By Ron White
MaxPreps.com
It was rematch night last Friday in Central Florida. Six teams hooked up in three rematch games to decide which trio earned a trip to this Friday’s Class 6A regional finals, and all three games ended with the regular-season loser claiming sweet revenge in the playoffs.
Clermont East Ridge, Port Orange Spruce Creek and Orlando Dr. Phillips defeated, respectively, Apopka, Sanford Seminole and Orlando Boone during the regular season, but the Blue Darters, Seminoles and Braves earned paybacks on the road in the playoffs.
Apopka defeated Clermont East Ridge 41-34. It was a big step for the Blue Darters, who lost to East Ridge 21-13 just a few weeks earlier in the district championship game. This time, Apopka’s answer for East Ridge running back Jeremy Wright was simple. They fought fire with fire.
Jeremy Gallon, a University of Michigan recruit, rushed for 276 yards and four touchdowns and threw for two more scores.
Wright, who rushed for more than 2,200 yards this season, had 162 rushing yards, but much of it came in a second-half comeback bid that fell short when an East Ridge drive stalled after a long catch-and-run by Wright.
Apopka (10-2) built the lead behind a big first half for Gallon. He ran for a pair of touchdowns, including an 85-yard sprint, in the first quarter and added three more touchdowns in the second quarter. That helped the Blue Darters to a 35-20 halftime lead.
Wright scored on a 1-yard plunge in the third quarter to make it 35-26, but Gallon answered with a 30-yard touchdown pass and East Ridge (10-2) was unable to make up the deficit.
Despite his big day, Gallon told the Orlando Sentinel that it wasn’t his effort that sealed the win.
“Defense wins games. Offense just sells tickets,” Gallon told Orlando Sentinel reporter Shannon J. Owens.
Defense has been a question mark for Apopka for most of the season. The team has uncharacteristically allowed more points this season than in the past several seasons.
While Apopka found a way to neutralize Wright’s production, Boone did the same against Orlando Dr. Phillips and talented quarterback Nico Ranieri.
Ranieri threw for more than 300 yards to lead DP to a regular-season win against Boone, which had its 18-game regular-season win streak snapped in that loss.
This time, though, Boone’s potent defense shut down the Panthers in a 17-7 win.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, Boone retooled its defense to stop Ranieri, who has a cache of great pass-catching weapons. The Braves used six defensive backs while still pressuring Ranieri.
Boone (10-2) led 14-0 after James Washington plowed in for a 2-yard touchdown in the opening quarter. Dr. Phillips answered with a rushing touchdown to make it 14-7 at the half, but Dr. Phillips doomed itself with turnovers, including three fumbles.
In the third 6A regional semifinal, the Seminoles breezed past Spruce Creek 30-13. It was the usual suspects who played big roles for Seminole, a team that had much attention in the preseason for its top recruits. Three of those recruits figured into the scoring against Spruce Creek (9-3).
Seminole (10-2) built a 16-7 halftime lead behind a 32-yard touchdown pass from Ray Ray Armstrong to Andre Debose and a 45-yard interception return by defensive end Dyron Dye. In the second half, Debose scored twice more, including once on a 78-yard touchdown pass from Armstrong.
That proved to be too much for Spruce Creek, which settled for a pair of Shane Peludat touchdown passes.
That leaves three Central Florida teams among eight schools vying for the 6A state championship. Boone, Apopka and Seminole are joined by Royal Palm Beach, Deerfield Beach, Miramar, Miami Northwestern and Miami Killian.
None of the remaining 6A teams is undefeated. In fact, six of the eight teams have lost multiple games this season.
Seminole hosts Apopka on Friday night, and Boone travels to Royal Palm Beach. The winners in those games earn a spot in the state semifinals.
Class 5A: Orange Park eliminates Mainland
In Class 5A, Central Florida bowed out of the state title picture in difficult fashion. Daytona Beach Mainland lost 21-20 to Orange Park in a game that went down to the final seconds.
It was one of the toughest calls of Mainland Coach John Maronto’s coaching career. Greg Ross threw a touchdown pass with 32 seconds to play to pull the Bucs to within 21-20.
The problem for Maronto was that his starting kicker was sidelined after being plowed over on a first-half punt attempt that drew a running into the kicker penalty. His backup kicker was taking shots into the net on the sideline when Maronto called him onto the field. The sophomore kicker was setting up when Mainland opted for a time out.
During the timeout, said Maronto, his coaching staff convinced him to pull the backup kicker off the field and go for a two-point conversion. Maronto gave it a shot, but Ross threw too high for his intended receiver. Mainland tried an onside kick, but it failed and Orange Park (10-2) ran out the clock.
“We played a great season. We won 11 straight ballgames. I can’t ask for much more than that,” Maronto said.
Mainland (11-1) was one of five unbeatens to make the playoffs in Class 5A, where three of those unbeatens have since fallen by the wayside. Ft. Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas and Lakeland are the lone unbeatens at this point. Lakeland defeated Kissimmee Osceola 20-16 to reach the regional finals.
Osceola (8-4) was outmatched in the Kowboys’ road game but managed to keep it close. Lakeland (12-0) faces Tampa Chamberlain in the regional finals.
Despite a regular season that began with the team losing its starting quarterback to a season-ending injury, Daytona Beach Seabreeze kept its unlikely playoff run moving Friday. Seabreeze (7-5) defeated Merritt Island 16-0 behind quarterback Dominique Roberts’s big effort and a defense that shut down the host school. Next up for the Sandcrabs is a matchup with Orange Park Ridgeview, an 8-4 team.
Class 3A/2A/1A/1B
In 3A, Cocoa High still stands after shutting down Ridge Community 17-0. Cocoa (11-1) has allowed just seven points in its two playoff games. This Friday, the team battles DeSoto County.
In 2A, South Sumter’s season ended with a 57-7 loss to Jacksonville Bolles in the regional finals. South Sumter finished 10-2.
The season also ended last Friday for 1A power Orlando First Academy. The Royals lost 33-7 to North Florida Christian in the regional finals. First Academy (10-2) defeated Jacksonville University Christian 49-7 a week earlier.
In Class 1B, Orlando Warner Christian has its hands full this Friday with a talented Tallahassee FAMU team. FAMU (9-3) was a 54-20 winner last Friday against Eagle’s View to earn a spot in the state semifinals.
Warner (11-1) was a 27-21 winner against Orangewood Christian. The winner will play either Jupiter Christian or Victory Christian for the 1B state title on Dec. 12. Victory Christian defeated Orlando Pine Castle 10-7 last Friday in the regional finals. Pine Castle finished the season at 6-6.
