By: staff Editor Jeffery Laux
Friday, August the 18th, two high school powerhouses faced off for a Kickoff Preseason Classic game. Apopka has been battling its own demons through the off-season after losing in a shocking manner to the last-seeded Timber Creek in the first round of the playoffs after going undefeated in the regular season and then losing many key players through transfers or graduation. The Blue Darters would need to come in with straight fire power as the ruthless and star powered Mainland team came in ready for a game. Needless to say, Apopka set a tone in the first quarter when their stud senior defensive lineman Mychal Austin forced a fumble that set up Apopka’s Cornelius William to storm through the defense for a 13 yard touchdown run. Mainland quarterback Jake Novella began to make consistent plays to finally land his team on the Blue Darters one yard line, but once again they fumbled it. The ball was recovered by AHS cornerback Jerome Jackson. Right after that turnover, Apopka’s Cornelius Williams burned defenders to electrify the crowd with an 86 yard touchdown that would put Apopka up 13-0. The Blue Darters never looked back after Zion Hill caught a spectacular throw for 50 yards from running back Jecoryan Davis-Hamilton on a trick play to put the Darters up 20-0. Not long after, another head scratching turnover by the Buccaneers and another torching 36 yard touchdown by Williams would put Apopka up by 26. Life was finally injected into the Bucs as they capitalized on a one yard touchdown run by Nathaniel Braswell. After a successful onside kick, quarterback Jake novella had a touchdown pass to put Mainland on the board 26-14. But, up and coming AHS sophomore defensive lineman Micah Riley broke through the offensive line and sacked Novello to put a stop to a possible comeback attempt. Cornelius Williams ended the game with 185 yards and three touchdowns on 12 carries. The Darter defense put on a show with 5 turnovers and only 14 points allowed to an all across the board talented offense that consists of four Division 1 players. The Blue Darters now set their eyes on the Ocoee Knights, who they beat 62-7 last year.
After the game I had the chance to speak with linebackers coach Daniel Trompeter about how things are going on the inside of Blue Darters Football.
How do you think we performed for our first preseason game of the season?
For the first outing against another opponent, it was good to get the win, but we need to work harder for our next game to achieve our potential as a team.
You lost David Britzius and other starting linebackers from the previous year. Do you think this young group of linebackers have stepped up to the plate?
All of the linebackers have improved over the offseason, but the one to fill the biggest void is Spencer Chambers.
Are you ready to play Ocoee this next Friday? W
e are prepared as we always are.
What’s your philosophy when coaching?
Everything we do is for the players, in order to help them become contributing members of our society.
Describe your offseason.
We all worked hard. The surprising thing was that the players had a fantastic attitude and overall the hard work has shown up on the field so far.