Buchholz wasn’t just playing for a high school football win Friday at Citizens Field. It was playing for homecoming on Senior Night, a continued undefeated season and the Class 5A-District 3 title.
The 37-22 win gave all that to the Bobcats (9-0), who proved too much for the Oakleaf Knights (4-5) despite numerous penalties at costly times.
Buchholz started the scoring six minutes in when quarterback Andrew Whittemore threw a 22-yard scoring pass to senior Dominik Harvey to give the Bobcats the 7-0 lead.
Unfortunately for the team from Orange Park, a stifling Buchholz defense ended its first drive with a three-and-out. The punt was blocked and recovered in the end zone for a touchdown to suddenly give the Bobcats a 14-0 lead with four minutes still left in the first quarter.
The Bobcats started their next drive just as strong. Whittemore passed short to junior Joshua Menefee, who then ran for a 49-yard gain to the Knights’ 19-yard line.
Penalties halted Buchholz’s progression in the red zone, but a 15-yard TD pass from Whittemore to junior Avery Norris put the Bobcats up 21-0 with less than a minute left in the quarter.
A personal foul on Buchholz gave Oakleaf control of the ball and the Knights capitalized, getting a touchdown to make the game 21-7 at the end of the first.
It took the Bobcats until three seconds left in the first half to score again. A risky fourth-and-goal push helped Buchholz go into halftime up 28-7 thanks to Whittemore.
A scoreless third quarter ended when Oakleaf capitalized off a Buchholz turnover on downs. The Knights ran the ball more than 50 yards into the end zone, making the gap between the teams 28-14 with four minutes left in the third.
Buchholz answered fast.
Senior Koy Frier ran the ball to the Knights’ 25-yard line on a kickoff return to put the Bobcats in the red zone. Buchholz was unable to score a touchdown off this run, instead settling for a 38-yard field goal by kicker Timothy Ortiz to go up 31-14.
An interception deep in Oakleaf territory seemed to spell trouble for Buchholz. Then, with only three minutes left in the fourth quarter, an interception by the Bobcats gave them possession at their own 40-yard line.
Buchholz wouldn’t let this opportunity slip by. It took two runs from Menefee to put the Bobcats up 37-14 and the game further out of the Knights’ reach.
Oakleaf went for a final touchdown and two-point conversion to make the final score 37-22, but when Buchholz regained control of the ball all it took was a quarterback kneel for the game to be over.
Penalties played a large role in the game. The Bobcats had nine holding penalties, two of them helped deny touchdown runs. For coach Mark Whittemore, it shows changes need to be made before the playoffs.
“If you’re in this for yourself I don’t want to be around you,” Whittemore said in the post-game huddle. “If you’re in this to go win a ‘chip, I do want to be around.”
Buchholz will have a home-field advantage for its first playoff game next month
“We knew one of our goals was to make sure that we win the district,” Whittemore said. “That’s going to place us in charge of hosting, and that’s something we’ve done a lot in the last four or five years.”
Buchholz travels to Jacksonville next Friday for a 7 p.m. game against Bolles (6-2) and attempts to end the regular season 10-0.
