Birthday boy Brown leads Blue Darters
Apopka’s Akeem Brown had a very happy 18th birthday.
The junior running back celebrated his special day by running for 203 yards and five touchdowns to lead the No. 4 Blue Darters to a 49-13 victory Friday over Boone.
Apopka’s other touchdowns came on 20-yard runs by Jalen Carter and Jaquan Lowman. The Blue Darters (4-1) rushed for 343 yards.
No. 16 Boone (3-2) marched 70 yards in 7 minutes to trim Apopka’s lead to 14-7 midway through the second period. Kenyon Baron scored on a two-yard run for the Braves.
The Blue Darters responded quickly with Brown scampering 50 yards for his third score.
Brandon Whaley’s three interceptions, including a 32-yard touchdown return in the third quarter, highlighted a stellar defensive effort for Mainland in a 22-0 shutout of defending 8A state champion Dr. Phillips at Daytona Stadium.
The Bucs (3-2) won their third straight game and kept the Super 16 No. 12 Panthers (1-4) on the slide against a rugged schedule.
Area No. 1 Wekiva shook off a scoreless first quarter and raced past Olympia for a 43-7 non-district victory. The Mustangs (4-0) piled up 36 points in a wild second stanza and coasted to victory. Their 43 points are a season high.
Solomon Edgerton’s touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter opened the floodgates for Wekiva. They added two additional TD and a safety in a span of 3:12.
Renardo Green’s 72-yard punt return touchdown extended the Wekiva lead to 29-0, but it was quickly answered by Olympia’s Donrick Means, who took the ensuing kickoff 71 yards to the house.
Two late interceptions by Curtis Argroves helped No. 11 Lake Mary ice a hard-fought 21-14 win over Lyman.
A blocked punt gave the Rams (3-1, 2-0 in 8A, District 2) their first lead. Lyman dropped to 2-3 and 1-1 in the district.
West Orange scored on all 10 of its possessions in a 70-0 road rout of Cypress Creek.
Quarterback Elijah Stimmell passed for 224 yards and two touchdowns and added a 3-yard scoring run as the No. 7 Warriors improved to 4-1.
No. 9 Jones (3-1) won 60-0 at Ocala Forest (3-2) with quarterback Demetrius Boney throwing three TD passes and Avarious Sparrow and Treveon Bouie each running for three scores. Ricky Smith added a 70-yard fumble return TD.
Foundation Academy overcame three turnovers and got two touchdown passes from Henry Austad in rallying to win 20-10 against host Deltona Trinity Christian 20-10. Foundation is 5-0, Trinity 4-1.
Sayeed Decosta of Colonial (1-3) ran for two scores, including a game-winning TD run in a 32-28 victory over Freedom (1-4).
Rolous Frazier carried 23 times for 196 yards and two touchdowns to lead undefeated The First Academy to a 49-28 victory over Clearwater Calvary Christian (3-2). Frazier also returned a kickoff 94 yards for a score.
No. 5 DeLand (4-1) bounced back from defeat to drum winless Pine Ridge 56-13.
Liberty (2-2, 1-1) won 63-14 over Celebration (2-3, 0-1). That is the most points scored by the Chargers since a 64-34 win vs. Poinciana in 2011.
Host Gateway (3-2) won 34-20 against Tallahassee Leon (2-3) in Kissimmee.
Lake Highland Prep (2-2) won 44-21 at home against Trinity Prep (1-3).
Ethan Terrell had three interceptions and No. 14 Oviedo scored a 48-10 home win against backyard rival Winter Springs (0-5). The Lions are 3-1, 1-0 in 8A-2.
First-year Tohopekaliga (2-3) posted its second consecutive win, 18-6, over Bartow (0-5).