By John Peery
Apopka Chief Staff

October 29, 2004 Blue Darters home with Dr. Phillips

Things started a little rocky for the Apopka Blue Darters. After all, the winless Dr. Phillips Panthers had the ball at the Apopka 1 yard line and the game was less than two minutes old. An opening kickoff return to the Apopka 3 had put the 0-8 Panthers in prime position to take a shocking early lead on the 5-1 and heavily favored Blue Darters.

But, not to worry. The world righted itself quickly as Hoku Pratt's third-down pass for the Panthers was tipped by Apopka's Corey Pettigrew into the waiting arms of linebacker Marvin Peoples who rumbled and rambled 100 yards for a touchdown, complete with a Blue Darter escort of just about the entire Apopka defense.

That set off a celebration on the Apopka sideline and in the stands of the capacity Homecoming game crowd as People's pick was just the first of many good things happening for the Darters in a 40-6 victory over the Panthers Friday, October 29, at Roger Williams Field.

But, if not for a never-say-die attitude by Apopka's Ivory Lewis on the kickoff return, Peoples wouldn't have gotten the chance to make his big play. Lewis ran down Mike Davis, the Dr. Phillips returner, running him out of bounds at the 3 yard line. Two running plays netted two yards for the Panthers before the tide turned in favor of the Blue Darters.

"Ivory Lewis made a great play on that kickoff return," Apopka head coach Ty Ensor said, praising the effort of his running back.
The season of each team could be seen in those three plays as Dr. Phillips thought it had something good happening to it, only to have it ripped from its grasp in a very cruel way. That's what happens when a 5-1 team plays a 0-8 team.

Ensor was happy for the relatively easy victory, but called his team's play "sporadic" and "sloppy." "I thought the effort was good. We stopped ourselves. We need to work on being more consistent," he said. "There are definitely some things to improve on." The numbers from the game suggest that Apopka played well, but all coaches always find lots to work on.

Except for the one Dr. Phillips score -- a 63-yard pass play -- the Apopka defense smothered the Dr. Phillips offense. The Panthers ended the game with minus-5 yards rushing and 86 yards passing. They gained just four first downs. Apopka, meanwhile, amassed 349 yards rushing divided by nine runners with no running reach the 100-yard mark. Lewis led the team effort with 95 yards on seven attempts and fullback Quentin Taylor was right behind with 86 yards and three touchdowns on eight rushes.

Tamaki Jackson had a touchdown and 64 yards on nine attempts. After Peoples' interception return, Apopka added the first of five offensive touchdowns on its second possession. The Blue Darters got 47 yards in six plays with Taylor getting the first of three scores on a 1-yard run with 1:08 left in the first period. The try for two was no good, but Apopka still led, 14-0, because the Darters had a successful two-point conversion after Peoples' interception when Jonathon Maxwell passed to placekicker Robert Beary.

Apopka built its lead to 20-0 with a 66-yard drive that ended when Taylor bolted 18 yards for the score with 6:11 left in the second period. The big play of the drive was a 34-yard run by Lewis, who received a block from Maxwell. The Blue Darters took a 26-0 lead on their first possession of the third period, driving 86 yards in 11 plays, including a conversion on fourth-and-6 from their own 40 yard line. Jackson ended the drive with a 1-yard scoring run with 5:16 left in the third quarter.

Dr. Phillips fumbled on the first play on its next possession and two plays after Dexter Fountain's recovery, the Darters scored on Taylor's 9-yard run with 4:18 left in the period. Matt Athearn added the extra point to give Apopka a 33-0 lead.

The Panthers requested the running clock, but then scored their lone touchdown of the game with 1:22 left in the third to make the margin less than 30 points, the threshold of the running clock. The final score of the game came with 8:30 left in the fourth quarter when Nico Stanley scored from the 8 yard line, even though Dr. Phillips had 12 men on the field. Athearn added the 40th point for the Darters.