Gainesville High (0-1) and Eastside (0-1) will both be looking for their first wins of the season when they go head to head tonight on Citizens Field at 7:30.
The Hurricanes are coming off a dramatic overtime lost to Columbia after the Tigers converted a two-point conversion to send the Canes to a 44-43 loss.
“Anytime you lose in overtime by a point, you start second-guessing and wish you would’ve done one or two things differently,” said Gainesville head coach Mark Latsko. “But Columbia is a good football team and we like to think that we have a good football team so we just got to get a little bit better and come away this week with a win.”
Gainesville quarterback Caelan Christian put up a valiant effort running the offense, tossing for 317 yards and three touchdowns. The Hurricanes put up 531 total yards of offense.
Meanwhile, the Eastside Rams lost to the Buchholz Bobcats 31-21 in their season-opener. The game was delayed by weather on Friday, started again on Saturday, and called when two officials were overcome by heat.
The Rams saw their 14-0 lead diminish after the Bobcats scored 28 points in the second half.
“Our goal is, as we’ve discussed as a team, (is to) get better every week,” said Rams head coach Jeff Parker. “We want to kind of prepare ourselves for the long run. In the first half (against Buchholz) I thought our kids played really well… then we came out after halftime and we were definitely a little flat. I was definitely pleased with how they performed in the first half and we definitely have something to build on from that.”
** The P.K. Younge Blue Wave (0-0) will officially open up their season tonight when they travel to Bell High School (0-1) to take on the Bulldogs.
The Blue Wave were supposed to play Williston last Friday but the game was canceled due to rain.
P.K. Yonge coach Kent Johnson looks to improve from last season’s 3-7 record.
“The depth and the skill that’s in the standup positions – that’s the strength of the team,” said Johnson. “The weakness is our youth up front.”
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
** Buchholz (1-0) will travel to Green Cove Springs to take on Clay High School (1-0).
Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m.
** In a 1A matchup, the Trenton Tigers (1-0) will take on the Branford Buccaneers (1-0).
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
For audio on above quotes, click below:
P.K. Younge head coach Kent Johnson points out his team’s biggest strength and weakness