APK v BHS
For ye socks outside the dryer, today is a big day in Orange County, Florida.
It marks the first time that two local high school teams will face-off in a state semi-final football game.
Kick-off is at 7:30pm at Boone HS (13-0), when the Braves will be taking on the Apopka Blue Darters (12-1).
Ye need not doubt who yours truly will be supporting. But, I do have much respect for Boone, and not only because my buddy John is an assistant coach. Their defensive line is extraordinarily good. They have not allowed more than 2 TD's in any of their games this season. Johnell Thomas and Jamarcus Allen are rock stars.
But, rock star status only goes so far against a high-powered offense like the one led by Darter QB Jeremy Gallon. He has nearly 2,500 combined yards rushing and passing this year, for a total of 35 TD's. Simply amazing.
No wonder Boone is considered an underdog.
The bottomline: This will be a GREAT high school football game. And, regardless of where your loyalties lie, the good news is that Orange County is sending one of them to vie for the state title at the Citrus Bowl next week.
So, when can we fire up the grill and do some tailgatin'?!?
posted by wsmv at
1:08 PM
1 Comments:
Well, in case you missed it, Boone beat Apopka, 21 to 18. A close game, and yours truly has actually gone hoarse from all the yelling.
Apopka fans should have known something would go awry when James Washington ran 54 yards on Boone's first play and followed up with a 22 yard TD run.
Some folks were blaming the Blue Darters' kicking team for the loss. Indeed, the poor sophomore who shall remain nameless here, did miss a field goal. And, he failed to score a point after Apopka coach Rick Darlington finally wised-up and stopped going for 2-point conversions.
The real blame, if indeed you can call it that, lies with the coaching. They failed to post a deep safety early in the game, allowing Boone's Jeremy Brown to score a spectacular 80-yard TD.
But, even that could have been overcome if Darlington and his staff had put together some of the plays that brought them to the semi-final game. Instead, they strung together a bunch of predictable runs.
Boone didn't just read their strategy, they got in their heads.
So, with just 1:49 left on the clock, and the opportunity to tie-up the game with a field goal, Darlington elected to go for the TD on 4th down.
Bad decision. The result was a fumble, and the Braves held on to advance to the state championship next week.
Oh, well, there's always next year. Just ask the Braves. They were in this exact position last year after losing to Lake Brantley. And, look how they responded!
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