Santa Fe football, Earnest Graham muscle past Newberry in sloppy season opener

Santa Fe football accomplished much in altering the culture of its program in 2025.

The Raiders, under new coach Earnest Graham, won seven games after two in the previous four seasons and reached the playoffs.

But defeating a county team eluded the Raiders.

That changed Friday night under the humid air of Newberry.

Santa Fe defeated the Panthers 30-16 in Week 1 of the FHSAA high school football season behind two rushing touchdowns from Jasiah Powell and three field goals from Mayer Steen.

With neither Newberry or Santa Fe playing in a Kickoff Classic and practice time limited for both squads due to heat, rust was expected.

That transpired as the first half ran over an hour and a half and was riddled by penalties. Santa Fe’s defense shut down Newberry in the first quarter. However, after the Panthers moved to a Wildcat offense and inserted sophomore Jaden Wilcox at QB, they began to move down the field.

However, the penalty bug really did kill them. Santa Fe on offense, meanwhile, ran heavy with the area’s best back – Jasiah Powell – as expected. In his minimal attempts in the first half, new QB Gavin Peterson, from Bartram Trail, looked solid and helped give the Raiders a 20-10 lead.

Newberry secured its second long touchdown of the day 25 seconds into the second half from former Santa Fe QB Kieran Whitesides to Derris Ford.

From there, though, fatigue took its toll on the Panthers and their offensive line. Penalties on the other side failed to allow the Raiders to completely put the game away, but eventually, the job was done.

Newberry faces another thorn in its side next week in fellow county rival Hawthorne on the road, while Santa Fe hosts Zarephath Academy in its home opener.

This story will be updated.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Santa Fe football, Earnest Graham muscle past Newberry in sloppy season opener