Dominated by Edgewater’s defense, the Apopka Blue Darters managed just 81 total yards in a 32-7 loss to the top-ranked Eagles Saturday, October 2, at Edgewater’s Frank Lough Field. Despite the lopsided final score, the Eagles led by just one touchdown, 7-0, until late in the third period when Edgewater recovered a controversial fumble for a touchdown.
That opened the flood gates and Edgewater scored two more touchdowns in the first minute of the fourth period to break the game open.

“If we could have gotten anything going offensively, it would have been a better game,” said Apopka head coach Ty Ensor. “They gave us a lot of problems and we couldn’t fix it. We didn’t get it done on offense.”
The problems included blitzes up the middle of the offensive line, often tackling Apopka quarterback Jonathan Maxwell immediately after he received the snap.

Maxwell rushed for 40 net yards on 19 attempts and he was thrown for a loss in 10 of those rushes. He did have three rushes totaling 58 yards, but those were on scrambles after pass protection broke down. As a team, the Darters rushed for just 66 yards on 31 attempts. The Darters gained just 15 yards passing.

Edgewater ended up with 224 yards rushing on 33 attempts and 148 yards passing. However, the Eagles gained 140 yards rushing on four of their 33 attempts, including 53 yards in a run late in the game. While the Eagles could not find the end zone running the ball, Edgewater quarterback Mike Dunn had three touchdown passes. The Eagles also had two defensive scores.

Edgewater began the game as if it was going to be an early blowout. After stopping Apopka in three plays in its first possession, the Eagles drove 56 yards in just three plays to take a 7-0 lead with 9:07 remaining in the first period.
Tailback Tim Holloman rushed for 31 yards on first down, then went for two more on the next play before Dunn found a wide-open Greg Matthews for a 23-yard touchdown pass.

On its next possession, Apopka drove to the Edgewater 20-yard line before losing the ball on a fumble, one of three Apopka turnovers. Just before halftime, Edgewater missed a 25-yard field goal and took the 7-0 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The game became more than a one-score contest on Apopka’s second possession of the third period when, faced with a 2nd-and-21 from its own 2, Maxwell was hit when trying to pass. He lost the ball, it was ruled a fumble, and Edgewater’s Charlie Bailes fell on it for an Edgewater touchdown with 2:38 left in the third period.

The Eagles put up two more scores in the first 30 seconds of the fourth quarter, one on a 22-yard pass from Dunn to Bobby Rauh and the second on a 45-yard interception return by Glenn Hubbard. Edgewater’s final score came on a 32-yard pass from Dunn to Rauh with 7 minutes left.

Apopka then drove 75 yards for its only score with the help of 33 yards in penalties against the Eagles.
The Darters scored when Tamaki Jackson was tackled near the goal line and the ball appeared to pop out as he hit the ground. However, it was ruled a fumble and offensive lineman Jhanee Safford was there to recover for the Apopka touchdown. Robert Beary added the extra point and Apopka was on the board with 2:31 left in the fourth period.