To the End Zone: Meet the 2023 All-Gainesville Area Big School Football Offensive Team

Buchholz RB Quinton Cutler knew what pressure awaited him entering the 2023 season.

In 2022, the then-junior started in the backfield. However, he dealt with injuries and mostly played spectator to Creed Whittemore’s heroics. The dual-threat QB led the squad in rush yards and wowed fans on his way to Mr. Florida.

Whittemore, though, departed for Mississippi State and sophomore Trace Johnson got the job behind center.

The small senior suddenly became the big dog on offense.

Cutler rushed for 154 yards in the ‘Cats second game of the season, but he soon became bogged down by injuries. Some wondered if he could get his mojo back after Florida commit and linebacker Myles Graham received carries and excelled.

However, by the time the calendar switched to October, Cutler put all concerns to bed.

He ran for 1,181 yards and 16 TDs as the Bobcats kept on winning and advanced all the way to the Class 4S state semifinals.

Now, Cutler is the 2023 Gainesville Sun's All-Gainesville Area Big School Football Offensive Player of the Year.

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The tailback ran for over 900 more yards and 15 more TDs than 2022.

Cutler currently holds multiple FCS offers and has not committed to any school yet.

Below is the full All-Gainesville Area Big School Football Offensive Team. The group of 13 comes from six schools across Classes 2S-4S. Don’t forget that the small schools (Classes 1S and 1R) receive their own team, which will be released Tuesday.

Congrats to all the players!

All-Gainesville Area Big School Football Offensive Team

Adrian Curtis (Eastside QB): 1,825 passing yards, ranked 13^th in Class 2S; 21 passing TDs and 8 interceptions

Ben Hockman (Santa Fe WR): 46 catches for 753 receiving yards, ranked 8^th in Class 2S; 4 receiving TDs

Camdon Frier (Columbia WR): Florida State commit; 33 catches for 456 yards according to MaxPreps, ranked 43^rd in Class 3S; 5 receiving touchdowns

Cartez Daniels (Keystone Heights RB): 850 yards rushing on 5.2 YPC, ranked 31^st in Class 2S; 13 rushing TDs, ranked 26^th in 2S

Chalil Cummings (Bradford WR/CB): Memphis commit; 47 catches for 846 yards, ranked 10^th in Class 2S and 77^th in Florida; 12 TDs; 3 interceptions defensively, ranked 54^th in 2S; 83 tackles, ranked 52^nd in 2S

Chason Clark (Bradford TE/MLB): Marshall commit; Tornadoes TE with numerous big TD catches; team’s leading tackler as well, 134 tackles, ranked 3^rd in Class 2S and 26^th in Florida

Dae’Jon Shanks (Bradford QB): 1,360 passing yards on 55 completion percentage; 18 TDs and 2 interceptions, ranked 18^th in Class 2S; 1,104 rush yards on 7.3 YPC, 12 rushing TDs, ranked 14^th among all players in 2S; 2,464 total yards, ranked 68^th in Florida and 8^th in Class 2S

Jay Giunta (Buchholz K): Rated as a 4-star kicker; MaxPreps All-American; 16 made FGs, ranked 8^th nationally and 1^st in Florida; 94 kicking points, ranked 2^nd in Florida

Joshua Benjamin (Eastside RB): 506 rush yards, ranked 62^nd in Class 2S; 8 total TDs, ranked 77^th in 2S

Justin Williams (Buchholz WR): 53 catches for 1,005 yards, ranked 42^nd in Florida and 8^th in Class 4S; 17 receiving TDs, ranked 16^th in 4S

Quinton Cutler (Buchholz RB): 175 carries for 1,181 yards (6.7 YPC), ranked 83^rd in Florida and 12^th in Class 4S; 16 rushing TDs; 35 catches for 502 receiving yards and five TDs; 1,683 total yards, ranked 41^st in 4S; 21 total TDs, ranked 47^th in Florida and 10^th in 4S

Peter Neubert (Buchholz P/K): Rated as a 4.5-star kicker; 6,027 kickoff yards, ranked 5^th nationally and 1^st in Florida; ranked 1^st in Florida and 4^th nationally in touchback percentage

Trace Johnson (Buchholz QB): 2,844 passing yards on 60 completion percentage, ranked 26^th in Florida and 6^th in Class 4S; 35 passing TDs and 13 interceptions

Coach of the Year: Chuck Bell, Buchholz

Bell took the mantle from legendary coach Mark Whittemore and excelled in his first season on the Bobcats sideline. He led the team to a perfect 10-0 regular season record and eventually all the way to the Class 4S State Semifinals, where the ‘Cats suffered a devastating 21-20 loss to Lakeland.

Combined between the offensive and defensive teams, Buchholz had eight of 26 players named to the All-Area teams.

Noah Ram covers Gainesville-area high school sports and University of Florida athletics for The Gainesville Sun. Contact him at Nram@gannett.com and follow him @Noah_ram1 on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Buchholz RB Quinton Cutler headlines the All-Area Big School Offensive Team