Buchholz scores 35 second quarter points in rout of Mosley
GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA- Most of Florida's high school state playoff games will be played on Friday night, but Buchholz made sure everyone knew they were playing on Thursday evening at Citizens Field.
The undefeated Bobcats made a statement in a Class 4S, Region 1 quarterfinal against visiting Mosley as they rolled up 49 unanswered first half points in a dominating 59-0 win.
Buchholz will now await the winner of the region quarterfinal contest between Ponte Vedra-Creekside.
It didn't take Buchholz (11-0) long to show everyone in attendance at Milton Lewis Stadium that the Bobcats were the superior team on the night. The Bobcats quickly drove down the field on their first possession, ending in a 1-yard touchdown run by University of Florida commit Myles Graham.
Once Chuck Bell's group got going offensively, there was no stopping them as Buchholz only punted once in the first half. The Bobcats increased their lead to 14-0 when DJ Hicks scored on an 18-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Trace Johnson.
It was early in the second quarter that Buchholz broke the game wide open as senior running back Quinton Cutler broke loose on a 34-yard touchdown run, bumping the Bobcats' advantage to 21-0.
Mosley (6-5) just couldn't get anything going through the air or the ground against a stiff Buchholz defensive front seven as they only managed under 100 yards of offense in the opening half. Running the ball proved to be very difficult, rushing for just 17 yards in the first half.
Right before halftime proved to show there probably wouldn't be a comeback effort from Mosley, with Buchholz scoring two touchdowns in the final 45 seconds right before intermission.
Cutler scored on a 16-yard touchdown run and then on the ensuing Mosley possession, the Dolphins would fumble and turn it right back over to the Bobcats. Buchholz would take full advantage and score on a 18-yard touchdown run by Hicks to give the Bobcats a 49-0 lead going into halftime.
The entire second half was played under a running clock and Buchholz would tag on a 1-yard touchdown run from tailback Asaph Bryant and a 45-yard field goal from Jay Giunta to cap off the scoring.
With a big lead heading into the latter two quarters of play, Johnson was replaced by junior backup quarterback Collin Dunmore, who led the multiple scoring drives.
Johnson finished the night completing 8-of-13 passes for 137 yards and three touchdowns and Cutler ended the night with 140 yards on 14 attempts and scored twice.
It was the seventh running clock game of the season and now Bell and his bunch will get an extra day off and await who they will play next in the region quarterfinals.
FHSAA 2023 CHAMPIONSHIPS BRACKETS
2023 FHSAA CLASS 4M STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
2023 FHSAA CLASS 4S STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
2023 FHSAA CLASS 3M STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
2023 FHSAA CLASS 3S STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
2023 FHSAA CLASS 2M STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
2023 FHSAA CLASS 2S STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
2023 FHSAA CLASS 1M STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
2023 FHSAA CLASS 1S STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
2023 FHSAA CLASS 1R STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @sblivefl
