PORT ORANGE — When a football team has a 1-2 punch like senior Marceles Carey and sophomore Taihj Moore, it makes things quite difficult for the opposition. Throw in five turnovers by host Spruce Creek on Tuesday night, and the Hawks didn’t give themselves much of a chance against DeLand.
Carey and Moore combined for 280 yards of total offense Tuesday night as the Bulldogs rolled to a 41-0 victory, clinching the Class 7A District 2 title and completing an undefeated regular season at 10-0.
This marked only the second 10-0 regular season for DeLand football in the 106 years since the Bulldogs played their first game in 1920. DeLand went 10-0 in 1995 before losing a first round playoff game 6-3 against Lake Brantley.
Tuesday’s action was a continuation of a Sept. 26 game, which was halted by a thunderstorm in the first quarter with DeLand leading 14-0.
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On that night, Carey had a 65-yard interception return for a touchdown and Moore had a 58-yard pass play from quarterback Gardner Nordman to set up a 5-yard Carey touchdown. So in all, Moore and Carey combined for 408 yards against Creek.
“Great players and hopefully they keep getting better,” DeLand coach Rick Darlington said of Carey and Moore. “Hopefully some colleges start to notice Marceles because, man, there’s no one better. He’s as good as I’ve coached in 30 years as a head coach.
“He runs it, catches it. He can do all of it. He’s a special dude, man.”
DeLand picked up right where it had left off Sept. 26, with Moore taking a handoff on the Bulldogs’ first play on Tuesday and sprinting 60 yards for a touchdown. DeLand upped its halftime lead to 28-0, then Carey went 67 yards to score on DeLand’s first possession of the second half to start the running clock.
The dynamic duo combined on the next series as Moore threw a bubble screen on a fullback pass to Carey, who turned on the jets down the sideline for a 55-yard touchdown.
DeLand’s defense, somewhat maligned in the recent past, was physical, shutting out the Hawks and forcing five turnovers. Nalin Rogers had an interception and a fumble recovery, Nordman had an interception, and Lane Roberts had a fumble recovery off a strip sack by Joe Johnson. Creek’s other turnover was a fumble through the end zone.
DeLand junior safety Nalin Rogers celebrates an interception against Spruce Creek on Tuesday night. Rogers also had a fumble recovery in the 41-0 DeLand victory. (Chris Hays/Orlando Sentinel)
Jeremiah Smokes added two sacks for DeLand and Ladamion Bletcher had one.
Darlington said the undefeated regular season is nice, but there is more work to be done. DeLand heads into the playoffs with the No. 1 seed in 7A Region 2.
“[Undefeated regular season means] absolutely nothing,” Darlington said. “Because going into the playoffs and losing in the playoffs kind of makes it all meaningless. I’m really proud of our guys, it’s rare, but to me, it’s just to get that region seed and get in there and win one a week.
“Proud of the guys, but we’re not done yet. We don’t wanna start counting our accolades now, because that’s when seasons end really quickly.”
Chris Hays can be found on X.com @OS_ChrisHays.
