating mental mistakes in the secondary and focusing on sound tackling to avoid big plays in the run game,” Bell said. “The keys for our offense will be patience in the passing game and to stay out of third and long situations.”

No. 2 seed Venice (11-2), which defeated Buchholz in last year’s state semifinals, will host No. 3 seed DeLand (11-2) in the other state semifinal.

The winners will play for the 4S state title at Florida A&M University’s Ken Riley Field at Bragg Memorial Stadium in Tallahassee next Saturday, Dec. 9.

Kickoff, which has yet to be announced, will be at 10 a.m., 3 p.m. or 8 p.m.

Bradford (Starke) (13-0), which set a school record for victories this year, could give the area three teams in the state championship.

The Tornadoes, the No. 2 seed in Class 2S, shut out rival Baker County (Glen St. Mary), 43-0, in last week’s regional final to advance to its second straight state semifinal and its 10th appearance overall.

They will host Pensacola Catholic tonight in the 2S state semifinals with a chance to advance to their first state championship game since a 28-20 loss to Bartow in the 1985 Class 3A state championship game under then head coach David Hurse.

Bradford won back-to-back Class A state titles in 1965 and 1966 under Hurse.

“Yeah man, it’s about as good as it gets,” Bradford coach Jamie Rodgers said about hosting a final four game. “Back-to-back region champions, just proud of these guys. It takes a lot of really good players, a lot of really good coaches to do it and we’ve been able to pull it off, and I’m just super happy for these guys to get the school record in wins at 13.”

The visiting Crusaders (11-2) are averaging 210 rushing years per game, led by junior Nigel Nelson with 250 yards and 22 touchdowns on 148 carries (8.4 ypc).

Junior Charles Nettles has 852 yards and 11 touchdowns on 146 carries.

Pensacola Catholic is averaging 33.5 points per game while allowing 18.3 ppg.

Junior Terius Mason leads the team with six sacks and 13 TFL, while senior linebacker Demontrae Gaston (Georgia Tech commit) and junior Jeremiah Shelby are next with 12 TFL.

The Tornadoes have been winning with defense.

They have only allowed seven points in three postseason games and are giving up just 3.8 ppg.

Senior Torin Brazell leads the team with 24 TFL and 11 sacks, while senior linebacker Chason Clark (Marshall commit) and senior linebacker Duke Lewis are second with 18 TFL.

Senior quarterback Daejon “6ixx” Shanks has thrown for 1,146 yards with 16 TDs and only two interceptions and has a team-leading 898 yards (7.9 avg.) with 13 TDs for an offense that is averaging 33.4 ppg.

Cocoa (12-1) will play Booker (Sarasota) (9-4) in the other semifinal.

The winners will play for the 2S state championship next Friday, Dec. 8, in Tallahassee (Kickoff time TBA).

Tonight’s broadcast info:

Friday, 7 p.m. (PREGAME) – High School Football, 7:30 p.m. (KICKOFF)
No. 4 Lakeland at No. 1 Buchholz
Radio: “I am Country” 106.9 FM Gainesville
‘Live’ audio: https://streamdb6web.securenet…
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 Class 4S state semifinal. Lakeland is the defending state champion. The winner advances to Tallahassee for next Saturday’s 4S state championship game.