BRADENTON – Nothing better sums up the Hurricanes’ early season struggles than a pair of plays early in the fourth quarter of Friday night’s game.
With Manatee trailing 23-7, Logan Rogers – bothered by a fierce pass rush all night – connected with fellow wide receiver Sean Wilson for 14 yards on third-and-15, finally ending a streak of 10 consecutive incompletions for the 6-foot-3 senior quarterback.
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He and his teammates frantically rushed to line up in true “Tush Push” tradition at their own 18-yard line. Confusion ensued. And Rogers was stopped for no gain on fourth down.
It’s precisely how things have gone for the always-proud Manatee program so far in 2025, and it’s how things went – or didn’t go – in a 30-13 loss to the visiting Bobcats before a good crowd at Hawkins Stadium.
“We’re a bad football team right now,” admitted ’Canes coach Jacquez Green. “We’re going to get it corrected. But the only way they can learn to do the right things is by getting in the game and playing.”
The game wasn’t really as close as the score indicated. Sophomore defensive back Jared Sanders’ 63-yard interception return to Buchholz’s 2 set up Caedon White’s 3-yard TD run that gave Manatee a short-lived 7-3 lead with 8:06 left in the second quarter. But the Hurricanes’ next five possessions ended with an interception, three punts and the fourth-down failure.
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Buchholz (3-1) churned out 193 yards on the ground, with senior Chris Johnson (15 carries, 80 yards, 2 TDs) and sophomore quarterback Andrew Whittemore (nine carries, 44 yards) doing much of the damage. White took a Wildcat snap and broke loose for a 56-yard touchdown with 5:04 to play after both of Manatee’s QBs left with injuries, but the ’Canes (1-3) were held to 14 yards on their other 24 run plays, including three sacks.
“I was very pleased with the way our young offense (around University of Florida commit Justin Williams) performed, minus that pick. The Wildcat run, hey, that’s going to happen. I thought we were really physical tonight.”
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Williams was fairly quiet, catching three passes for 25 yards and rushing for another 12.
The Bobcats broke the game open with 17 points in the final 4:23 of the first half. Andrew Whittemore drove them 60 yards in only six plays after White’s go-ahead score, with Johnson barreling in from 13 yards out to give Buchholz a 10-7 lead with 4:23 left in the first half. Devin Atalig’s interception set up Johnson’s second TD with 59 seconds left and senior Jay Giunta’s 48-yard field goal – after Manatee’s offense quickly went three-and-out – made it 20-7 at the break.
Williams’ 6-yard scoring run with 28 seconds left accounted for the final tally.
Three Buchholz takeaways
Buchholz Bobcats player Andrew Whittemore (9) runs with the ball during the first half of a football game between Buchholz High School and East Side High School at Citizens Field in Gainesville, FL on Friday, September 5, 2025. [Chris Watkins/Gainesville Sun]
1. The outcome was decided at the line of scrimmage. Besides the three sacks, capped by Amir Sheppard’s blitz at Manatee’s 8-yard line with 1:27 remaining, Buchholz’s pass rush also batted down or deflected four of Rogers’ passes. “Our defensive line played superior football tonight,” coach Whittemore said. “They were fast, their angles were excellent… they were creating havoc.”
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2. A new wrinkle in the offense: the quarterback draw. Young Whittemore (9-of-17, 65 yards) charged up the middle for 11 yards on the Bobcats’ third play from scrimmage, a call that was revisited throughout the night. An eight-play, 53-yard drive in the third quarter – leading to a field goal and a 23-7 cushion – was powered by keepers of 8 and 14 yards. “It was a big part of our game in the short yardage,” the coach said. “It’s just the maturation of our offense. We’re trying to go game by game, and continue to build.”
3. It was a perfect night for kicker Jay Giunta. The 6-3, 150-pound senior connected on all three of his field goal attempts, from 32, 33 and 48 yards, was 3-for-3 on extra-points and boomed 4-of-6 kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks. His long-distance kick to end the first half was impressively set up by quick throws to sophomore Marquel Brooks (three catches, 32 yards) for gains of 11 and 10 that used only eight of the 11 seconds that Buchholz had to work with. “For a high school team to get two plays off like that…” Whittemore didn’t need to finish the sentence.
Three Manatee takeaways
Manatee Hurricanes head coach Jacquez Green. The Manatee Hurricanes hosted St. John Bosco (California) with a 31-0 lead over Manatee at halftime. After a long lightning delay the rest of the game was canceled at Joe Kinnan Field at Hawkins Stadium on Friday August 22, 2025, in Bradenton, Florida.
1. The quarterback battle has come to a painful end. Mason Summer (2-of-3, 40 yards) started the second half and moved the Hurricanes 50 yards in his first four snaps, including a 10-yard keeper and a 32-yard bomb to Donta Prince down the right sideline. Two plays later, however, he left with what coaches fear is a season-ending broken collarbone, and Rogers (6-of-24, 65 yards, 1 int) returned. “He gave us a lot of energy and a lot of spark the last 2-3 times he’s come in the game,” Green said. “Mason’s a junior, so he’ll be back next year. We’ll have to find a backup quarterback now, and hopefully Logan can stay healthy the rest of the year.” In four games, Summer was 20-of-31 for 197 yards, with two TDs and one interception.
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2. Green is at a loss to explain an ineffective running game. White (seven carries, 68 yards, 2 TDs) now has rushed for a team-high 150 yards for an offense that has produced only 282 yards in 79 runs (behind an offensive line that averages 305 pounds) through four weeks. “I don’t know why we can’t run it, that’s a good question,” Green said. “Maybe our guys just don’t move their feet in the correct way. But we’ve got to be able to run the football.”
3. And here’s why: The WRs can’t eat without the ball in their hands. Junior wideout J’Kwan Williams, the team’s leading receiver with 13 catches and 132 yards in Weeks 1-3, was shut out in this one. Prince had just two grabs – both from Summer – for 40 yards. In the meantime, Green turned to tailback Keith Smith (four catches, 55 yards) out of the backfield. “If we can’t run it,” Green said, “everybody can just pin their ears back and get after the quarterback.”
Donnie Wilkie is a freelancer for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Buchholz football defeats Manatee in FHSAA Florida high school football
