Mustangs make playoffs
WINTER GARDEN — Wekiva is heading to the postseason for the second time in program history.
The Mustangs dominated the line of scrimmage Friday at West Orange and ran away with a 49-20 win to stake claim to the runner-up spot in Class 8A, District 4.
Wekiva (6-3, 2-1), ranked No. 9 in the Sentinel Super 16, travels to No. 7 Winter Park in the first round of the playoffs in two weeks.
West Orange (2-6, 1-2) will miss the postseason for the first time in four years.
Jaylon Fair accounted for 250 total yards and four touchdowns for the Mustangs. Trey McGee opened the night by completing his first nine passes before finishing 12 of 15 for 244 yards and three touchdowns. Wesley Touze caught six passes for 91 yards and two scores.
“We have a bunch of young kids here and ever since I came in we’ve tried to build a solid foundation, tried to keep getting better and see where it took us. Now it’s taking us to the playoffs,” said first-year Wekiva coach Rich Bedesem.
Wekiva drove 80 yards for touchdowns on each of its three possessions in the first half. They went on to score on six of nine possessions and snap a threegame losing streak to the Warriors.
Wekiva’s defense was equally impressive as they came away with three interceptions of West Orange quarterback Austin Burton.
The turning point came when Burton was picked off on a tipped pass midway through the second quarter. Renardo Green did the dirty work while on coverage, but it was Jerard Wesley coming down with the ball and going 66 yards along the visiting sideline for a 21-7 advantage.
After West Orange countered on a 27-yard touchdown run by Burton, Touze hauled in McGee’s final pass of the first half and fought his way into the end zone to give Wekiva a 28-14 lead at halftime.
“We’ve been working hard every day for this,” Touze said. “We came out here wanting this game so bad, we knew we were going to win it.”
The Mustangs put the game out of reach on the opening drive of the second half when McGee, under duress, dumped a short pass to Fair and watched as the senior sprinted 77 yards for the touchdown.
West Orange got 155 yards rushing and two touchdowns from Darrian Williams. Burton, who will enroll at UCLA in January, finished with just 137 yards passing.