Buchholz Football Stays Undefeated in Battle of ‘Cats

Buchholz went on a 24-0 second-half blitz Thursday at Citizens Field to overcome Ocala Forest 38-20 and take the lead in Class 5A-District 3.

The Bobcats (6-0) won the chippy battle of undefeated teams by knocking Forest to 5-1.

Buchholz started aggressively, getting on the board quickly in the first drive. Quarterback Andrew Whittemore threw a 34-yard pass over the head of a Wildcats cornerback to senior wide receiver Dominik Harvey in the corner of the end zone to go up 7-0.

Forest responded by converting on multiple third downs to invade Bobcat territory. However, Buchholz finally stopped Forest on a third-and-long, making the Wildcats settle for a field goal. 

It was a quick turnover on downs that gave Forest the ball back, but Cam Burse was already reading the Wildcats’ offense like a textbook. 

The junior cornerback jumped a pass in the backfield and took it all the way for a pick-six, putting Buchholz up 14-3 with 1:28 remaining in the first quarter. 

Forest’s defense stepped up for the rest of the half, however, forcing Buchholz into several long-yardage situations and keeping pressure on.  

“ We were just a little clunky at times offensively,” Buchholz coach Mark Whittemore said. 

In the second quarter, a Whittemore pass was intercepted by Forest’s Christian Neal, who returned the ball more than 80 yards for the score that cut the Wildcats’ deficit to 14-10. 

Forest then used Buchholz’s troubles to its advantage. On their next drive, Wildcats wide receiver Taj Graham made an impressive catch on his back at the Buchholz 7-yard line. The Bobcats defense held strong, forcing Forest to settle for a field goal with 1:45 left in the half that cut the deficit to 14-13.

The night looked promising for the Wildcats coming out of halftime, when they continued to dominate. Running back Keziyrehun Rivers was dragged 10 yards across the field in a dogpile when he finally met the end zone to give the Wildcats their first lead at 20-14.

Penalties upon penalties began to suffocate the Bobcats. After multiple holding calls and unsportsmanlike conduct calls from both sides, Whittemore found the end zone again, showing his ground-and-pound offensive scheme for a 21-20 lead entering the final quarter.

The Bobcats took it home in the fourth by outscoring the visitors 17-0. Harvey set the tone on a center-field pass, securing the touchdown with 11:41 remaining. A field goal and then a touchdown later by running back Joshua Menefee guaranteed a Bobcat win.

Physical and feisty was the story of the night. The Buchholz coach was clear with his team after the game, emphasizing “no more stupid crap,” referring to unsportsmanlike conduct, holding and late-hit penalties.

“It wasn’t a dominant win,”  Whittemore said. “It was dominant on the scoreboard, but that’s not indicative of exactly what happened.”

The Bobcats look to keep their winning streak alive as they prepare to travel across the county to Santa Fe (4-0) in Alachua at 7:30 p.m. next Thursday. The Raiders are at Citra North Marion (0-5) for a 7 p.m. game today.  

Category: Buchholz High School, High School Sports