The two best high school football teams in Alachua County for the past five years have unequivocally been Hawthorne and Buchholz.

And for the fifth consecutive year, the Hornets and the Bobcats have been practicing on Thanksgiving Day, which is something to truly be thankful for.

Hawthorne, which has won back-to-back state championships, is playing in the state semifinals for the fifth straight year.

It all began during the COVID-19 season in 2020 when the Hornets edged Wildwood, 14-8, in the 1A-Region 4 Final. That was followed up with an 18-14 win against Madison County in the state semifinals.

Although the Hornets lost to Baker in the state title game, it marked the first state championship game appearance for the Hawthorne football program.

Hawthorne defeated Chipley the following year in the 2021 1A state semifinals before narrowly missing their first state title in program history in a 13-12 loss to Madison County, which gave the Cowboys their sixth state title.

However, Hawthorne wouldn’t be denied in 2022, going wire-to-wire and winning its first state title with a 13-2 win against Northview to finish 12-0.

They won their second straight state title with a 22-13 win against Madison County last year and finished 13-0, running their win streak to 25 games in a row.

Hawthorne became the first Alachua County team to win back-to-back state titles.

Head coach Cornelius Ingram, in his 10th season, has the Hornets (9-1) knocking on the door again.

Tonight at 7:30 p.m. top seed Hawthorne will host No. 13 seed Williston (8-4) with a chance to play in its fifth straight state championship game.

Last year, Hawthorne defeated Williston, 34-16, in a Rural-Region 4 Final. In that game, Hawthorne running back Keenon Johnson had 100 yards rushing in the first half.

The senior has 1,485 yards rushing (148.5 yards per game) and 19 touchdowns on the ground.

The visiting Red Devils counter with a Wing-T offense that rushed for over 300 yards last week in a 28-19 win at Fort White in the region final.

The winner will play either Madison County or Union County in next Friday’s Rural state championship game at The Villages.

During COVID-19, Buchholz won a pair of playoff games in the 7A state playoffs before falling at home to Niceville, 38-35, in the region final (there was a play-in game in 2020) to finish 8-2.

Since then, the Bobcats have been to three straight state semifinal appearances and on Thursday morning spent their fifth Thanksgiving breakfast in a row as a program.

The final four runs began with a loss at nationally ranked St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale) in the 2021 7A state semifinals, followed by a 21-20 win the following year at unbeaten Bartram Trail (St. Johns) in the 4S-Region 1 Final to send the ‘Cats to their second straight semifinal.

Buchholz rallied from a 28-0 deficit but came up short in a 42-35 loss at Venice in 2022.

Last year, defensive coordinator Chuck Bell took over for Mark Whittemore, who stepped down at the end of the 2022 season.

Bell led Buchholz to its first unbeaten regular season since 2001, followed by a third straight trip to the final four but the Bobcats suffered a heart-breaking 21-20 loss at home to eventual state champion Lakeland.

Whittemore is back, and now the ‘Cats are one win away from making it four straight state semifinal appearances.

Tonight at 7 p.m. (6:30 p.m. pregame on 106.9 FM “I am Country”), Buchholz will host Oakleaf (Orange Park) in a 6A-Region 1 Final.

Last week the No. 2 seed Bobcats (9-3) rallied late to defeat No. 3 seed Pace, 34-24, in a 6A-Region 1 Semifinal, while the No. 5 seed Knights (9-3) upset unbeaten and top seed Nease (Ponte Vedra), 31-14, on the road in the other regional semifinal.

Buchholz junior Justin Williams had 145 yards rushing and a touchdown on the ground, plus four catches for 84 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winning 1-yard rushing score with 2:41 to play to give the Bobcats a 31-24 lead.

Oakleaf rushed for 298 yards, led by Fareed Coleman (159) and Malachi Warthen (126), and the defense forced three turnovers to stun the Panthers (10-1). Their 17-14 win at Mandarin (Jacksonville) the week before was the first time that Oakleaf had won an FHSAA regional game since 2014.

Hawthorne and Buchholz are two of three Alachua County teams left in the FHSAA state playoffs.

Newberry defeated No. 2 seed Bradford (Starke), 34-19, on the road last week in the Class 2A-Region 2 Semifinals. It was the second win of the season for the No. 3 seed Panthers (10-2), who defeated the Tornadoes (9-2), 21-7, on Oct. 12 to win the 2A-District 5 title.

Their opponent tonight, top seed Cocoa, defeated Bradford, 20-6, in last year’s 2S state championship game to win their second straight state title.

The Tigers, who defeated the defending 2M state champion Berkeley Prep (Tampa), 37-12, in last week’s other regional semifinal, are led by junior quarterback Brady Hart.

Hart (6’4, 180), a Michigan commit, has completed 192-of-272 passes (70.6%) for 3,293 yards with 32 touchdowns and eight interceptions. His top target is senior Jayvan Boggs. The UCF commit has 71 catches for 1,534 yards and 17 touchdowns.

The Panthers are led by senior quarterback Collin Dunmore (1,271 yards passing/296 rushing and 21 total TDs in 10 games), junior running back Kaleb Woods (1,083 yards on 117 carries with 13 TDs in 10 games) and junior wide receiver Hayden Moore (45 catches for 880 yards and 11 TDs in 10 games).

Defensively, Newberry has three Division-I commits in Jarquez Carer (Ohio State), Mykah Newton (flipped from NC State to Miami), and Logan McCloud (Wofford). 

Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
Although the Hornets lost to Baker in the state title game, it marked the first state championship game appearance for the Hawthorne football program.

Hawthorne defeated Chipley the following year in the 2021 1A state semifinals before narrowly missing their first state title in program history in a 13-12 loss to Madison County, which gave the Cowboys their sixth state title.

However, Hawthorne wouldn’t be denied in 2022, going wire-to-wire and winning its first state title with a 13-2 win against Northview to finish 12-0.

They won their second straight state title with a 22-13 win against Madison County last year and finished 13-0, running their win streak to 25 games in a row.

Hawthorne became the first Alachua County team to win back-to-back state titles.

Head coach Cornelius Ingram, in his 10th season, has the Hornets (9-1) knocking on the door again.

Tonight at 7:30 p.m. top seed Hawthorne will host No. 13 seed Williston (8-4) with a chance to play in its fifth straight state championship game.

Last year, Hawthorne defeated Williston, 34-16, in a Rural-Region 4 Final. In that game, Hawthorne running back Keenon Johnson had 100 yards rushing in the first half.

The senior has 1,485 yards rushing (148.5 yards per game) and 19 touchdowns on the ground.

The visiting Red Devils counter with a Wing-T offense that rushed for over 300 yards last week in a 28-19 win at Fort White in the region final.

The winner will play either Madison County or Union County in next Friday’s Rural state championship game at The Villages.

During COVID-19, Buchholz won a pair of playoff games in the 7A state playoffs before falling at home to Niceville, 38-35, in the region final (there was a play-in game in 2020) to finish 8-2.

Since then, the Bobcats have been to three straight state semifinal appearances and on Thursday morning spent their fifth Thanksgiving breakfast in a row as a program.

The final four runs began with a loss at nationally ranked St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale) in the 2021 7A state semifinals, followed by a 21-20 win the following year at unbeaten Bartram Trail (St. Johns) in the 4S-Region 1 Final to send the ‘Cats to their second straight semifinal.

Buchholz rallied from a 28-0 deficit but came up short in a 42-35 loss at Venice in 2022.

Last year, defensive coordinator Chuck Bell took over for Mark Whittemore, who stepped down at the end of the 2022 season.

Bell led Buchholz to its first unbeaten regular season since 2001, followed by a third straight trip to the final four but the Bobcats suffered a heart-breaking 21-20 loss at home to eventual state champion Lakeland.

Whittemore is back, and now the ‘Cats are one win away from making it four straight state semifinal appearances.

Tonight at 7 p.m. (6:30 p.m. pregame on 106.9 FM “I am Country”), Buchholz will host Oakleaf (Orange Park) in a 6A-Region 1 Final.

Last week the No. 2 seed Bobcats (9-3) rallied late to defeat No. 3 seed Pace, 34-24, in a 6A-Region 1 Semifinal, while the No. 5 seed Knights (9-3) upset unbeaten and top seed Nease (Ponte Vedra), 31-14, on the road in the other regional semifinal.

Buchholz junior Justin Williams had 145 yards rushing and a touchdown on the ground, plus four catches for 84 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winning 1-yard rushing score with 2:41 to play to give the Bobcats a 31-24 lead.

Oakleaf rushed for 298 yards, led by Fareed Coleman (159) and Malachi Warthen (126), and the defense forced three turnovers to stun the Panthers (10-1). Their 17-14 win at Mandarin (Jacksonville) the week before was the first time that Oakleaf had won an FHSAA regional game since 2014.

Hawthorne and Buchholz are two of three Alachua County teams left in the FHSAA state playoffs.

Newberry defeated No. 2 seed Bradford (Starke), 34-19, on the road last week in the Class 2A-Region 2 Semifinals. It was the second win of the season for the No. 3 seed Panthers (10-2), who defeated the Tornadoes (9-2), 21-7, on Oct. 12 to win the 2A-District 5 title.

Their opponent tonight, top seed Cocoa, defeated Bradford, 20-6, in last year’s 2S state championship game to win their second straight state title.

The Tigers, who defeated the defending 2M state champion Berkeley Prep (Tampa), 37-12, in last week’s other regional semifinal, are led by junior quarterback Brady Hart.

Hart (6’4, 180), a Michigan commit, has completed 192-of-272 passes (70.6%) for 3,293 yards with 32 touchdowns and eight interceptions. His top target is senior Jayvan Boggs. The UCF commit has 71 catches for 1,534 yards and 17 touchdowns.

The Panthers are led by senior quarterback Collin Dunmore (1,271 yards passing/296 rushing and 21 total TDs in 10 games), junior running back Kaleb Woods (1,083 yards on 117 carries with 13 TDs in 10 games) and junior wide receiver Hayden Moore (45 catches for 880 yards and 11 TDs in 10 games).

Defensively, Newberry has three Division-I commits in Jarquez Carer (Ohio State), Mykah Newton (flipped from NC State to Miami), and Logan McCloud (Wofford). 

Kickoff is at 7 p.m.