Two-way players and Winter Park shine early
Fewer skill-position players are being relied upon on both sides of the ball in recent years, specifically at large classification schools.
That means the chance to showcase versatility has been minimal for some of the area’s top football players.
But on Friday a pair of Wekiva seniors took advantage of such an opportunity while helping the No. 1 team in the Sentinel Super 16 win 17-3 in its season opener against No. 7 Jones.
Brandon Hill intercepted a pass late in the second quarter and returned it 49 yards to set up a touchdown reception by Malcolm Green, who stars alongside Hill in the Mustangs’ secondary.
Green then closed out the first half with a tackle-for-loss near midfield on a Jones’ ball carrier.
Hill went on to carry the ball seven times out of the backfield for 50 yards in the second half.
“We saw it in practice, we just didn’t know how much we wanted to use him because he’s so valuable defensively,” Wekiva coach Rich Bedesem said of Hill. “But we thought that we needed a little spark at that point, and he created it.”
Lengthy losing came to an end DeLand.
No. 6 Edgewater, which had lost five straight to College Park neighbor Bishop Moore since the matchup renewed in 2013, won 24-20 for its first win in the series since 1991.
The Hornets entered the game ranked No. 9.
D.J. Hampton blocked and recovered a punt in the end zone in the second quarter.
R.J. Harvey ran for a 47-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter and Abdul Harmon and Nathan White made big defensive plays down the stretch to help secure the win.
DeLand entered the season having won a total of six games the past three years, but none of that mattered Friday at Spec Martin Stadium against Volusia County power Daytona Beach Mainland
The Bulldogs, ranked No. 13, defeated Mainland 30-20 for their first win over the Bucs since 2011.
DeLand jumped out to a 21-0 advantage on long touchdown runs by former Mainland players Demaurez Bellamy and Avantae Williams. Dionte Marks scored twice, the first of which on a 79-yard reception from Leon Rolle in the second quarter. streaks versus rivals for Edgewater and