On Thursday night at Citizens Field, the Eastside football team did the improbable.
The Rams rallied from a 19-point second-half deficit to defeat Rickards (Tallahassee), 28-25, to improve to 2-0.
“Honestly, probably one of the most impressive wins that I’ve had as a head coach,” Harold “Gator” Hoskins told Mainstreet’s Cam Parker after the game. “The way the guys kept fighting, kept fighting, chopping wood, didn’t give up, didn’t quit down 19-0, that’s a lot.”
The win could set up an unbeaten showdown next Friday night at Citizens Field between Eastside and Buchholz, but the Bobcats have to take care of business first tonight at 7 p.m. against a talented Vero Beach team.
The game will be broadcast on 106.9 FM “I am Country” beginning at 6:30 p.m. with Mike Ridaught (Play-by-play) and former Gator football player Hank Rone (Color) calling the action.
The visiting Indians (1-0) are ranked No. 2 in Class 7A in the USA Today Florida Network Poll, while the Bobcats (1-0) are ranked No. 2 in Class 6A.
There will be Division-I athletes all over the field, but most of them will be wearing red.
The Indians have a pair of players ranked in the top 40 for the Class of 2026, including Florida State University commit Efrem “E.J.” White.
The 6’1.5, 155-pound athlete, who also holds offers from Alabama, Auburn, and Baylor, is ranked No. 37 by 247Sports. He was playing wide receiver last week when starting QB Champ Monds went down with an ankle injury in the middle of the second quarter.
White immediately led Vero Beach to a touchdown after the injury and finished the game with three touchdowns. He completed 4-of-5 passes for 74 yards and a score and carried the ball seven times for 84 yards and two touchdowns as the Indians defeated Eau Gallie (Melbourne), 41-31, in the home opener.
“I’m glad he’s on our side,” Vero Beach coach Lenny Jankowski told Dennis Maffezzoli of the TC Palm. “He can play every position on the offense. If we needed him on the O-line, he probably could go in and do that. He’s a talented kid. He’s a gamer. He made some clutch plays in some very critical times.”
Monds, a sophomore, completed 11-of-15 passes for 127 yards and a touchdown before the injury. Last year as a freshman, he completed 181-of-268 for 2,234 yards with 23 touchdowns and five interceptions. He also carried the ball 143 times for 502 yards with nine touchdowns.
If he is unable to go tonight, the Indians are in good hands with White.
He’s got plenty of talent around him, including 6’6, 315-pound interior offensive lineman Micah “Champ” Smith.
The UCLA commit, who also had offers from Alabama and Auburn, was a two-way player as a junior, where he played right tackle on offense and totaled 22 tackles (6.5 TFLs), four quarterback hurries, and 2.5 sacks on defense.
He is the No. 36 overall senior in Florida according to 247Sports.
Running back Jonathan Hillsman carried the ball just eight times for 35 yards last week, but the senior got in the endzone twice, including a rushing touchdown and a receiving score. He finished with four catches for 43 yards.
Wide receiver Xavier Stinson, who is also a UCLA commit, only had one catch for 36 yards last week, but the 6’2, 190-pound senior had 43 catches for 740 yards and seven touchdowns as a junior.
He is ranked No. 78 by 247Sports.
Safety Jordan Crutchfield (6’3, 205) is ranked No. 63. The Kentucky commit had eight tackles last week. He was one of five players to finish with eight or more tackles against Eau Gallie.
Buchholz is led on offense by University of Florida commit Justin Williams, who had 1,000 yards rushing and receiving last year. However, senior wide receiver Keil McGriff will miss his second straight game due to an ankle injury.
Plus, Buchholz is still breaking in first-year quarterback Andrew Whittemore. The sophomore completed just 3-of-16 passes last week against Vanguard (Ocala) for 20 yards, albeit in muddy conditions due to the weather.
That means the defense and special teams will have to step up again.
Last week, Super 11 defensive end Evan Walker (offers from Air Force, Army, FAU, Wofford and St. Thomas University) and junior Troy Fleming tied with 10 tackles apiece in the 15-13 win at home against the Knights.
“I’m proud of the way we handled a very talented Vanguard offense last week,” said Buchholz defensive coordinator Chuck Bell. “They have explosive offensive talent with TJ Lewis at quarterback, as well as (James) Bethea and (Sergarion) Gunsby as offensive weapons.”
Walker added three tackles for a loss and Fleming had one forced fumble. Senior Amir Sheppard had a pair of sacks.
A botched 42-yard punt return for a score by sophomore Camron Burse and a safety by Luke Robinson helped give the ‘Cats a 9-0 lead in the first quarter against the Knights.
“Through the kickoff classic and week 1, we’ve been very opportunistic, having scored 16 points on defense (Sheppard’s pick-6, Burse’s punt return and Robinson’s safety),” Bell said. “Hopefully, that trend continues tonight against another explosive offense coming to town with Vero Beach.”
The defense also stopped Vanguard on a 2-point conversion with 1:47 remaining to preserve the win.
Senior kicker Jay Giunta, who received a full scholarship from West Point Army this past April, had a 40-yard field goal in the first half against the Knights and drilled a 27-yard field goal in the fourth quarter in what proved to be the difference in the game.
According to the Florida Power Rankings Index game forecast for Week 2, Buchholz is a 1-point favorite against Vero Beach. If it comes down to a kick, Buchholz has the edge.
If the Bobcats win, and Class 4A GHS (1-0) defeats Class 6A Davenport (0-1) on the road tonight, it will mark the first time in over 30 years that Gainesville’s three big schools start 2-0 together.
Last year, Buchholz, GHS and Eastside had season-opening wins, marking the first time since Oct. 29, 2021, that the three schools had all won in the same week.