Newberry Football Handles Santa Fe on Road
ALACHUA — There is not much better in sports than a good, old-fashioned rivalry game where raw emotion takes its course. In such an affair Friday night, the Newberry Panthers shut down the Santa Fe Raiders for a 27-7 win.
In the highly anticipated football contest, parking and open spaces in the bleachers were at a premium, yet so was scoring in the first half.
Santa Fe vs. Newberry has kicked off! The rivalry starts off with the Panthers leading 7-0. Will the Raiders come back!?! pic.twitter.com/UmltipKSgI
— Coral uzgiden (@coraluzgiden) October 4, 2025
Newberry (3-3, 3-0 Class 2A-District 5) came out hot by scoring on its first drive with a 40-yard dump-off pass caught by Kaleb Woods. It was not the last time Woods saw the end zone, but it was the only score of the first half.
Meanwhile, Santa Fe (4-2, 1-1) struggled to move the chains.
“Offensively, we just could never get anything going,” Raiders coach Earnest Graham said.
Santa Fe running back Jasiah Powell has been dominant on the ground this season, but against Newberry, Powell had little room to work with as a claw of Panthers clung to him every time he touched the ball.
“Those guys (Newberry) know our team goes through Jasiah and they just did a good job taking over,” Graham said.
While the Panthers may have out-gameplanned Santa Fe, there were times the Raiders shot themselves in the foot: a high snap on fourth-and-goal and having just 10 players on the field defensively during one of Woods’ two long rushing touchdowns in the second half cost Santa Fe.
“I feel like I failed my guys as a head coach tonight,” Graham said. “We were prepared in some ways and we were not prepared in a lot of other ways. And that ultimately comes back on me. I have to do better as a head coach, preparing my staff and this football team.”
With Newberry leading 20-0 in the fourth quarter, Santa Fe’s only score came on a kick returned for a touchdown by Dantre Little. While it may have been electric, it was not enough of a spark to get the Raiders going.
The only Panthers touchdown not scored by Woods was a quarterback keeper taken in by Zaden Wilcox.
In the end, talk is cheap, but action speaks volumes. As the Panthers players waved goodbye to the Santa Fe student section after the final whistle, they said hello to an undisputed first-place standing in the district and a perfect 3-0 start to league play.
“We thought we were ready to get over that hurdle and to get a win over Newberry,” Graham said. “They showed they are still on top of the district.”
HUGE STOP BY THE RAIDERS!!! On 4th and 17 in the 2nd quarter A SACK to turn over the game. Still 7-0 for the Panthers. pic.twitter.com/2XTuBFB1Lj
— Coral uzgiden (@coraluzgiden) October 4, 2025
Santa Fe stays in district play next Friday at Keystone Heights (0-6, 0-2) for a 7:30 p.m. game. NHS also plays a key district game at 7:30 p.m. Friday against Bradford (6-1, 2-0) in Starke.
Category: High School Sports, Newberry High School, Santa Fe High School
