Buchholz boys lacrosse rolled visiting Santa Fe High School 18-4 on Friday night, the Bobcats eighth straight win since starting the season 5-5.
Buchholz (13-5) was originally slated to host St. Augustine Tacoi Creek for Senior Night before the Toros canceled and the Bobcats won 1-0 by forfeit.
In a panic to host a Senior Night for his players, Buchholz coach Casey Adams called four schools before Santa Fe agreed to play.
“They all kind of said maybe, but shout-out Santa Fe for taking the game on short notice,” Adams said.
The Bobcats, who defeated Santa Fe 16-4 on Feb. 18 in Alachua, struck first 40 seconds into the game with a goal from senior Drew King. Buchholz followed with two more goals by sophomore Zach Stuart and junior Richie Bendekovic.
Santa Fe (4-7) responded with its lone goal of the half from sophomore Austin Carlton at the six-minute mark. The Bobcats followed Santa Fe’s goal with four more scores, including two from sophomore Kade Griggs.
Buchholz continued the firepower in the second. Bendekovic started the scoring a minute into the quarter followed by two more goals before senior Jack Flanagan scored his first goal of the season.
“It’s everything, it’s the reason why we play sports,” Flanagan said. “Having people there for you, getting hype, celebration, excitement, that’s what sports are all about.”
The Bobcats finished the half with King, Griggs and Bendekovic all completing their hat tricks to give Buchholz a 15-1 lead at intermission. The Bobcats outshot the Raiders 36-4 in the first half.
Santa Fe struck first three minutes into the second half with a goal from senior Preston Keel. The Bobcats struggled to find the back of the net despite their 10 shots on goal. Buchholz scored its lone goal in the third with two seconds left from Griggs, his fourth of the night.
“I really just think it comes down to having to be calm, cool and collected on the field and also not being selfish,” Griggs said.
The Bobcats closed the game conceding two goals to the Raiders, while the offense scored two goals, including King’s fourth of the game. Buchholz outshot Santa Fe 55-10 on the night.
“We’re going to keep the ball rolling,” King said. “We’ve got a great offense, we’ve got a great defense and Jackson Collins in the cage is a brick wall.”
The Bobcats will now head into the Class 2A-District 3 tournament that starts Wednesday. The quarterfinal pairings will be released this weekend.
