On September 12th, The Manatee Hurricanes hosted the Buchholz Bobcats (Gainesville, FL) on Friday in a rematch from the 2024 season, this time at Joe Kinnan Stadium in Bradenton, FL. The Bobcats kept momentum from their win last week heading into their first road game of the season with the win 30-13 making their record 3-1, while the Hurricanes fell to 1-3 on the year.

Pregame Context

The Manatee Hurricanes entered the game 1-2 this week after a demoralizing 42-7 defeat to a top Georgia team in the Lowndes Vikings (Valdosta, GA), looking for a quick bounce back after a tough road loss. The Hurricanes have been off to a very slow start on both sides of the ball as the offense has only scored 16.3 points per game through the first 3 games, and the defense allowing 29 points per game. The Hurricanes, ranked No.837 nationally and No.78 in the state of Florida (Class 5A),  hoped to get the ball rolling on both sides of the ball and back into the win column to improve to .500.

The Bucholz Bobcats came into this game hot following their 29-19 win against the Eastside Rams (Gainesville, FL), improving their record to 2-1 before facing the Hurricanes. The Bobcats looked great leading into the week 4 matchup, only allowing 12 points per game through the first three games, and their offense controlling the run averaging 182.3 rushing yards per game. The Bobcats, sitting at a national rank of 268th and ranked 26th in the state of Florida (Class 6A), were looking for another solid win on what looks like a promising start to the season.

This game was a rematch from the 2024 season, where Manatee went to Gainesville and won 34-27 in a thriller. The Hurricanes hoped to beat Buchholz in back-to-back years, this time in front of the home crowd.

Highlights

The Bobcats came out and scored first with a field goal to take a short 3-0 lead, and the Hurricanes got a good kickoff return before the offense stalled out and gave the ball back to Buchholz.

Buchholz got inside their red zone before linebacker Ronin Dangler made the stop with an interception, marking his first on the season that came at the perfect time for the Hurricanes as they get a huge break before the second quarter.

The Hurricanes defense got another big stop when Jared Sanders reeled in his 3rd interception of the season, returning it 52 yards before being dragged down to the 3 yard line, where running back Caedon White punched it in for a 3 yard touchdown to take a 7-3 lead.

Buchholz responded quickly, scoring 17 unanswered points in the second quarter, including two rushing touchdowns from senior running back Chris Johnson and a 48 yard field goal right before the half to extend their lead to 20-7.In the third quarter, Sophomore quarterback Mason Summer came into the game right out of half, and right after connecting to Donta Prince for a 32 yard gain to build up momentum, went down with an injury which led to Logan Rogers returning to the game.

Shortly after returning, Logan Rodgers got hit and removed from the game in the 4th leading to Caedon White scoring on a 56 yard Wildcat formation touchdown. The Bobcats scored a last second touchdown to make the final score 30-7.

Final Thoughts

The Manatee Hurricanes fell to 1-3 on the season, and hope to surge a comeback on the season with a win this Friday against IMG Academy Junior National. Injuries have riddled the team through the season, and they hope to persevere through the battles and start to catch a rhythm over these next few weeks. Their first district game against Pinellas Park (Largo, FL) on the road takes place September 26th as their hunt for a state championship continues.