GAINESVILLE, Fla. – It was the 49th meeting between No. 23 Gainesville Buchholz (5-1) and Gainesville (4-1) only having missed only one scheduled meeting which happened last season after COVID-19 caused issues for the host Hurricanes.
However, it was this meeting that Buchholz fans will remember and Gainesville fans will want to forget after the Bobcats took the wind out of the Hurricanes, 34-3 at Citizens Field.
SPECIAL TEAMS OWNED THE NIGHT
They say there is three phases to the game when it comes to football. Usually the first two parts includes the offense and defense and they get the most recognition.
However, the third part – the special teams – doesn’t usually get talked about.
But this not one of those nights in the case for Buchholz.
One of the biggest things Buchholz Head Coach Mark Whittemore brought up was the fact that Colsen Orth, who plays at defensive tackle, was able to hit punts on an average of 35 yards or more except for one punt that gave the Hurricanes great field position.
Overall, the punts also helped keep Gainesville pinned deep in their own territory most of the night on most drives, especially the second half.
The second thing Coach Whittemore brought up was the fact that Reed Roussou was having a strong night on kickoffs. That included several touchbacks on kickoffs which pinned the Hurricanes deep to start the drive.
And third, it would be a failure if it was not mentioned the fact that Nay’ron Jenkins came and blocked a Cooper Baidcs 47 yard field goal with 6.5 seconds left before half to set the tone for the Bobcats for the second half.
You can say it was a great night for special teams play from Buchholz.
CLOSE GAME FIRST HALF
The first half of he game was like no other as it showed what a city rivalry can be like when two teams fiercely dislike each other.
With a packed stadium of at least 4,000 people, potentially more, the game really showed that rivalries, especially against crosstown or cross county rivals are the most important thing that high school football can have. That includes both teams having cheerleaders present, marching bands both performing, and both teams having concession stands in operation.
If all that is what you like in high school football, then that is what makes Citizens Field very unique in so many ways in Gainesville.
As such the crowd noise and the marching bands made it all for a great first half that saw Buchholz score on their first possession of the game that was set up by a fourth and 16 conversion that saw EJ Gadson go in for six to take a 6-0 lead with 5:55 left in the first quarter.
Gainesville would get on the board early in the second quarter when Badics 37 yard field goal that would cut the deficit to a 6-3 game with 11:41 left on the clock.
The 6-3 score would be the score at halftime.
PENALTIES AN ISSUE FOR BOTH TEAMS
Penalties can either hurt a team or help a team when it comes to winning ball games every week during the season.
For the Hurricanes, at least 11 penalties were called on them during the game, while Buchholz had nearly as many with at least nine penalties called on the Bobcats.
Some of the biggest penalties that were accumulated by Gainesville were encroachment penalties on Buchholz’s first drive, which at least one of those penalties gave Buchholz one of their only handful of first downs acquired in the game.
However, if you further at the penalties, Buchholz suffered more of the severe penalties during the game including several personal foul and unsportsmanlike penalties that were drive killers for the Bobcats or would put the Hurricanes in better field position.
In the end though, especially in the second half, it was Buchholz’s defense that went lights out on the Hurricanes, pitching the second half shutout while special teams and the offense pushed the gas pedal to the floor.
CITY RIVALRY LIKE NO OTHER
As mentioned this was the 49th meeting between both Buchholz and Gainesville in this historic city rivalry that started in 1972 when Buchholz first opened as one of two new high schools in Gainesville (with the other being Eastside).
With the effort on Thursday night, this was one of the more lopsided scores in the history of the series and could have been the sixth overall shutout by Buchholz had it not been for the Gainesville field goal early in the second quarter.
As such now, Buchholz leads the series 29-20 over Gainesville and have now won the last three meetings in a row over the Hurricanes.
COACH SPEAK
WHAT IS NEXT
Buchholz hits the road to Tallahassee next week to take on Chiles in District 7A-2 action, while Gainesville tries to look to recover next week when they host Middleburg in District 6A-4 action.
SCORING SUMMARY
FIRST QUARTER
B: EJ Gadson 6 rush, 5:55 (run failed)
SECOND QUARTER
G: Cooper Badics 39 field goal
THIRD QUARTER
B: Jacarree Kelly 45 punt return (Colsen Orth kick)
B: Creed Whittemore 1 run (Orth kick)
B: Quan Lee 53 punt return (Orth Kick)
FOURTH QUARTER
B: Amarius Halle 9 run (Orth kick)
