Buchholz-Bartram Trail takeaways: Unbeatens clash for district high school football title

Two touchdowns in the biggest game of the year. An unbeaten record. A district title.

But for Laython Biddle, a high-scoring junior on senior night, Bartram Trail's Friday night triumph is just another part of the daily grind.

"This is just another day, another dollar," Biddle said, "and we're going to keep going."

Kings of District 3-4S, and now setting their eyes on the top spot in the state, Bartram Trail issued a warning to the Florida High School Athletic Association suburban class in Friday night's 21-6 victory over previously-unbeaten Gainesville Buchholz.

A shutdown. Almost a shutout. And shutting the doors on any doubts that the Bears are ready to challenge the best in the Sunshine State in high school football.

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Victory Friday night clinched the District 3-4S title for the Bears, a title against a quartet of opponents — Buchholz, Creekside, Fleming Island and Oakleaf — to rank alongside any other district in the Sunshine State.

Overcoming a huge statistical day from Buchholz receiver Ja'Carree Kelly (12 catches, 181 yards) and the video-game maneuvering of quarterback Creed Whittemore, the Bears (8-0) turned up the pressure when it mattered most.

District, check. Now, in the regionals in three weeks, the next challenge begins.

"We've been practicing for it all season," said junior Biddle, who ran for two touchdowns, "and this is just what we expected to do."

BEARS RELENTLESS ON GROUND

From the opening drive, a Bartram Trail offensive line anchored by senior captain Dominic Aramayo proved to be an inexorable machine.

"It's all these big boys right here, the O-line blocking and doing their thing," Biddle said. "I trust them, Riley trusts them and that allows us to just keep going."

Passing up the hurry-up, blink-and-you-miss-it style the Bears have employed at times over the years, quarterback Riley Trujillo and Biddle methodically chewed up the clock and the field in bite-size chunks, starting with the opening drive.

"The reason they've gotten so much better is because our D-line and our linebackers are so good," Bears coach Darrell Sutherland said. "They have to practice against them every day."

Facing a third down at the Bobcats' 31, Trujillo pulled the ball down and sprinted right up the middle, sidestepping a couple of tackles on his way to a 31-yard touchdown run and a quick 7-0 lead at the 3:13 mark.

Trujillo finished with 10 carries for 58 yards, while Biddle was the workhorse. The junior carried 29 times for 173 yards, adding a 4-yard score to cap a four-minute drive just before halftime and putting the game away with a 2-yard run in the fourth quarter.

"I just knew my blockers are going to win," Trujillo said. "I know that they're better and they can win the matchups."

BARTRAM TRAIL DEFENSE STANDS TALL

Newly-committed to Mississippi State, Whittemore stands out among the state's top quarterback recruits, and for most of the night he played like it.

Dashing and ducking away from trouble in the backfield play after play with the kind of elusiveness that made Johnny Manziel a football phenomenon a decade ago, Whittemore completed 20 of 36 passes for 278 yards and rushed for 105 more.

But aside from a Herculean heave of some 65 yards in the air to Kelly in the fourth quarter, a pass that connected but didn't lead to points, most of his completions were short plays that Kelly periodically turned into long ones, skipping around tacklers in the flat.

For Buchholz, though, the red zone turned into a blue wall.

Three times inside the 30, Bartram Trail forced turnovers — a Sergio Lanzas fumble recovery, a Fred Bender interception at the 1-yard line and a leaping pick by senior linebacker Zeke Cromwell. Two other times, they stuffed the Bobcats on downs, keeping them off the board until Whittemore's 19-yard pass to Quinton Cutler as the clock ran out.

"Whittemore is as electric a player as I've ever seen on a high school football field," Sutherland said. "It takes a team effort, all 11 guys doing their jobs and being unselfish."

SHARIF DENSON WINS OUTSIDE BATTLE

For recruiting fans, the main attraction was on the outside, where Bartram Trail's Times-Union Super 11 cornerback, Sharif Denson, faced off for much of the night against Buchholz wideout Jaren Hamilton, a four-star prospect drawing strong interest from the likes of Alabama, Michigan and Tennessee.

Advantage Bears.

Florida commit Denson held Hamilton without a catch all evening and broke up two passes, one of them a deflection in the end zone to deny a possible touchdown.

"Every game I'm trying to go compete against the best," Denson said. "So when I found out they had a Wideout 1, it's me versus him the entire game. That's what I want."

Linebacker Caden Baldwin also picked up 12 tackles, while Jack McCabe and Connor Hemingway broke up passes and Shane Armstrong added a sack. The Bears now roll into the district finale against Oakleaf coming off shutouts over Fleming Island and Buchholz in their last three games.

"It shows us what our potential can be, and it shows us where the top of the line is, and how close we are to that," Denson said. "So I just feel like it's going to give us more motivation."

Clayton Freeman covers high school sports and more for the Florida Times-Union. Follow him on Twitter at @CFreemanJAX.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: High school football: Gainesville Buchholz-Bartram Trail takeaways