Sluggish start, 4 turnovers bury Winter Park in region semifinals
Winter Park dug itself into a deep hole and never recovered in its final game of the season Friday night.
Visiting Jacksonville Mandarin (8-4) opened the Class 8A region semifinal matchup by scoring on four straight possessions and rolling to a 41-8 win at Showalter Field.
Mandarin advances to face area No. 1 Wekiva (11-1), which defeated Apopka 28-7 in the other semifinal.
The Wildcats (10-2) fell one game shy of reaching the region finals after getting there the past two years. They turned the ball over four times and gained just 107 yards of offense in the loss.
Winter Park appeared to lack energy to open the game compared to their counterparts, and Mandarin wasted little time in making them pay for the lethargic start.
Alabama commit Carson Beck launched a perfect pass more than 50 yards down the middle of the field that bounced off his intended target at the goal line.
But sent.
The Mustangs ended the drive with a 19-yard pass from Beck to Demario Douglas and maintained that pace for much of the night. They quickly scored again on a 2-yard carry by Terrell Jennings after Douglas intercepted a pass that went through the grasp of a Winter Park receiver.
“Carson’s just really been throwing the heck out of the ball the past two weeks,” second-year Mandarin coach Bobby Ramsay the message was said. “Tonight it was the play of the offensive line. We had plenty of time to throw and places to go in the run game.
“Defensively, we were able to limit their run game early on and force them to have to throw,” he said.
Mandarin carried a 27-0 lead into halftime after recording three sacks and picking off two passes through the first two quarters. Winter Park was outgained 227-17 in total yards in the first half.
The Wildcats switched things up on their first drive of the third quarter after forcing Mandarin to turn the ball over on downs. They strung together a hard-earned 12-play drive to get on the scoreboard when Peter Hayes-Patrick scored from a yard out.
Hayes-Patrick was limited to only 38 yards on 11 carries.
Beck passed for 274 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for the final score of the night in the fourth quarter.
Darian Oxendine intercepted three Winter Park passes while Douglas intercepted a pass and finished with six receptions for 121 yards and a touchdown for the Mustangs.