Buchholz a Dominant Program in Gainesville Football

Buchholz proved once again Friday it’s a dominant force in Gainesville high school football after beating the Eastside Rams for the 13th consecutive time, 49-7, to win its ninth consecutive city championship.

Buchholz (3-0) used five touchdowns from quarterback Andrew Whittemore and a stout defense to roll at Citizens Field.

The Bobcats started the scoring binge with a 12-play, 49-yard drive capped by Whittemore’s 3-yard run to put BHS up 7-0 at the 6:55 mark of the first quarter.

The score became 9-0 when a snap went over the head of Eastside quarterback Andrew Sutherland into the end zone for a safety.

The Bobcats started the second quarter hot. A 65-yard drive ended on a 2-yard touchdown for Whittemore that made for a 15-0 lead 11 minutes into the quarter.

Then a blocked Eastside punt by Buchholz put the ball on the 15. Whittemore scored again three plays later to put Buchholz up 22-0 at the 9:04 mark.

“We had a good plan going in,” Whittemore said. “We kind of got off to a rocky start and we kept playing, we kept moving the ball and I just got in good positioning.”

Eastside (0-3) bounced back briefly. After its drive ended on a three-and-out, cornerback Malicah Williams returned an interception 44 yards for a touchdown to put the Rams on the board.

The Bobcats then all but settled the final outcome with an 11-yard TD pass from Whittemore to  senior receiver Dominik Harvey to make it 29-7 going into halftime.

A slow third quarter ended at 5:04, when Whittemore found junior Avery Norris for a 15-yard touchdown pass to give Buchholz a 36-7 advantage.

Rain in the fourth quarter proved to be no problem when junior Joshua Menefee made a 3-yard scoring run to put the Bobcats up 42-7.

Coach Mark Whittemore made it clear in the post-game huddle that with district play starting soon the Bobcats have to keep a good attitude if they want to make the playoffs.

“We have to do our jobs and we have to do it with joy,” he said.

Buchholz plays at 5A-District 3 rival Ocala West Port (1-2) at 7 p.m. Thursday.

Category: Buchholz High School, Eastside High School, High School Sports