- The Hawthorne Hornets won the FHSAA Rural state championship game 24-8, securing their third state title in four years with an 11-1 season record.
- Buchholz football reached its fifth straight state semifinal but lost 24-17 to West Broward in the Class 6A semifinals last Friday.
The high school football season is officially over for teams in the Mainstreet Daily News coverage area.
Although they came up short of a state championship game appearance, the Buchholz (12-2) football team advanced to its fifth straight state semifinal before losing at home last Friday to West Broward, 24-17, in the FHSAA Class 6A state semifinals.
Fort White (8-4) finished the year with a win against Port St. Joe in the FHSAA Florida Invitational Tournament (FIT) championship game on Friday afternoon at The Range at H.G. Morse Stadium on the campus of The Villages Charter School. Quarterback Jayden Jackson accounted for 292 yards of total offense (177 rushing and 115 passing) and four touchdowns (three passing and one rushing) in the 32-29 win.
Later that night, the Hawthorne Hornets advanced to their sixth straight championship game. In our final broadcast on 106.9 FM “I Am Country,” the No. 2 seed Hornets (11-1) defeated No. 1 and previously unbeaten Blountstown, 24-8, in the FHSAA Rural state championship game.
It was Hawthorne’s third state title in the past four years.
From 6-7 p.m. on Wednesday, head coach Cornelius Ingram and 30 Hawthorne football players will join us at Sonic Drive-In on Archer Road for “The Prep Zone Sports Show.” It will be broadcast online (audio only) at ThePrepZone.com and MainStreet Daily News.
On Thursday at 6 p.m., tune in to the Jacksonville Jaguars Coaches Show on 106.9 FM “I Am Country,” followed by this Sunday’s home game against the New York Jets. The pregame show begins at noon, followed by the kickoff at 1 p.m.
Then on Friday, it’s a city showdown in boys high school basketball as the Class 5A Gainesville Hurricanes host the Class 6A Buchholz Bobcats at The Purple Palace.
Buchholz defeated Columbia (Lake City), 60-35, to snap a four-game losing streak in the series. The Bobcats will try and snap a three-game losing streak to the rival ‘Canes.
GHS won both of last year’s meetings, a 78-51 road victory last December, followed by a 54-41 win at home on Jan. 24.
Although they are in different classifications now, GHS defeated Buchholz on a buzzer-beater two years ago to win the Class 6A-District 2 title.
Join Mike Ridaught (Play-by-play) and Mac McCray (Color) for the first of two matchups this season. The two teams will play again at Buchholz on Friday, Jan. 23.
Coverage begins at 7:15 p.m., followed by the tip at 7:30 p.m. You can listen to the game online at Mainstreet Daily News.