Buchholz Destroys Eastside Under Friday Night Lights

By Cassidy Del Greco and Michaelea Neal

The Buchholz Bobcats defeated the Eastside Rams 42-7 Friday in a game filled with school spirit. The Bobcats record is now 3-0.

Bobcat Stars Shine Through the First Half

Buchholz started off the game fast with a long touchdown pass from quarterback Creed Whittemore to wide receiver Quan Lee.

Whittemore and Lee demonstrated an impressive connection throughout the entire first half. A connection that some may say resembled Kyle Trask and Kyle Pitts during the 2020-2021 Florida Football season.

Quarterback Creed Whittemore is a senior at Buchholz with offers from Florida, Central Florida, and Texas A&M amongst others.

Whittemore is the younger brother of Trent Whittemore,  a wide receiver for the Florida Gators, and Luke Whittemore, also a wide receiver but for the Troy University Trojans.

Whittemore has offers from both of the universities his brothers attend but has not yet made a decision of where he will continue his football career.

Lee received offers from over twenty different universities across the country. Some of these schools include Duke, Michigan, Penn State, Central Florida, and Miami, he has officially committed to playing for the University of Central Florida upon graduation.

Bobcats Offense Continues to Dominate

Eastside was trying to get going early, already down 7-0 after the first Buchholz drive. Eastside fumbled the ball and it was recovered by Buchholz at Eastside’s 28-yard line.

Whittemore then throws another touchdown pass to Lee.

Eastside punter Caleb Dressel punts the ball on their next drive. The punt went roughly 30 yards and was caught by Lee, putting the Bobcats close to scoring position again.

The Bobcats, however, could not capitalize on the short-field advantage and turned the ball over on downs. Eastside received the ball at the four-yard line.

Eastside could not get the offense going against the Bobcats and punted from their own one-yard line, following a delay of game penalty. The Rams punt landed at the 35 and Buchholz scored quickly with a throw from Whittemore to wide receiver Adrian Sermons.

Sermons jumped for the catch in the endzone putting the Bobcats up 21-0 at the end of the first quarter.

Buchholz started the second quarter just as strong as the first. Lee returned a punt on Buchholz’s first drive of the second quarter to the endzone. Making the score 28-0 Bobcats.

With just over seven minutes left before the half, Eastside scored its first touchdown with a long run from wide receiver Darius Moore. Buchholz answers quickly with another touchdown pass from Whittemore to wide receiver Jacarree Kelly.

The Bobcats led the Rams 42-7 going into halftime.  The score remained 42-7 to end the game.

HALFTIME: @BuchholzFB 42, @EHSRamsFootball 7, Buchholz with a massive lead due to explosive plays by the Bobcats. @ESPNGainesville @ThePrepZone @BuchholzHigh @FHSAA @GNVpreps @michaeleagneal pic.twitter.com/wX0GPJdVc0

— Cassidy Del Greco (@CassidyDelGreco) September 11, 2021

Whittemore, Lee, Sermons, and Kelly all did not play the majority of the second half and not at all in the fourth quarter.

Lee finished the game with three touchdowns, 200 all-purpose yards, and one punt return for a TD.

https://twitter.com/QuanLee_5/status/1436527661866790914

More Than Football

The Bobcats won a huge victory over the Rams amidst a turbulent time in the Buchholz community.

Having only been in school for under a month, Buchholz High School has been evacuated on four different occasions due to bomb threats. Students have displayed frustration, but nevertheless, the Bobcats persevered. The game proved that this team is able to fight off distraction and remain focused on their goals for this season.

Buchholz provided extra police security throughout the stands and surrounding Citizens Field for Friday night’s game.

The Bobcats have also been mourning the recent death of John Peacock, a beloved former coach, and member of the Bobcat community. Peacock died from COVID-19 complications on August 18, 2021, only five days after testing positive for the coronavirus. The Bobcats chose to honor Peacock throughout the game against the Rams last night.

The Bobcats are scheduled to play their next game at home against Cardinal Gibbons High School on Friday, September 17, at 7:30 p.m.

FINAL: @BuchholzFB 42, @EHSRamsFootball 7. @ESPNGainesville @GNVpreps @ThePrepZone @FHSAA @michaeleagneal pic.twitter.com/dUnSI2dtbt

— Cassidy Del Greco (@CassidyDelGreco) September 11, 2021