By Mike Zima, Correspondent First-time starter Devin Smith blocked a long-range bounce shot with 45 seconds remaining to preserve a hard-fought 12-11 victory for Gainesville Buchholz over visiting Fleming Island Thursday night. Smith made seven saves on the evening, the final one the most critical. Golden Eagles middie Will Yarbrough had a clear lane from the top of the box, but Smith crouched and blocked the oncoming shot with the head of his stick. The Bobcats secured the rebound and ran out the clock. “He had a big night,” Buchholz coach Casey Adams said of his senior goaltender. “I had nothing but confidence in him.” The Bobcats raced out to a 7-1 halftime advantage, fueled by attack Finn Swanson and middie Alex Hughes, who each had hat tricks. Hughes had a remarkable goal at the 11:05 mark of the second quarter, getting a shot off while falling to the ground, courtesy of a hard check by a Fleming Island long pole. Swanson exemplified the Bobcats’ hustle and physicality in the opening two quarters by stealing a pass intended for Golden Eagles’ netminder Ryan Kelly and then outrunning Kelly to the open net to score just before intermission. Fueled by senior middie Devan Marquis and two decisions by Golden Eagles coach John Hawley, Fleming Island mounted a furious comeback. The visitors scored six times in a seven-minute span late in the fourth quarter. Marquis scored four goals in the second half, one off-handed and one on a pivoting, running jump shot. Senior Jason Kunath replaced Kelly in the crease and made eleven saves for a sterling 68.8 save percentage, while freshman Max Michaels became the exclusive face off man for the visitors, winning 10 of 12 ball drops over the final two quarters. Three times the Golden Eagles cut their deficit to one, but could never pull even. The win meant a lot to Adams, who stepped onto the turf for the first time as a varsity coach. It was the Bobcats first win in their series with the Golden Eagles, with the losses in the last two years coming by only one goal. “It [the win] kind of solidifies where we are as a program and where we are going forward. We are up for the battle.” The Bobcats’ mettle will be tested once more when they take on perennial power Ponte Vedra in the Moe’s Classic Saturday night in Jacksonville. Fleming Island, now 1-1, will also play in the Classic, with games Saturday against Jacksonville Mandarin and Monday versus Tallahassee Maclay.