The midpoint of the regular season arrives in Central Florida this Friday, and several undefeated football teams stand ready to preserve perfection. The unbeaten ranks include Class 6A schools Dr. Phillips, Apopka, Winter Park and DeLand. All hold 4-0 records, but two of those teams face serious hurdles in their quest for win No. 5.
Apopka, a perennial power in Orange County, hosts Miami Jackson. Both teams are 4-0, and Jackson is considered one of the state’s top teams. Jackson defeated Daytona Beach Mainland in Week 1. Now the team returns to Central Florida in Week 5 with its sights set on knocking off the Blue Darters. Apopka already holds key wins against Lake Brantley, Edgewater and South Lake.
The Orlando Sentinel, though, kept Dr. Phillips atop its weekly rankings on Sept. 30. The Panthers have won 13 of 14 regular-season games dating to the start of the 2008 season, and this year’s bunch is as potent on defense as last year’s team was on offense. Despite the graduation and departure of the team’s star quarterback last spring, the Panthers have maintained dominance with help from a defense that has allowed just one of four opponents to score. The defensive success has given the team’s offense a chance to gel under the leadership of a new quarterback, and the Panthers have Week 5 off as they prepare for an Oct. 9 game at Boone.
DeLand stands ready to rise to the top should Dr. Phillips or Apopka falter. The Bulldogs, 4-0 after defeating Spruce Creek last Friday, hook up with Sanford Seminole, the defending Class 6A state champs, this Friday. Seminole is coming off a big win against Daytona Beach Mainland. The Seminoles stand 3-1 with only a loss to Oviedo’s in the season’s first game interrupting a long win streak. If DeLand pulls out a win, the Bulldogs likely rise past Winter Park in the Orlando Sentinel’s rankings, and they also stand a chance to rise past Apopka should Jackson defeat the Blue Darters on Friday.
Winter Park is the surprise team of the bunch. The Wildcats pulled off what many considered an upset with a big win against Boone on Sept. 18. Winter Park travels to Cypress Creek this Friday.
Lake Brantley and Seminole both enter Week 5 with 3-1 marks. The Patriots, though, are coming off a stunning 24-17 win against Daytona Beach Seabreeze in a game that ended with a successfully defended Seabreeze pass into the end zone. Seminole should learn much about its team on Friday at DeLand. Meanwhile, Oviedo has won two straight games after falling 34-29 to Lake Brantley on Sept. 11. The Lions host Evans in Week 5.
A few teams enter Week 5 simply looking for traction. Seabreeze is 2-2 after losing back-to-back games by a combined total of eight points. Edgewater, Osceola and Mainland also stand at 2-2 following difficult early-season schedules.
Among the smaller schools, this Friday brings a key matchup. Class 2A school South Sumter puts its 4-0 mark on the line at home against Ocala Trinity Catholic, a 4-0 team from Class 2B. In Class 3A, St. Cloud holds a 4-0 mark, and Cocoa, also 4-0, plays Merritt Island this Friday. Cocoa has won 19 of its past 21 games dating to the early part of the 2007 season, and Merritt Island is unbeaten at 4-0 in Class 4A.
In Class 1B, South Daytona Warner Christian stands 4-0. Warner reached the state finals last year, and the team looks to repeat. The team, though, lost star running back Breon Allen to a suspension. He will miss the team’s Friday matchup with Lighthouse Christian. Also in 1B, Maitland’s Orangewood Christian is unbeaten. The team takes its 4-0 record to Pine Castle Christian this Friday.
Inside the numbers
A key question heading into the 2009 season was who might take the helm as the area’s top running back. After all, several top backs graduated after the 2008 season. To this point, Deante Saunders, whom teammates call "Pop," has been the king.
Saunders went over 200 yards in a win against Seabreeze and enters this Friday’s game with 589 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns. He’s sure to go over 1,000 yards before the end of the season, and it might happen in just two more weeks.
On Oct. 9, DeLand hosts rival Deltona Pine Ridge. The visiting Panthers are struggling mightily after losing several key players to graduation last season, and Pine Ridge’s coach already submitted his resignation. That bodes well for Saunders and teammate Shontrelle Johnson, who has 487 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. Both could go over 200 yards on the ground against Pine Ridge.
Winter Park’s Patrick Mputu also churns up the yards. Mputu rushed for 391 yards and five touchdowns through his first three games, and he averaged more than 10 yards per carry. Lake Highland running back Zack McCarrell, meanwhile, has more than 500 rushing yards and five touchdowns. McCarrell has averaged 126 rushing yards per game.
The area’s passing leaders at the moment are Seabreeze quarterback Matt Thompson and Oviedo’s Blake Bortles. Thompson is the more interesting story. Bortles is a known quantity. Over the summer, he landed a scholarship to pay at the University of Central Florida. Thompson, though, played only a handful of downs during the 2008 season, and nobody knew what to expect from him following his return from a serious ankle injury. In four games, though, Thompson threw for 892 yards and 11 touchdowns with only three interceptions. That put him ahead of even Bortles, who has amassed 849 passing yards and eight passing touchdowns in the same number of games.
