As expected Friday night, there was plenty of drama on the football fields of the metro Orlando area as two district titles came down to the wire. Both West Orange and Oviedo had to overcome two-touchdown deficits to claim championships.
West Orange trailed Ocoee 14-0 at halftime, but the Warriors made the perfect adjustments at halftime, holding Ocoee scoreless in the second half and turning things around to win the Class 7A, District 5 title 21-14.
Oviedo trailed 14-0 after the first quarter against Evans, but the Lions battled back to force two overtimes. An extra point was the difference in the end as Oviedo won the 6A-4 29-28.
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Windermere (8-0) won its 18th straight game dating back to last season, holding back previously unbeaten Innovation 21-7 thanks to 163 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries by Henry Rogers. Windermere defense held Innovation (8-1) to 29 yards in the second half and Elijah Mosby, Willems Noel, James Woodbury and Demetre Hay all had sacks. Eddie Russomanno had two interceptions
Lake Brantley (6-3, 0-3 in 7A-3) came into the season hoping to stir things up in 7A-3, with a new coach, a new offense and a hot-shot new quarterback. Reality, however, set in after the Patriots lost all three district games, including Friday night’s 51-17 loss to Lake Mary. The Rams, last year’s 7A state runners-up, won the district title again. Upstart Hagerty was hoping to make a move in the Class 7A playoff race, but the Huskies could not get past a steadily improving Seminole team, losing 27-24.
The FHSAA’s 7A, Region 2 rankings could see a shift on Tuesday. The top four will likely remain the same, as DeLand, which rolled past Orange City University 70-0, continues to lead Boone, Spruce Creek and Lake Mary, all winners Friday.
The bottom four state playoff qualifiers, however, are likely to change headed into the final week of the regular season. This past week, Hagerty, Winter Park, Brantley and Seminole were ranked in that order. Winter Park and Seminole victories likely move them up and whoever winds up in that dreaded No. 8 spot will not make the playoffs if Creekside, the 7A-1 champion, continues to reside in the No. 9 hole. As a district champion, Creekside is guaranteed a playoff spot.
Cypress Creek (0-9) came close, but still could not get off the schnide, losing for the 30th straight game 33-25 to Oak Ridge.
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No. 13 Oviedo 29, No. 5 Evans 28 (2 OTs) — A missed extra point in the second overtime spelled the difference in this one. Evans had scored the go-ahead touchdown in the second overtime to go up 28-22, but missed the extra point. Oviedo (7-2, 3-0) tied the game and it appeared the two teams were headed to a third overtime after Oviedo also missed the extra point. But a roughing-the-center penalty was called on Evans (7-2, 2-1), allowing Oviedo kicker Patrick O’Brien to redeem himself and drill the winning point.
Fortuitous circumstances turned in Oviedo’s favor in that second overtime. Along with the timely Evans penalty, Oviedo scored the game-tying touchdown when running back Brock Joyce fumbled the ball into the end zone and teammate Dylan Yablon was there to jump on it for the touchdown.
“It was a total team effort. This was our defense’s best game of the season. Hat’s off to the defensive staff,” said Oviedo head coach Greg Odierno. “We wanted to keep the game close and that’s what we did. We got the ball to start the second half, knew we could put some things together, and that’s what we did.”
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No. 10 West Orange 21, Ocoee 14 — After spotting Ocoee a 14-0 halftime lead, West Orange (8-1, 3-0) made the necessary changes at halftime that allowed the Warriors to shut down Ocoee (5-4, 2-1) in the second half and turn things around.
“Credit to their team. They did a great job of exploiting things they probably saw on film. We made mistakes, they capitalized off our mistakes,” Thompson said. “We just told the kids to calm down. It’s not something wrong with the scheme, it’s not something wrong with us, it’s just we have to fix our mistakes. … calm down, lock in, let’s take care of business. And they did a great job of responding. Phenomenal job.”
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Sophomore quarterback AJ Chung finished 14-of-21 passing for 155 yards with a touchdown. Jayden Ammons had 78 combined yards with a touchdown. Yuto Kawamura-Johnson had five catches for 40 yards with a touchdown. Michael Blackmon scored both Ocoee touchdowns.
No. 11 Lake Mary 51, No. 14 Lake Brantley 17 — Noah Grubbs threw four touchdown passes for Lake Mary (6-3, 3-0).
No. 12 Seminole 27, Hagerty 24 — The Seminoles (5-4, 2-1) got two rushing touchdowns from Anthony Gay III to overcome a pair of big plays by Hagerty (5-4, 1-2) in the second half. Mkiye McBurse had a 94-yard kickoff return for a TD and Aurelio Gutierrez scored on a 93-yard run late in the fourth off a fake punt.
No. 14 Winter Park 41, Timber Creek 3 — Winter Park (5-4, 2-1) picked off three Timber Creek (3-6, 1-2) passes and Ayden Pouncey had his fifth pick-6 interception of the season, sixth overall.
Deltona 15, Tavares 14 — The Bulldogs (5-4) playoff chances may have taken a major blow with a surprising loss to Deltona (4-5). Tavares came in ranked No. 6 in 3A, Region 2, but fortunately for Tavares, the Nos. 8 and 9 teams — Dunnellon and Weeki Wachee — also lost Friday night. Tavares ends the regular season with a tough game at 7A East Ridge (6-3) on Friday.
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Olympia 38, East Ridge 24 — Speaking of East Ridge, the Knights also suffered a huge upset at the hands of Olympia (3-6). East Ridge (6-3), sitting No. 7 in 7A-3 and losers of three straight, also has dwindling playoff hopes.
Geneva School 45, Halifax Academy 0 — The Geneva School (1-9), in its first year of 11-man football, gained its first victory for veteran Central Florida coach Dave Langdon.
Week 10 results
Thursday’s score
Cornerstone Charter 38, Tradition Prep 0
Friday’s Super 16 scores
No. 2 Jones 49, Lake Region 0
No. 3 Bishop Moore 56, FSU High 35
No. 4 Boone 63, Freedom 0
No. 13 Oviedo 29, No. 5 Evans 28
No. 6 DeLand 70, Orange City University 0
No. 7 Dr. Phillips 57, Celebration 0
The Hun School of New Jersey 31, No. 8 The First Academy 14
Lake Wales 35, No. 9 Osceola 27
No. 10 West Orange 21, Ocoee 14
No. 11 Lake Mary 51, No. 14 Lake Brantley 17
No. 12 Seminole 27, Hagerty 24
No. 15 Winter Park 41, Timber Creek 3
No. 16 St. Cloud 14, Harmony 7
Elsewhere Friday
South Lake 62, Lake Minneola 0
Deltona 15, Tavares 14
Lake Nona 30, Tohopekaliga 13
Lake Howell 50, Wekiva 6
Olympia 38, East Ridge 24
Seabreeze (4-4) at Pine Ridge (2-7), ppd.
Poinciana 38, Kissimmee Liberty 0
Mount Dora 30, Eustis 14
Madison County 43, Apopka 6
Horizon 34, Davenport 22
Lecanto 28, Leesburg 23
Winter Springs 46, Lyman 0
Windermere 21, Innovation 7
East River 35, Lake Buena Vista 14
Orlando University 45, Colonial 31
Oak Ridge 33, Cypress Creek 25
CFCA 54, Seven Rivers Christian 38
Orangewood 35, Faith Christian 0
Foundation 42, West Oaks 28
Lake Highland Prep 44, Trinity Prep 20
Holy Trinity 28, Master’s Academy 7
Mount Dora Christian 30, Eagle’s View 0
Geneva 45, Halifax 0
Orlando Christian Prep 38, Inlet Grove 6
Umatilla 43, Father Lopez 0
Duval Charter 47, Windermere Prep 41
Open date: Edgewater, Kissimmee Gateway.
Chris Hays can be found on X.com @OS_ChrisHays.
