- Nine area football teams remain undefeated as the regular season reaches its midpoint, with three teams from Alachua County included.
- Buchholz (4-0) is ranked No. 24 in Florida and has outscored recent opponents 113-13, securing their first shutout after a weather-shortened game.
- Hawthorne (4-0) defeated several strong teams including Miami Northwestern and will play tonight with a new quarterback after losing their starter to injury.
A total of nine area football teams are undefeated as we approach the halfway point of the regular season.
Three of those schools reside in Alachua County.
It may come as no surprise that Buchholz and Hawthorne are still unbeaten. However, both teams could easily have one loss.
Buchholz, which has made five straight state semifinal appearances, defeated Vanguard, 34-28, in overtime at Booster Stadium in Ocala to start the season.
The Bobcats (4-0), who are ranked No. 24 overall in Florida in the MaxPreps rankings, haven’t been tested since. They outscored Gainesville, Eastside and West Port (Ocala) by a combined 113-13.
They ran only four offensive plays against West Port on Sept. 10, scoring touchdowns on three plays. The game was called due to weather just three minutes in and Buchholz leading 21-0. It was their first shutout of the season.
Tonight at 7:30 p.m., Buchholz is at undefeated Jesuit (Tampa). The Class 4A Tigers, who are 3-0, defeated Vanguard, 24-21, at home on Sept. 4.
Jesuit, which is ranked No. 68 overall in Florida, has outscored its three opponents, 113-28, heading into game four of a four-game home stand.
The matchup is one of two games involving two undefeated teams, but Santa Fe (Alachua) at Fort White is the only one featuring two area teams without a loss.
The host Indians (3-0), who won the FHSAA Rural Florida Invitational Tournament (FIT) last year, have outscored their opponents 122-32, including a 33-0 win at Union County (Lake Butler) last week. It was their first shutout of 2026.
Santa Fe (3-0) also got its first shutout last week with a 17-0 win against Chatfield (Littleton, Colorado) on a neutral field in Kissimmee.
The Raiders, who opened the season with a 30-16 road win at Newberry, have one of the best running backs in the area. Senior Jasiah Powell has carried the ball 52 times for 391 yards, an average of 7.5 yards per carry, with six touchdowns.
Defending Rural state champion Hawthorne has been tested a few times, but they have passed successfully and carry an unblemished record to Bayshore (Bradenton).
The Class 1A Hornets (4-0) defeated 4A Bishop Moore (Orlando) in overtime, 28-25, on the road in Week 1, followed by an 8-0 win at home against 2A Newberry.
They pitched a second straight shutout at home the following week against 3A Hernando (Brooksville), followed by a huge 16-12 win at home against perennial state power and Class 3A state runner-up Northwestern (Miami) last Thursday.
“We’ve won three state titles, but the brand of football that Miami Northwestern has played over the years and the players that have come out of there that have played not only on the D-I level but in the NFL, it’s just a big deal for us,” said Hawthorne coach Cornelius Ingram, who called it the biggest win in program history.
The Hornets will have a new signal caller tonight against the 3A Bruins (3-1). They lost junior quarterback Richard Roundtree Jr. (679 yards passing, 7 TDs) for the season with a broken fibula.
Our radio broadcast tonight (106.9 FM “I am Country”) is Keystone Heights at Bell in a Sunshine State Athletic Association (SSAA) game.
The host Bulldogs (4-0) have home victories against Hamilton County (28-26) and Branford (27-14), along with a 13-7 win at Interlachen, which defeated the Indians (1-3), 63-0, on Aug. 21.
Bell, which has lost three in a row to the Indians, including a 49-0 loss in 2023 and a 38-0 defeat in 2021, has flipped the script after starting 0-4 in 2025. They are seeking their first 5-0 start under head coach Joey Whittington, who is in his 14th season.
Bulldogs senior running back Landin Williams (50 carries for 277 yards, 4 TDs) is seeking his third straight 1,000-yard season.
Before the season, Whittington said avoiding injuries would be Bell’s biggest challenge this season.
“For the most part we are healthy, but we’ve lost a two-way starter in Clayton Hancock,” he said. “The guys are stepping up into those positions; he’s hard to replace, though. We have a few more banged up but playing through it, which is good to have tough kids. We’re definitely in a better situation than the beginning of last year.”
First-year Dixie County (Cross City) coach Andrew Thomas has never had a losing season as a head coach and this year’s team is off to a great start.
The Bears (3-0) rallied late to beat Trenton, 20-19, on the road in Week 2. They also have home wins against Vernon (41-6) and Zarephath Academy of Jacksonville (57-28).
Dixie County puts its unbeaten record on the line at Lafayette (Mayo), which has a four-game winning streak in the series. The Hornets (1-4) won last year’s meeting, 41-0, in Cross City.
Suwannee (Live Oak), which edged Gainesville, 15-14, two weeks ago, has a chance to go to 5-0 with a win tonight at home against Hamilton County (Jasper). The Bulldogs (4-0), who only won one game last season, have won 17 in a row in the series going back to 2004.
Bradford (Starke), under first-year coach Ross Baker, and Columbia (Lake City) are both 4-0.
The Tornadoes, who are ranked No. 10 in 2A, are at 6A Tocoi Creek (St. Augustine). It’s the first meeting against the Toros (0-4) since a 27-0 Bradford victory in 2022.
Columbia is the highest-ranked area team at No. 18 overall in the MaxPreps rankings, including a No. 3 ranking in 4A.
They have a tough test in Jacksonville at Trinity Christian (2-2), which is ranked No. 3 in 1A and 65th overall. The visiting Tigers, who opened the season with a 20-19 win at Bolles (Jacksonville), edged the Conquerors, 27-20, last year to snap a five-game losing streak in the series.
Here are the eight games involving nine undefeated area teams tonight:
Bradford (Starke) (4-0) at Tocoi Creek (St. Augustine) (0-4), 7 p.m.
Columbia (Lake City) (4-0) at Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (2-2), 7 p.m.
Hawthorne (4-0) at Bayshore (Bradenton) (3-1), 7 p.m.
Buchholz (4-0) at Jesuit (Tampa) (3-0), 7:30 p.m.
Dixie County (Cross City) (3-0) at Lafayette (Mayo) (1-4), 7:30 p.m.
Hamilton County (Jasper) (1-3) at Suwannee (Live Oak) (4-0), 7:30 p.m.
Keystone Heights (1-3) at Bell (4-0), 7:30 p.m.
Santa Fe (Alachua) (3-0) at Fort White (3-0), 7:30 p.m.