GAINESVILLE - Oakleaf High football came to within a yard of having a shot at a state title, but an onsides kick, after a scintillating 80 yard touchdown bomb from quarterback Jack Mckissock to Michael Conner, was dubbed touched a yard from the 50 yard line giving Buchholz the ball and sealing a 25-19 region 1-6A title to the Bobcats who advance to their fourth consecutive Final Four.
"These guys fought, fought, fought, can't ask for more than what they gave," said Foy. "That final play was just there, we had the matchups we wanted and Michael was one of a handful of our breakout players."
Foy's explosive pass game; led by Mckissock with his weapons on the outside; Carlos Witherup, Conner, Jordin Price, Denereo Jacobs and Zach Michel, riddled the Bobcat secondary with quick hitting, crossing patterns that exploited the Bobcat secondary's also quick-closing cover players.
"If you look, I think, we had 300 yards of passing taken back by penalties," said Foy. "They never quit though, never put their heads down."
In the Final Four in Class 6A, the No. 2 Bobcats will host No. 3 Osceola on December 6 in Gainesville. No. 1 West Boca Raton will host No. 4 Miami Southridge in the opposite bracket.
Oakleaf ends their season at 9-4 under second-year coach Chris Foy.
Buchholz coach Mark Whittemore, averaging 445 yards of offense per game, complimented the Knights with bringing an explosive game plan.
"We've played them before and had our way last year, but that's was a different, explosive team," said Whittemore, who had four no-shows in the state championship game with a 21-20 state semifinal loss to Lakeland last year. "We were made for games like this though, gritty, tough, getting it done. They gave us all we could handle."
After Buchholz opened with a 50-yard kickoff returned that became a field goal and a 3-0 lead in the first quarter, Oakleaf answered quickly with Mckissock hitting Witherup after the kickoff for a 40-yard gain to the Bobcat 30 followed by Witherup again on a swing pass for nine more to the 23.
Witherup again blasted the middle of the field on a 22-yard slant that landed at the Bobcat two-yard line where Chris Foy II blasted for the score at 8:30 in the first quarter. Oakleaf botched the PAT kick with holder Malaci Warten getting caught fleeing after a bad snap.
Buchholz, aided by a bad punt and a handful of flags against Oakleaf, marched down the field on their next possession behind hard running from leading rusher Justin Williams who plunged in from the two after a 16-yard pass play from quarterback Trace Johnson to wide-out Josh Menefree to score the game 10-6 with 2:21 left in the first quarter.
Williams broke just before the end of the first quarter with an 80-yard scoring run, but penalty flags brought the ball back to the Bobcat 15.
After stopping Buchholz and landing a Andrew McDaid punt downed by long snapped Joel Bazinet at the Bobcat one yard line, Buchholz did not flinch and got a spectacular over-the-shoulder catch for 34 yards from Williams on a wheel route that was tightly covered by Oakleaf defensive back Maurice Samuels.
Buchholz missed a 34-yard field goal with Oakleaf defender Kaylib Singleton pressuring the kick to give Oakleaf the ball with 1:34 to halftime. McDaid ended the half with a punt with Buchholz hoisting a Hail Mary with four seconds that was unsuccessful with Williams dropping the lofted pass in the end zone.'
In the third, Mckissock hit passes of 19 and 17 to the Buchholz 32, but the Bobcats sacked Mckissock for a six-yard loss.
In the fourth, still locked at 10-6 for Buchholz, Mckissock, after a critical roughing the passer flag against Buchholz on fourth down, came rifling back hitting Conner to the one-yard line on a 23-yard pass play before getting "pushed" in twice before the go-ahead score; 12-10 with 6:33 still in the fourth quarter. McDaid's PAT kick was blocked.
Buchholz poised for a go-ahead score of their own and nearly broke the ensuing kickoff before being stopped at the Oakleaf 40 with a 30-yard return.
Williams got snuffed by 10 of the 11 Oakleaf defenders on the first play to lose four yards. Oakleaf's defense stiffened to force and fourth and two at the Knight's 34-yard line with Johnson getting chased out of the pocket but still finding his receiver standing at the 18-yard line to preserve the drive.
"We had our chance and I wish I could have done more," said Oakleaf defensive tackle Amare Thomas. "That No. 13 (Bobcat running back Justin Williams) was moving around a lot in their backfield and was hard to pin down."
Williams rumbled from there right through the middle of the Oakleaf defense on the next snap to put Buchholz back up 16-12 with 3:51 to go. Johnson hit for the two-point pass play to score the game at 18-12.
With the Oakleaf fans expecting a final game winning drive, it was Buchholz 300-pound defense tackle Elijah Daniels, on fourth and five, snatching a floating football as Mckissock lost his grip attempting to escape the pocket and rumbled to the end zone to shock the Oakleaf sideline.
"We had them there," said Thomas. "That fumble and touchdown was a killer."
Oakleaf calmly entered the field after the kickoff with Mckissock hoisting a pass to midfield to Conner who outreached defensive back Taylor Carter for the home run ball then ran unfettered to the end zone to put more anxiety into the finish.
"I know if I get the throw downfield, any of my guys will get to it," said Mckissock, who finished with nearly 3,000 yards of passing for the season.
The onsides kick, at 2:09, for Oakleaf was successful but Oakleaf touched the ball inside the 10-yard requirement to give Buchholz the ball at the Oakleaf 48 where Williams bounced to the 38-yard on first down off a Wildcat.

Class 6A Final Four

No. 1 West Boca Raton (13-0-0) vs. No. 4 Miami Southridge (11-2-0)
No. 2 Buchholz (10-3) vs. No. 3 Osceola (11-2)

Class 7A Final Four
No. 1 Venice (12-1) vs. No. 4 Miami Columbus (9-3)
No. 2 Lake Mary (11-2) vs. No. 3 Dr. Phillips (12-1)

Class 5A Final Four
No. Manatee (10-1) vs. No. 4 St. Thomas Aquinas (10-3)
No. 2 Lakeland (12-0) vs. No. 3 Niceville (12-1)

Class 4A Final Four
No. 1 American Heritage (10-2) vs. No. 4 St. Augustine (11-1)
No. 2 Orlando Jones (13-0) vs. No. 3 Naples (11-2)

Class 3A Final Four
No. 1 Raines (12-0) vs. No. 4 Booker (Sarasota)(10-3)
No. 2 Eau Gallie (12-1) vs. No. 3 Northwestern (Miami) (10-2)

Class 2A Final Four
No. 1 Gadsden County (12-1) vs. No. 4 Booker T. Washington (10-2)
No. 2 Cardinal Mooney (12-0) vs. No. 3 Cocoa (9-3)

Class 1A Final Four
No. 1 Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood) (11-2) vs. No. 4 Trinity Christian Academy (12-3)
No. 2 Cardinal Newman (West Palm Beach) (10-1) vs. No. 3 Clearwater Central Catholic (11-2)

Rural Football Final
No. 1 Hawthorne 28, No. 13 Williston 7

Rural Football Div. B Final
No. 5 Dixie County 52, No. 8 Trenton 22