With an offense effective early and late, and a defense that
was strong the entire game, the Apopka Blue Darters presented rookie head coach
Ty Ensor with a victory in his first game, a 21-14 victory Friday, September
5, over the Lake Brantley Patriots.
The Blue Darters jumped out to a 14-0 lead, scoring on their first two possessions
before going dry offensively. Meanwhile, the Apopka defense played well most
of the game, giving up just one long scoring drive to the Patriotsí triple-option
offense.
While Apopka's offense didn't put up glowing numbers, it did come up with the
winning touchdown late. "We made a lot of mistakes, but the kids fought
back. I am proud of the way they pulled together. I can't give enough credit
to the kids; they didn't give up," Ensor said.
Presented with a golden opportunity, the Blue Darters took advantage of it to
get the victory.
While Apopka certainly had its share of mistakes, the Patriots made the fatal
one midway through the fourth period when, with the score tied at 14-14, an
Apopka punt by Robert Beary touched a Lake Brantley player on the leg and Apopka
recovered at the Patriot 28 yard line with 6:27 left in the fourth quarter.
It took seven plays for the Darters to reach the end zone on a 13-yard pass
play from quarterback Jarrett Gallagher to running back Antwon Johnson. The
two connected for the score with 2:05 left in the game. Other than the score
itself, the biggest play of the drive was when Apopka faced a fourth-and-2 at
the Lake Brantley 20. Gallagher went back to pass and was forced to scramble
before finding fullback Quentin Taylor open for a seven-yard gain.
After Beary added the extra point to give the Darters the 21-14 lead, Lake Brantley
failed to get a first down as linebacker Josh Mott knocked the ball and a chance
at victory out of the Patriot receiverís hands with 1:14 left in the
game.
"He stepped up and made the play when he had to," Ensor said about
Mottís hit.
Mott and fellow returning linebacker Kadu Swift had 13 and 12 tackles, respectively,
gaining praise from their head coach.
Early on, it looked like Apopka would have its way with the Patriots. On the
first play of the game, Gallagher sliced off tackle for a 69-yard gain to the
Lake Brantley 11 yard line and just two plays later, wingback Ivory Lewis picked
up a fumbled pitch, reversed his field and scored from the 9 yard line. When
Beary added the first of his three extra points, the Blue Darters had a 7-0
lead with just 58 seconds gone in the game.
The Apopka defense added its work to the Blue Dartersí cause, forcing
Lake Brantley into a three-and-out in its first possession. On the second ensuing
play for the Blue Darters, Gallagher found a wide-open Cale Duncan for a 40-yard
gain to the Lake Brantley 24.
Four plays later, Gallagher scooted in for the touchdown and the Darters led,
14-0, with 6:43 remaining in the first quarter. Things were looking so grim
for the Patriots on their next possession that on fourth-and-1 from their own
33, they rolled the dice and went for the first down, gaining it by less than
the length of the ball.
The teams then exchanged punts and Gallagher, playing safety for the Darters,
picked off a Brian Smith pass and returned it for an apparent touchdown. However,
a clipping penalty 10 yards behind Gallagher as he crossed the goal line nullified
Apopkaís touchdown late in the first period.
After the penalty, Apopka had the ball on the Lake Brantley 26 and drove to
the 5 yard line before a lost fumble snuffed out the scoring drive. A first
down run by Taylor on that drive was the final first down for Apopka until the
winning touchdown drive in the fourth quarter.
Lake Brantley finally got on the board, scoring with 44 seconds remaining in
the first half when Smith connected with Lammar Guy on a 22-yard pass play.
The 34-yard drive was set up by a Gallagher fumble, although Apopka coaches
contended that Gallagher was down when the ball popped out.
The Patriots controlled the ball for much of the second half, but scored just
once on a nine-yard run by Guy with 1:53 left in the third period.
Neither team threatened to score until Apopka's winning drive late in the game.