'We wanted to put a running clock on them': Buchholz remains Gainesville's top dog

Chuck Bell begged his Buchholz Bobcats to send a simple message to the opposing Eastside Rams: They still run the city of Gainesville.

His players heard him loud and clear.

The Bobcats (3-0) defeated the Rams (2-1) 35-0 at Citizens Field Friday night for the 10th consecutive time in their first shutout since the 49-0 drubbing of fellow crosstown foe GHS last season.

“I think we showed we’re still a little bit of a different class than them,” Bell said. “When you play the competition we play week in and week out, we’re not going to flinch against anyone.”

The energy level bounced off the charts pre-game as Eastside’s faithful believed this was the year. It didn’t take long for the Bobcats to claw the hearts out of their foe.

FINAL SCORES: Get Gainesville-area week 3 high school football results here

On their first possession, running back Quinton Cutler used his explosive speed for a 39-yard score. After that first drive, Eastside’s defense contained Buchholz well. It forced two Trace Johnson interceptions.

However, a struggling offense and poor special teams helped set up Buchholz with the ball often in solid field position.

“It’s incredibly tough, especially against that offense with the big boys they got,” Eastside coach Gator Hoskins said.

Hoskins added the Rams got beat up front and struggled to establish the run game. Logistical challenges made that tougher as the Rams had freshman blocking Kendall Jackson, a UF commit.

With an increased role, Eastside QB Adrian Curtis struggled at times to get the ball downfield. On the other side, Johnson occasionally tried to force it. In the third quarter, he threw a pass into tight coverage that was intercepted on third down.

Bell isn’t worried though.

“You are talking about a 15-year-old making his third start,” he said. “Eastside did a good job in coverage, but anytime you put up 35 points, I’m not going to be too disappointed.”

Johnson was aided by Graham, who saw his running back role increased due to Cutler’s injury. He rushed for one touchdown and was Buchholz’s featured back.

“Myles could line up at all 11 positions on the field,” Bell said. “He’s one of the most impressive men I’ve been around, and that’s off the field too, so he has the mental capacity to handle a lot.”

On the Buchholz sideline, Bell remained forceful with his team until their third quarter touchdown made it 35-0 and initiated a running clock.

“Our guys weren’t happy about some of the things we were hearing from the east side of town,” Bell said. “It didn’t seem like they respected what we’ve done the last 4-5 years, so we wanted to put a running clock on them.”

Next week, Eastside travels to Bradford, while Buchholz welcomes Creekside to Gainesville.

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 defeats Eastside 35-0 in cross-town rivalry to improve to 3-0