As of Thursday night, the Buchholz and Oak Hall football teams were the only area schools who hoped to play on Friday night.
But following the impact of Hurricane Helene, both games were postponed on Friday.
On X (formerly Twitter) Nease (Ponte Vedra) wrote, “Due to poor conditions for our opponent in Gainesville due to the storm, our game tonight at Nease vs. Buchholz has officially been postponed to Monday, September 30, at 7 p.m.”
Oak Hall (2-3) was supposed to play on the road but their game against Eagle’s View Academy of Jacksonville was rescheduled for Gainesville.
“The game originally was supposed to be at Eagle’s View, but they weren’t able to secure a field,” OHS Athletics Director Edwin McTureous explained via email on Wednesday. “We are supposed to host this Friday, and the game has not been canceled yet. We will make a decision on Friday by noon if we will play or not.”
In a follow up text with McTureous late Friday morning, he said OHS was without power and he had heard the city had put an ordinance out that no game could be played tonight.
McTureous later confirmed that their game had been postponed, assuring that there would be no high school football games on Friday night involving area teams.
The Bobcats (3-2) are one of four area teams who will be playing this Monday.
On Thursday afternoon, P.K. Yonge (3-2) announced that its home football game against Central Florida Christian Academy (Ocoee) had been postponed until Monday at 6 p.m.
Newberry (2-2, 1-0) travels to Palatka (4-1, 1-0) on Monday for a key game in 2A-District 5. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.
A win by the visiting Panthers sets up a likely district championship showdown at home against Bradford (Starke) on Oct. 11.
Williston’s home game against Trinity Catholic (Ocala) was also moved to Monday at 7 p.m. Red Devils head coach Robby Pruitt will go for career win No. 400.
The Williston game will be broadcast online (audio only) at Mainstreet Daily News beginning at 6:45 p.m. with Cam Parker (Play-by-play) and Joe Baker (Color) calling the action.
The Class 3A-District 5 opener between host Eastside and Dunnellon was postponed until Thursday, Oct. 3, at 7 p.m. It’s also homecoming for the Rams.
Fortunately, the Rams (3-2) and Tigers (3-2) had an open date this upcoming week. Buchholz is hosting rival Gainesville on Friday, Oct. 4, so Eastside is hosting on Thursday at Citizens Field.
Both games will be broadcast on 106.9 FM “I am Country” and online (audio) at IamCountryRadio.com beginning at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday and at 7 p.m. on Friday.
There were two area football games played this week.
On Wednesday, Bradford (Starke) defeated Keystone Heights, 40-0, on homecoming, and Columbia (Lake City) lost, 27-6, at home to St. Augustine.
The Tornadoes (5-0), who moved to 1-0 in 2A-District 5, are now one of just three unbeaten teams in the area along with Chiefland (5-0) and Union County (Lake Butler) (5-0).
Bell, Dixie County (Cross City), Gainesville and Hawthorne were off this week.
Here is this week’s high school football schedule along with the status of each game:
Wednesday, Sept. 25
Bradford (Starke) 40, Keystone Heights 0
St. Augustine 27, Columbia (Lake City) 6
Saturday, Sept. 28
Oak Hall 41, Eagle’s View (Jacksonville) 12
Postponements/cancellations
Branford at Lafayette (Mayo) – Postponed to Monday, Oct. 14 (TBD)
Buchholz at Nease (Ponte Vedra), 7 p.m. – Postponed to Monday, Sept. 30, at 7 p.m.
Central Florida Christian Academy (Ocoee) at P.K. Yonge – Postponed to Monday, Sept. 30, at 6 p.m.
Chiefland at Trenton – Canceled
Dunnellon at Eastside – Postponed to Thursday, Oct. 3, at 7 p.m.
Newberry at Palatka – Postponed to Monday, Sept. 30, at 6 p.m.
Paxon (Jacksonville) at Union County (Lake Butler) – Postponed (TBD)
Seven Rivers Christian (Lecanto) at Bronson – Postponed to Monday, Oct. 7, at 6 or 7 p.m. (TBD)
St. Francis Catholic Academy at North Bay Haven Charter School (Panama City Beach) – Postponed (TBD)
Suwannee (Live Oak) at Wakulla (Crawfordville) – Postponed (TBD)
Trinity Catholic (Ocala) at Williston – Postponed to Monday, Sept. 30, at 7 p.m.
OFF – Bell, Dixie County (Cross City), Gainesville, Hawthorne
Editor’s note: this article has been updated to reflect the latest changes, including Oak Hall’s score on Saturday