Mustangs’ D shuts down Tigers
APOPKA — It wasn’t the grand entrance fans expected, but Wekiva did enough Friday to open its high school football season with a win.
The host Mustangs (1-0), ranked No. 1 in the Sentinel Super 16, held No. 7 Jones (0-1) to just 127 yards of offense for a 17-3 win.
“Defense played lights out, the offense left a lot out there, but overall we did enough to win,” Wekiva coach Rich Bedesem said.
Senior defensive back Brandon Hill provided the spark the Mustangs needed with two minutes to play in the first half, when he intercepted a pass over the middle and returned it 49 yards down the visiting sideline.
Wekiva found the end zone four plays later as Malik Tolbert caught a pass in the corner from 20 yards out for 10-0 lead.
“We’ve been studying all week in practice and I knew he was [going to make that throw],” Hill said of the interception. “That really changed the momentum of the game.”
Hill also chipped in on offense as he ran the ball seven times for 50 yards. The Pittsburgh commit carried a pack of Tigers inside the redzone on one carry and got loose for 27 yards on another.
“It brings back memories,” Hill said. “I played little league at running back and was supposed to come into high school playing running back, but I switched to safety. I’ve always been a running back at heart.”
Tolbert was the lone bright spot in the passing game. The senior finished with five receptions for 56 yards and two touchdowns after scoring for the second time on a 3-yard pass from Sean Robles.
James Lynch Jr., Rian Davis, Tyler Davis and Malcolm Green recorded tackles-for-loss for Wekiva in the first half. The Mustangs finished with four sacks as a team.
Running back Avarius Sparrow showed promise for Jones much of the night before finishing with 65 yards on 14 carries. He also had a 47-yard touchdown run called back on two infractions midway through the second quarter.
Jones senior Christopher Hampton intercepted Wekiva on its first offensive play of the game but the Tigers quickly went three-and-out from there.
The Mustangs answered by piecing together a 12-play drive that was kept alive via a catch along the sideline by Terrence Moore on fourth down.
Wekiva eventually settled for a 31-yard field goal from Bryan Wilson for the first points of the night.