Things are starting to get interesting for high school football teams in the Tri-County area with less than a month remaining in the regular season.
Thanks to big wins and winning streaks, postseason aspirations are in play for schools in Gilchrist and Levy County.
A little over a week ago, Trenton was one of four unbeaten teams in the Mainstreet coverage area. They had wins at Bell (26-7), Dixie County (Cross City) (48-0), and Jefferson County (Monticello) (28-8), plus a 21-20 win at home against Aucilla Christian (Monticello).
However, the Tigers lost at Chiefland, 41-0, on Sept. 26. It was their first loss this season under first-year head coach Bryant Frye.
The Tigers bounced back this past Friday night with a 42-26 win on Homecoming against Oak Hall School of Gainesville, which was previously the last remaining unbeaten team in the area.
Junior Wyatt Vanlandingham carried the ball 26 times for 217 yards and four touchdowns, and senior Alexzander Henry finished with 162 yards and two touchdowns on the ground on only seven carries.
Trenton, which rushed for 461 yards against the Eagles, entered the game ranked eighth in the FHSAA’s Rural rankings and was firmly in place to receive a postseason bid with the top 16 teams making the FHSAA Rural state playoffs.
Their opponent this week is Branford, which defeated Interlachen, 56-20, last week to improve to 5-2.
Sophomore quarterback Trent Land completed 12-of-15 passes for 307 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. His top target was senior Maurice Vought, who caught five passes for 154 yards and a score.
Freshman running back Ollie James had nine carries for 151 yards and three touchdowns.
Trenton will host a Branford team that lost at Oak Hall, 21-20, on Sept. 12.
“It’s a little gauge, but it doesn’t really mean anything,” Frye said about the Bucs’ game against the Eagles. “It’s all about matchups. But since Oak Hall and Branford have already played, we got a lot of film on Branford.”
The Bucs were ranked 14th in last week’s FHSAA Rural rankings, but they’ve won three in a row and five of their last six.
Trenton also hosts Rural No. 7 Lafayette (Mayo) next Friday, and Rural No. 23 Moore Haven to complete the current four-game home stand.
“They’re going to be another tough team,” Frye said of the Bucs. “We’ve got a lot of tough games coming up the back end of the schedule. The good thing for us is they are at home, so that’s going to help and benefit us. We’re going to try to heal some of these injuries that we’ve been getting and see what happens and move forward and hopefully take care of business this week.”
Chiefland scored a season-high in points in a dominating 63-8 win at home against Dixie County.
Senior quarterback Mike Goodale completed 9-of-11 passes for 154 yards and a pair of touchdowns and he also had a 25-yard rushing touchdown.
“Matt has had a consistent improvement and has elevated the whole team,” said Chiefland coach Cliff Harrell. “He is making good reads in both the run and pass game, and gaining confidence, seeing the field better, and trusting the system.”
The Indians face their toughest competition this season on Friday.
Chiefland (6-1), which was ranked third in last week’s FHSAA Rural rankings, will travel to No. 2 Taylor County (Perry) this Friday at 7:30 p.m.
The host Bulldogs (6-0) are averaging 36.5 points per game thanks to a ground attack that is averaging 245.2 yards per game. Junior Jabez leads the way with 582 yards and nine touchdowns on 60 carries (9.7 yards per carry).
Taylor County, which won at Maclay (Tallahassee), 41-14, last week, allows just 10.3 points per game.
“They’re a well-coached team — very physical and talented across the board,” Harrell said. “They have great players at every position, and we know we’ll have to be at our best. Our guys are excited for the opportunity to compete against a high-quality opponent this Friday. It’s a great challenge, and we’re looking forward to it.”
The visiting Indians have won five straight since a 14-0 loss at home to Class 3A Baker County (Glen St. Mary) on Aug. 29.
Williston, which lost its season opener to Chiefland, 36-35, in double overtime on Aug. 22, also won its fifth straight game. The Red Devils built a 21-6 lead at the half and defeated 5A Belleview on the road, 42-6.
The Red Devils (5-1) were ranked fifth in the state in last week’s FHSAA Rural rankings.
Bell defeated Duval Charter in Jacksonville, 47-27, to win its third straight game after an 0-4 start.
Junior running back Landin Williams had a monster game with 282 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 26 carries.
The Super 11 athlete, who ran for 1,981 yards and scored 20 touchdowns last year as a sophomore, is approaching 1,000 yards this season with 852 yards and nine touchdowns on 135 carries.
“Friday night, Landin had a great game, and we just fed the hot hand,” said Bell coach Joey Whittington. “Great job with ball security in that rain.”
Williams is now averaging 121.7 yards per game.
“Landin has had success because he’s getting healthier, hasn’t missed any time, but is dealing with some injuries. Obviously, going back to the O-line getting healthier helps, and our fullback, Fran Kealey, is playing well, leading for him. RJ Leffler at QB has done well in his rushing and passing to help keep defenses from locking in on Landin.
The Bulldogs (3-4), who compete in the Sunshine State Athletic Association (SSAA), have won three in a row after an 0-4 start.
“We have gotten healthier recently, whether it was kids that missed games or just playing banged up, but we are getting to full strength,” Whittington said. “The O-line getting healthy has really helped. We kept having to move people around, but the last two games we’ve had our original starting lineup, which has led to offensive success. Proud of the kids for sticking with it and blocking out the noise and working through it.”
Bell only has two regular-season games remaining, at Interlachen this Friday and at home against Bishop Snyder (Jacksonville) on Oct. 24, before the SSAA playoffs begin on Friday, Oct. 31.
Trenton, Chiefland and Williston will begin their postseason on Friday, Nov. 14, with the regular season ending on Friday, Oct. 31.
Heading into this past Friday’s games, here is how the playoff bracket looked for the Tri-County teams with four weeks to play:
(1) Blountstown vs (16) Sneads
(8) Trenton vs. (9) Fort Meade
(5) Williston vs. (12) Chipley
(4) Pahokee vs. (13) Fort White
(6) Hawthorne vs. (11) Baker
(3) Chiefland vs. (14) Branford
(7) Lafayette vs. (10) Madison County
(2) Taylor County vs. (15) Liberty County