DUNNELLON — Santa Fe (9-2) ended an 11-year playoff victory drought Friday night, routing Dunnellon (9-2) 35-7 for its first postseason win since 2015.
After losing the Class 3A, District 5 Championship to Dunnellon 22-17 earlier in the season, the Raiders came back ready to play and dominated both sides of the ball, recording three interceptions and five touchdowns to keep their season alive in the Class 3A-Region 2 quarterfinals.
“I’m just so proud,” Santa Fe Head coach Eartnest Graham said. “Our guys are really connected to what we’re trying to do as a program. It was fun tonight to see it all come together.”
“We believe that we did not put our best foot forward the first time we played these guys,” Graham said. “But we came tonight and we imposed our will, and we just would not have it the other way.”
Santa Fe struck first after a big run by senior running back Jasiah Powell and a completion from junior quarterback Gavin Peterson to sophomore Nathan Anthony set up a fourth-and-goal opportunity. Powell was able to run into the end zone to put the Raiders up 7-0 with 2:26 remaining in the first quarter.
A solid Raiders defense kept Dunnellon off the scoreboard throughout the first half. Senior Jadathun Bryant had a big night, intercepting two Tigers passes. Junior Quarterback Gavin Peterson extended Santa Fe’s lead to 14-0 with a rushing touchdown just before halftime.
Santa Fe continued to roll in the second half, pulling away further in the third quarter.
A completion from Peterson to Powell set up a fourth-and-goal opportunity. Powell punched it in, scoring his second touchdown to increase the Raiders lead to 21-0 with 5:53 remaining in the third.
Dunnellon found the end zone for the first time when sophomore quarterback Zion Benn connected with senior Elias Williams for a touchdown pass to cut the deficit to 21-7 with 3:11 remaining in the third.
Time for celebration was cut short. The Raiders quickly shut down any hopes of a comeback early in the fourth quarter.
Powell found the end zone for the third time following a mishandled Dunnellon snap that resulted in a turnover, extending Santa Fe’s lead to 28-7 early in the fourth.
The Raiders capitalized on another Tigers fumble when Bryant broke free for a rushing touchdown to make it 35-7 with 8:08 remaining.
After a decisive victory, No. 4 Santa Fe will hit the road again to face No. 1 Merritt Island (11-0) in the semifinals on Friday.
Merritt Island cruised against No. 8 Tenoroc (6-5) to end its season on Friday in a 63-0 shutout.
Despite Merritt Island’s dominant showing, Graham believes his team’s preparation and dedication is enough not to count them out.
“We have been tweaking it all year,” Graham told his team after the game. “We made a couple changes on defense, a couple changes on offense, a couple changes on specialty, and now we are ripe for an upset.”
For Santa Fe, the challenge ahead is just another opportunity to build upon a program more than a decade in the making.
Santa Fe has endured six head coach changes since its last playoff win in over a decade. Graham has helped transform the program from a single win season in 2024 to a multi-win resurgence backed by the Alachua community.
“What else would you want to do on a Friday night in November?” Graham said. “We’re looking forward to it.”
