- Three of the six high schools in the Tri-County area hired new football head coaches for the upcoming season.
- Four schools including Bell, Bronson, Dixie County, and Trenton joined the Sunshine State Athletic Association (SSAA) this year.
- The 2026 Tri-County football season features notable games starting Aug. 14 with Dixie County’s Andrew Thomas debuting as head coach against Bell.
The Tri-County area gets a little bit of a shakeup as three of the six schools in Levy, Gilchrist, and Dixie County have new head coaches.
Dixie County High School (Cross City) hired former Trenton and Union County (Lake Butler) coach Andrew Thomas to lead the Bears. Thomas won a pair of state titles in Trenton and got Union County to the state semifinals.
Former Hawthorne defensive coordinator Cedderick Daniels is now the head coach at Williston, following the departure of FHSAA Hall of Fame coach Robby Pruitt, and Howard Cheresnick enters his first season at Bronson.
Plus, more than half of the six (Bell, Bronson, Dixie County and Trenton) are now in the Sunshine State Athletic Association (SSAA).
The first regular-season high school football game for the SSAA is on Friday, Aug. 14, followed by the FHSAA regular season openers on Friday, Aug. 21.
Here is a look at my top football game each week in the Tri-County area this fall.
Friday, Aug. 14
Dixie County (Cross City) at Bell, 7:30 p.m.
Last meeting: Bell 42, Dixie County 12 (Sept. 26, 2025)
Both schools will compete in the SSAA this fall, so this is a regular season game for the visiting Bears and the Bulldogs. It’s also the debut of Thomas.
Meanwhile, Joey Whittington is the dean of coaches in the Tr-County area. He enters his 14th season on the sidelines for the Bulldogs.
“Bell hadn’t played Dixie County since the fall of 2000 until last year when we played each other, and now Andrew and his coaching staff is in there,” Whittington said. “It’s going to be a great challenge right out of the gate. We were supposed to play Oak Hall, but when they chose to go back to the FHSAA, and then Dixie was in the same situation, they had a team lined up, but then that team also decided to go back to the FHSAA, so that’s why we’re playing right out of the gate.”
Bell senior running back Landin Williams, who rushed for 1,230 yards and 16 touchdowns as a junior, has this game circled on his calendar.
“I’m not gonna lie, their basketball team they talk a lot of trash and stuff, so I kind of want to get them back for that,” he said.
Friday, Aug. 21
Williston at Chiefland, 7:30 p.m.
Last meeting: Chiefland 36, Williston 35 (2 OT) (Aug. 22, 2025)
What a way to start the season for the Indians in 2025 with a 1-point win in two overtimes on the road against their rival to retain the Levy Cup. But this series has been close lately. It was a one-possession game in 2024 (Chiefland 18, Williston 10). The Indians and the Red Devils have split the last 10 games in the series.
“We’ve got to play Hawthorne, of course, but the most important game on the schedule is Chiefland in Week One,” said first-year Williston coach Cedderick Daniels. “It’s for the Levy County Cup, it’s for bragging rights and possession of the district championship…it will be a great test…We won’t try to overdo anything. Whatever Chiefland gives us, we’ll take.”
Friday, Aug. 28
Dixie County (Cross City) at Trenton, 7:30 p.m.
Last meeting: Trenton 48, Dixie County 0 (Aug. 29, 2025)
Thomas won two state titles at Trenton. He’s now the head coach at Dixie County in Cross City. Oddly enough, his 100th career victory was a 28-12 victory at Dixie County on Oct. 8, 2021, as head coach at Union County (Lake Butler).
With Thomas on the sidelines, the Bears will look for payback after the Tigers snapped an eight-game losing streak in the series last year. Trenton has a chance to win two in a row for the first time in 10 years.
“Our top schools are Bell, Chiefland and Dixie, and guess what? They’re all coming to Trenton this year,” said Bryant Frye, who enters his second season as head coach of the Tigers. “We had to go away last year, but they’re all coming into Trenton, so we’re excited about that.”
Friday, Sept. 4
Branford at Bell, 7:30 p.m.
Last meeting: Branford 28, Bell 7 (Sept. 5, 2025)
The Bucs got a little revenge last year after Bell edged Branford, 14-13, in 2024, snapping an 11-game losing streak in the series.
After a postseason appearance in the FHSAA Rural Region 4 Semifinals, a 42-0 loss at Hawthorne, the Bucs move into the SSAA with Bell. The Bulldogs have been in the league for a few years now.
“They’ve (SSAA) had great growth this offseason,” said Bell coach Joey Whittington. “I remember we joined in when there was 11 of us. We were a year after Interlachen; Interlachen joined with Bronson. They joined when there were like four, and then it got up to 11. Then we were at 20 last year, and now we’re at 40, so it’s just been exciting to watch it grow…it’s been good for us, so we hope it continues to grow and be good for the schools that are joining.”
Friday, Sept. 11
Williston at Bishop Verot (Fort Myers), 7 p.m.
Last meeting: First meeting
The host Vikings, who advanced to the second round of the Class 2A state playoffs last year, moved up to Class 3A this season.
“That will be a huge game for us on the road that will prepare us for Hawthorne (Sept. 25),” said Williston coach Cedderick Daniels. “Everything I’ve done on the scheduling side is to prepare us one week at a time.”
Friday, Sept. 18
Chiefland at Trinity Catholic (Ocala), 7 p.m.
Last meeting: Chiefland 42, Trinity Catholic 14 (Sept. 19, 2025)
This is the first of three straight road games for the Indians, who play at Trenton next, followed by a game at Dixie County on Oct. 2. The host Celtics, who made the FHSAA Class 1A state playoffs in 2025, move up to Class 2A this season.
Last year, the Indians snapped a five-game losing streak in the series since 2004 behind Indians running back Demorri Sweet’s 170 yards rushing and a touchdown and quarterback Matt Goodale’s 167 yards passing and three touchdowns. However, both players have graduated.
The Dixie County at Lafayette (Mayo) game gets an honorable mention this night.
Friday, Sept. 25
Williston at Hawthorne, 7:30 p.m.
Last meeting: Hawthorne 30, Williston 8 (Nov. 21, 2025)
Williston coach Cedderick Daniels, who was a part of three state titles as defensive coordinator at Hawthorne (2022, 2023 and 2025), plays against his former team.
“You want to play Hawthorne in Hawthorne because it’s a hostile environment,” Daniels said. “If we are fortunate to make it to the playoffs and have to get on the road, we’ll be battle-tested.”
Hawthorne is the defending FHSAA Rural state champion. However, the FHSAA has done away with the Rural classification, for now, and both the Red Devils and the Hornets are in the same Class 1A-District 4 with Chiefland (fast forward to the game on Oct. 9).
Friday, Oct. 2
Bell at Trenton, 7:30 p.m.
Last meeting: Trenton 26, Bell 7 (Aug. 22, 2025)
This is an SSAA Atlantic League showdown of North Region teams. Last year, Trenton’s Brant Bivens caught four passes for 117 yards and Wyatt Vanlandingham had a 57-yard pick-6 and a 12-yard touchdown catch. Both players are back this season for the Tigers.
Trenton has won 15 of the last 19 games over the last 20 years, but Bell has won two of the last four, including a 34-24 win at Trenton in 2024.
Friday, Oct. 9
Hawthorne at Chiefland, 7:30 p.m.
Last meeting: Hawthorne 36, Chiefland 6 (Nov. 28, 2025)
This will be for the Class 1A-District 4 title as both teams will have already played Williston in this three-team district. The Indians are at home against the defending state champions, with a chance to win a district title, assuming they beat Williston first.
“Last time we played Hawthorne was there,” said 2nd-year Chiefland coach Cliff Harrell. “CI (Cornelius Ingram) does an amazing job. It’s an amazing environment on Friday nights there. It will be nice to play them at our place.”
Chiefland, which has lost eight in a row in the series, is seeking its first win against Hawthorne since a 26-8 victory in 2004.
Friday, Oct. 16
Trenton at Lafayette (Mayo), 7:30 p.m.
Last meeting: Lafayette 47, Trenton 6 (Oct. 17, 2025)
Both teams made the FHSAA Rural state playoffs last year, Trenton’s first postseason appearance since 2019. However, the Tigers and the Hornets are now in the SSAA.
The Hornets dominated last year’s game and imposed a running clock at the half. T.K. Williamson threw for 210 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 61 yards and a score for the Hornets, but he graduated.
Meanwhile, Trenton returns six starters on both sides of the ball.
Friday, Oct. 23
Newberry at Williston, 7:30 p.m.
Last meeting: Williston 15, Newberry 14 (Oct. 23, 2025)
Since 2004, this has been a tight series (Newberry leads 11-10).
Newberry had a 14-0 lead at the half in last year’s game, but the Red Devils scored 15 unanswered second-half points. They decided to go for two with 6:41 remaining and held on for the 1-point win.
The Panthers defeated the Red Devils, 28-14, on Oct. 25, 2024, for their only victory in the series in the past four meetings. In 2023, Williston stunned Newberry on a Statue of Liberty play call with 47 seconds left in the game for a 24-22 win on the road. Williston led 18-7 at the half, but Newberry outscored the Red Devils, 15-6, in the second half.
Friday, Oct. 30
SSAA playoffs (TBD)