Edgewater, Ocoee score quality wins in Week 2
Gray clouds again hovered over the Orlando area high school football season but almost every Week 2 game was played out on Friday night and sparks were flying.
West Orange won a slugfest against 2021 state runner-up Apopka, Timber Creek prevailed on a last-second field goal, Edgewater and Winter Park posted wins against out-of-state powers, and Ocoee edged Wekiva in a sizzling backyard rivalry that knows nothing but nail-biters in recent years.
Stormy weather did force delays but just one game was postponed. Kissimmee Gateway (1-0) at Tohopekaliga (1-0) will be played Tuesday night at 7 p.m. at the Austin-Tindall Sports Complex.
Lake Howell’s game at Horizon, stopped Friday due to lightning, was completed Saturday with the host Hawks improving to 2-0 with a 34-7 victory.
Here are Friday night’s highlights:
Eagles fly
Edgewater, No. 4 in the Sentinel Super 16 rankings, scored a statement win at home, spanking New Jersey No. 1 Don Bosco Prep 34-10.
Prized prospect CJ Baxter Jr. continued his stellar senior play with 27 carries for 287 yards and 2 touchdowns for the Eagles (2-0). He ran 96 yards up the middle for the game’s final score after scoring on a 58-yard scamper that saw him get to the sideline, cut inside, squeeze between defenders and break a tackle from behind.
Eagles coach Cameron Duke sang the praises of junior running back Kaden Shields-Dutton, Baxter’s lead blocker most of the night.
“He didn’t touch the ball as much as we would like him to, but he sold out with how he blocked and how physical he was,” Duke said of Shields-Dutton.
Semaj Fleming, a sophomore, took a reverse 97 yards on Edgewater’s second play. The Eagles’ defense forced five turnovers and posted a second half shutout.
Edgewater plays at West Orange (2-0) next week.
Warriors win
Host West Orange, No. 14 in the Super 16, gave first-year head coach Geno Thompson a victory with its 13-6 win against fifthranked Apopka (1-1).
Quarterback Trevor Jackson ran for both Warriors touchdowns and Chris Ficka was a defensive stalwart with multiple sacks.
“The kids played very hard. We told them all week it’s going to be a physical game,” Thompson said. “We’re a young team. Giving them this experience and playing against a top-caliber team like Apopka is going to help them grow.”
The Metro Conference West rivals are 6-6 against each other since 2014. That includes three playoff games.
Ocoee goes for 2
No. 10 Ocoee pulled out a 15-14 victory at No. 15 Wekiva after Keyondray Jones punched in a 2-yard touchdown run to cap a decisive drive. The Knights (1-1) went for the win with 1:53 to go and Josh Singh converted a two-point conversion run on a direct-snap play.
“Our defense played lights-out,” Ocoee coach Aaron Sheppard said, “We gotta keep building on that. And we gotta score some points.”
Sheppard said Ocoee assistant Xavier Jordan drew up the game-winning conversion.
Ocoee’s Joshua Guerrier had a 90-yard interception return TD.
Terrelle Weathers ran for 192 yards and two TDs for Wekiva (1-1).
Ocoee beat the Mustangs 14-13 last season with a 60-yard TD drive that culminated with 33 seconds to go. The Knights won 24-20 in 2020 after Wekiva won 14-13 in 2019.
Timber Creek kicks to win
No. 13 Timber Creek defeated No. 11 Dr. Phillips 24-22 on a 32-yard field goal by Alexander Davis as time expired.
DP took a 22-21 with 2:15 remaining with a 3-yard touchdown run by Adam Guzman that followed a fumble recovery. The Panthers (0-2) went for two and succeeded on a keeper by sophomore quarterback Stanley Anderson.
AJ Williams threw 3 TD passes, including a 67-yarder to Evan Van
Dyke, for Timber Creek (1-1).
Rankings report
No. 6 Boone (2-0) held on for a 14-6 home win against Evans (0-2) in the first meeting of those Metro Conference members in 19 years.
No. 7 Lake Mary (2-0) continued its defensive dominance with a 19-0 home win vs. visiting Spruce Creek (1-1).
No. 8 Winter Park traveled to the Atlanta area and won 31-19 against North Gwinnett (2-1), Georgia’s No. 8 Class 7A team. Wildcats quarterback Aidan Warner threw 3 touchdown passes and ran for a score.
No. 9 DeLand rallied with 26 unanswered points to win 40-22 vs. visiting Centennial (1-1). Javon Ross had 4 touchdowns for the Bulldogs (1-1), including a 44-yard run with 1:50 remaining.
No. 12 Oviedo won 35-7 at Orange City University to improve to 2-0. DJ Scott had another big performance for the Lions, including 48- and 22-yard TD runs.
Small schools, big games
Lake Highland Prep (2-0) won 43-7 at Foundation Academy (1-1) to extend its two-year 13-game winning streak. Camren Ware returned the opening kickoff 90 yards for a LHP touchdown. Ware rushed for 102 yards and his brother, Romelo, had 76, including a 20-yard TD. Joshua Perry added 96 yards and 2 TDs on 7 carries.
“We knew we had to lean on those three guys behind our offensive line with the rain and sloppy conditions,” Lake Highland coach Ben Bullock said.
Central Florida Christian Academy QB Jackob Kania passed for 2 TDs and ran for one as the Eagles (2-0) won 34-10 at Mount Dora Christian (1-1) in the Sunshine State Athletic Conference.