Orange Park falls to Buchholz in district opener

Friday night's final

Buchholz 18, Orange Park 6

A strong second half wasn’t enough to bring the Orange Park Raiders back for a win against district foe Buchholz Friday night, and the Bobcats left Clay County with an 18-6 win.

Intermittent rain throughout the day made for soggy conditions at Hoyt B. Cotney Stadium in Orange Park, and both the Bobcats (2-4, 1-0 District 3-5A) and the Raiders (1-5, 0-1 District 3-5A) bogged down in the first quarter. After trading punts, the Bobcats’ offense took advantage of a break in the rain in the second quarter and aired the ball out for a 12-yard touchdown pass.

“With the weather, we didn’t think we were going to be able to pass the ball much tonight,” said Jay Godwin, Buchholz Head Coach. “Fortunately we got a window and we were able to take advantage of it.”

The Bobcats didn’t try to run away from the Raiders’ strength. They went right at it. Buchholz’s Jameil McLeod stared over the line of scrimmage at Orange Park’s Ricky Wright, who was
matched up against the receiver in man coverage, with 12 yards between him and the end zone. They locked up after the snap of the ball and McLeod darted for the left side of the end zone with Wright stride for stride with the receiver. Bobcats quarterback Kevin Prindle lofted the ball to the left corner and McLeod came down with it in the end zone for the game’s first score.

“That’s what this game is about,” said Ted Leasor Sr., Orange Park Head Coach. “You put your best against their best and if they win, they win. If we win, we win.”

Neither team was able to kick an extra point beyond the line of scrimmage throughout the game, but Buchholz was able to build an 18-0 lead at the half behind an 11-yard touchdown pass from Prindle to Henry Hill and a 79-yard fumble recovery returned for a touchdown by the Bobcats’ Robert Dixon.

The Raider rushing game couldn’t find a rhythm in the first half, but banged the drum loudly to start the second half. C.J. Stallworth grabbed the drumsticks first for the Raiders, and grinded out a 20-yard run while shedding four defenders. Carlos Jefferson followed with runs of 15 and 22 yards. The drive finished when Kam Fasnacht dove into the end zone from the Buchholz 1-yard line.

What helped inspire a lackluster ground game? “Our halftime talk,” Leasor Sr. said.

Jefferson led the Raiders in rushing with 52 yards on five carries. C.J. Stallworth ran for 41 yards on 10 carries. Kirhy Smith led Raider receivers with five receptions for 68 yards.

The defense also stepped up its play in the second half. After allowing over 200 yards of total offense in the first half, the Raiders swarmed to the ball and only allowed 17 yards of offense in the second half.

“The defense did great,” Leasor, Sr. said. “They really came out and shut them down in the second half.”

The Raiders’ Chris Dent, Demetre Baker and Darian Donaldson all stormed the Bobcat backfield for tackles for loss.

The Raiders will host Columbia High School (Lake City) next Friday. Columbia (5-1, 1-0 District 5-4A) suffered its only loss against Buchholz, and looks to take down another team from Clay County after thumping Middleburg 40-7 last week.

Scoring Summary

Buchholz          0  18  0  0 -- 18

Orange Park        0  0  6  0  -- 6

  
Second Quarter

B – Prindle 12-yard pass to McLeod (kick failed)

B –  Prindle 11-yard pass to Hill (kick blocked)

B –  Dixon 79-yard fumble recovery return (kick
blocked)

Third Quarter

OP- Fasnacht 1-yard run (kick blocked)