Buchholz Continues Win Streak By Beating Nease
The Buchholz Bobcats brought their win streak to four games Friday night following their 27-7 victory against Ponte Vedra Nease at Citizens Field.
This was the first Class 6A-District 3 game of the season for both teams. Nease (4-2) won last year’s matchup 20-17 in overtime.
It was a team win by Buchholz (5-1), whose defense made the most of Nease’s mistakes and its offense capitalized on the opportunities delivered.
“I feel like we all came together in this game,” University of Florida commit Justin Williams said. “They beat us last year, and we weren’t going to let that happen again.”
The Bobcats ended their first drive with a turnover on downs, but they didn’t have to wait long to get the ball back.
Troy Fleming intercepted a pass from Nease quarterback Aiden Phifer on the Panthers’ 41-yard line. Fleming’s interception led to the first Bobcats’ touchdown of the night, a 2-yard rush from quarterback Andrew Whittemore.
The touchdown was scored with a little more than four minutes remaining in the first quarter after a personal foul penalty against Nease defensive player Dylan Rhoad, who was ejected from the game.
Buchholz then decided, with less than two minutes left in the half, to kick a field goal by Jay Giunta on fourth-and-goal at the 1-yard line.
“At that point, you don’t know if it’s going to be 27-7,” Buchholz coach Mark Whittemore said. “We just needed a two-score ball game … We felt good about our defense, that we were going to be able to hold them.”
The Panthers went scoreless in the first half with the Bobcats defense holding them to Fleming’s interception, two punts and a turnover on downs.
Nease’s highlight of the night came less than a minute into the second half when running back Enrique Ordoñez, who rushed for more than 100 yards, ran 72 yards for its only touchdown.
The Buchholz offense responded with a Giunta 44-yard field goal and the defense with an interception by Caleb Young Jr.
Once again, Whittemore made the most of his defense’s interception by scoring a 2-yard rushing touchdown.
After a turnover on downs by Nease, sophomore running back Josh Menefee scored Buchholz’s third rushing touchdown with less than five minutes remaining in the game.
Buchholz will play city rival Gainesville next Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Citizens Field. Gainesville (2-3) is coming off of a bye.
Category: Buchholz High School, Football, High School Sports
