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Four Gainesville area teams ranked in top 25 of inaugural FHSAA rankings. See where each landed

noah ram, gainesville sun
·4 min read

Respect for the Buchholz Bobcats has been a bit slow from the Florida high school statewide community.

But, on Tuesday, the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) granted the Bobcats the ultimate sign of recognition.

The FHSAA ranked Buchholz (5-0) second in the state of Florida and No. 1 in Class 4S in the organization’s highly anticipated first rankings of the 2023 football season.

BHS sits behind just Hollywood’s Chaminade-Madonna (Class 1M). Buchholz is the highest ranked “Suburban” school, and the top-ranked public school football program in the state.

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How is Buchholz football No. 2?

Buchholz High School Timmie Rowe (8) congratulates teammate (4) after he threw Columbia High School wide receiver Camdon Frier (12) to the ground on fourth down in the second half. The Buchholz Bobcats hosted the Columbia Tigers at Citizens Field in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, August 26, 2023. The two teams had to reschedule the game after lightning and an incident that occurred at Columbia High School Friday night. They were able to complete one quarter with Buchholz leading 14-0 after the delay Friday night. [Doug Engle/Ocala Star Banner]

The rankings are computer-generated and follow a similar algorithm as MaxPreps. While the Bobcats strength of schedule rating (6.49) ranks 39th in the state. Their overall rating (17.905) is likely helped by their margin of victory.

At 26.8 points per game, the Bobcats hold the highest margin of victory in Florida. Their smallest win came by 20, last Friday, over Vanguard (Ocala). The Knights rank No. 4 in the state, another factor which likely helped Buchholz.

After the win over Vanguard (4-1), coach Chuck Bell said he welcomes the doubts that BHS faced.

“I read all the stuff that Buchholz had a lot to prove this year, that it was going to be a rebuilding year for us,” Bell said. “I have a chip on my shoulder. I’ve read some of the things said about myself, and that’s only going to push me harder, only going to push these kids harder.”

“Continue to doubt Buchholz because we’ll continue to overcome the odds,” Bell concluded.

Four others in the top 75

Hawthorne Hornets wide receiver Alvon Isaac (2) flips over as he run onto the field before the game against the Newberry Panthers at Newberry High School in Newberry, FL on Friday, September 1, 2023. [Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun]
Hawthorne Hornets wide receiver Alvon Isaac (2) flips over as he run onto the field before the game against the Newberry Panthers at Newberry High School in Newberry, FL on Friday, September 1, 2023. [Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun]

In total, five local teams place in the top 100. No. 11 Williston and No. 13 Hawthorne sit back-to-back in Class 1R. The Red Devils managed to eek past the defending state champions despite their identical 5-0 records.

Williston’s S.O.S. ranking is a tad higher (2.82 vs 2.56). Four of WHS’ five wins this season came over teams in the top 220. Hawthorne, though, has beaten two teams in the top 85 – South Sumter (No. 55) and Newberry (No. 83).

Regardless, the Red Devils and Hornets have distinguished themselves as 1R’s best by far, and the FHSAA agrees. 1R’s next best – Holmes County – sits at No. 67.

Williston and Hawthorne are 1R's best: Tremendous Trio: Hawthorne, Williston and Newberry stand out from the pack in Class 1R

Just outside the top 20 resides Bradford (Starke). Through their ferocious defense, the Tornadoes are 4-0 and ranked fourth in Class 2S. Fort Meade (No. 16), Walton (No. 18) and Bishop Verot (No. 20) top Bradford.

Finally, Newberry (4-1) appears at No. 68, fourth in Class 1R and one spot behind Holmes County. The Panthers S.O.S. metric is well behind H.C. at 1.70. Newberry’s best win according to the FHSAA came last Friday over Chiefland (No. 179).

Bradford quarterback Dae'Jon Shanks (6) breaks upfield for a first down against Baldwin during a high school football game on September 2, 2023. [Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union]
Bradford quarterback Dae'Jon Shanks (6) breaks upfield for a first down against Baldwin during a high school football game on September 2, 2023. [Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union]

District champions are guaranteed playoff berths, but the rankings determine bids and seeding for at-large squads.

Currently, 13 teams from the Gainesville area would make the postseason. Nine come from 1R, with Lafayette and Williston as No. 1 seeds. Buchholz (No. 1, Class 4S, Region 1), Bradford (No. 1, Class 2S, Region 2), Eastside (No. 4, 2S, Region 2) and PK Yonge (No. 3, Class 1S, Region 2) are the other four.

Complete FL playoff matchups as of now: Football: What would the FHSAA brackets look like if the playoffs started today?

Complete Rankings:

No. 2 Buchholz (No. 1 in Class 4S)

No. 11 Williston (No. 1 in Class 1R)

No. 13 Hawthorne (No. 2 in 1R)

No. 21 Bradford (No. 4 in Class 2S)

No. 68 Newberry (No. 4 in 1R)

No. 112 Lafayette (No. 7 in 1R)

No. 124 Fort White (No. 10 in 1R)

No. 136 Eastside (No. 20 in 2S)

No. 179 Chiefland (No. 12 in 1R)

No. 227 Union County (No. 16 in 1R)

No. 249 PK Yonge (No. 11 in Class 1S)

No. 260 Trenton (No. 18 in 1R)

No. 262 Branford (No. 19 in 1R)

No. 328 Keystone Heights (No. 42 in 2S)

No. 368 Columbia (No. 51 in 3S)

No. 384 Gainesville High (No. 56 in 3S)

No. 447 Santa Fe (No. 59 in 2S)

No. 468 Bronson (No. 33 in 1R)

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: Four Gainesville area teams rank in top 25 of first FHSAA rankings of 2023