'We were just one point short:' Buchholz's season ends in state semifinals again with Lakeland loss

GAINESVILLE – The anchor down at midfield signaled the end for Buchholz.

All season, the Bobcats ransacked opponents at Citizens Field, but as Trace Johnson’s final pass as a sophomore fell incomplete, the roles reversed.

The defending state champions Lakeland stormed the field and threw their anchor down on the sandy grass. One side rejoiced in ecstacy, the other wept.

The Dreadnaughts defeated Buchholz 21-20 Friday night to advance to the Class 4S title game, setting up a rematch with Venice next Saturday at Bragg Memorial Stadium in Tallahassee.

Hawthorne back in 1R state title game: BACK TO TALLY: Hawthorne annihilates Blountstown to return to fourth straight 1R state title game

See Bradford final score here: Live updates: Get Buchholz and Bradford state semifinal playoff high school football scores here

Graham wins Sun's Athlete of the Week: Florida football five-star commit wins Gainesville Sun's Athlete of the Week for Nov. 20-26

For the Bobcats, the season concludes at 13-1 and in the state semifinals for the third year in a row and the first time at home.

“Our kids left everything they had out on the table,” coach Chuck Bell said. “There was no play left in the bag that we couldn’t have pulled out. We were just one point short.”

Bell has called Buchholz’s special team his baby this season, and unfortunately, the Bobcats' miscues at the position told the story of the game.

Buchholz received the ball first and exploded down the field, capped off by a Quinton Cutler nine-yard TD run.

The Bobcat defense then stopped Lakeland, and Johnson found sophomore Justin Williams for a 25-yard score.

Eight minutes in, the game seemed to follow the track of Buchholz’s first game with Bartram Trail, a 44-7 win.

However, Lakeland ran a brilliant fake punt near the end of the first. The Dreadnaughts caught the Bobcats' punt return team napping, the first of the special teams’ issues.

The Dreadnaughts promptly scored on the next play, and suddenly the score was tied at the half after Johnson threw a pick inside the Bobcat 20.

In the second half, the Bobcat defensive line held down the fort, holding the vaunted Lakeland run game in check.

However, the team’s secondary, susceptible to big plays all season, found it hard to keep with up with Lakeland’s receivers, a core that includes two players with Division I offers.

“We’re talking about a quarterback that doesn’t put the ball in harm’s way very often,” Bell said.

On the other side, Lakeland’s secondary, let by Division I prospect Carlos Mitchell, caused problems for Johnson.

Throughout the second half, the Bobcats attempted to turn to its magical formula with Myles Graham at RB, but Lakeland’s superb tackling prevented Graham from breaking loose like we’d seen so often.

Still, Johnson led the ‘Cats on a masterful 85-yard drive in the fourth, capped off by a two-yard TD fade to Jordan Richardson with 7:53 left in the fourth.

But Jay Guintas missed the extra point as it hit the top right post.

Lakeland endured its own special teams mistake on its next drive with a missed FG from 36 yards out.

In that last three minutes, Buchholz got the rock twice, but failed to tally that final point.

After the game, finding a needle in a haystack was harder than finding a dry eye on the Bobcat side.

Buchholz’s 24 seniors, including Florida commits Kendall Jackson and Myles Graham, will leave the program after arguably the school’s greatest four-year run.

“We’ve won more games in the playoffs in the last three years than some of our city rivals have won in the regular season,” Bell said. “We’ve left the market dominance on this city. We’ll continue to dominant this city thanks to what these seniors have done.”

For now, though, the Bobcats will wonder for the next nine months how a loss like this happened in this round, again.

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 falls to Lakeland by one in FHSAA Class 4S state semifinals