Each week we’ll go around the coverage area and give you a football player and/or coach quotes following the games. Here are newspaper quotes from Week #7 action.
Columbia (Lake City) coach Brian Allen following the Tigers’ 49-20 victory at Class 4A No. 1 Bolles (Jacksonville)
“Two weeks ago, we gave up 44 points in the first half and everybody’s wondering, ‘What’s going on with Columbia’s defense? We came out tonight and did a great job against a very good Bolles team.” – Florida Times-Union
First Coast (Jacksonville) coach Marty Lee after First Coast (Jacksonville) lost to Raines (Jacksonville), 26-15, to drop to 1-5 on the season.
“They’ve got a good football team. I think they’ve got to make a few corrections to make a run in the state playoffs, but they outplayed us tonight. We’ve got some things to clean up. We got three [district] games the rest of the season that we’ve got to worry about. It is what it is and that’s high school football.” – Florida Times-Union
Despite a 37-0 win against 8A Lake Worth that improved its record to 7-0 for the first time in school history, North Marion coach Stephen Field was disappointed
“We didn’t play very well. And the truth is, I put that on me. I didn’t do a good job of preparing them.” – Ocala Star-Banner
Lake Weir (Ocala) coach Tim Hicks following the Hurricanes’ 12-8 win against Eastside (Gainesville) in which they threw the ball 32 times
“We were trying to run the ball, but the way the game was going and I’m seeing stuff, and we are getting things called down from the coaches, I’m thinking pass, pass, pass, but we have great running backs, tonight it seemed like we could throw more.” – Ocala Star-Banner
Buchholz (Gainesville) coach Mark Whittemore on the Bobcats’ 32-28 win against rival Gainesville in which they rallied from a 17-point third quarter deficit
“Gainesville High School is a very good football team with a lot of talented players. I am not surprised by the game. They were dominant. Our offensive rhythm, we kept getting stymied by penalties and some dropped balls in the first half. We were really lucky to be down only 21-11 at half.” – The Gainesville Sun
Gainesville High coach Mark Latsko’s thoughts following the last-minute loss to Buchholz
“I thought the defense played great in the first half, just had a tough time covering all their receivers in the second half, and gave up too many plays and too many points. As much as this hurts, we have to prepare for a good Ocala Vanguard team on a short week. We are resilient, we will bounce back, come up with a good game plan and will be ready to go on Thursday.” – The Gainesville Sun
First-year Hawthorne coach Cornelius Ingram following the Hornets’ 36-18 loss at Union County in a battle for first-place in 1A-District 6
“(Hawthorne) was 3-30 the last three seasons, and I like the direction we’re headed,” Ingram said. “I warned the guys against relaxing after having a good first half.” – The Gainesville Sun
Mainland (Daytona Beach) coach Scott Wilson after the Bucs’ 47-28 loss at St. Edward (Lakewood, OH) in a match-up of nationally-ranked teams
“That’s a lot when you travel up two days and you’re traveling basically all the way to the top of the United States and you’re from Florida,” Mainland coach Scott Wilson said. “And that has a lot to do with what was going on, and it drains you.” – Daytona Beach News-Journal
