By John Peery
Apopka Chief Staff

November 12, 2004 Blue Darters at Boone For Playoff Game #1

Holding Boone to a minus 6 total yards with a suffocating defense, the Apopka Blue Darters whipped the Braves, 34-0, in a Class 6A first-round playoff game Friday, November 12, at Boone's Norton Baker Field.

Harassing Boone quarterback Cody Allen all night long, the Apopka defense also held the Boone rushing game in check. Boone ended the game with minus 22 yards rushing and 16 yards passing. But not only did the Apopka defense keep the Braves from scoring, the Darters scored twice on defense, once on a fumble return by linebacker Marvin Peoples and once on an interception return by Eric Sledge.

The TD by Sledge was his second score in less than two minutes of the third quarter and followed a 26-yard touchdown pass from Jonathon Maxwell. It was the second straight shutout and third in the past four games for Apopka. Over the past month, the Blue Darters have given up just six points and that was after the Darters had freely substituted in a 40-6 victory over Dr. Phillips three weeks ago. Since the October 2 loss to Edgewater, the Darters have given up just 27 points in six straight victories.

Apopka's offense, meanwhile, wasn't spectacular, but it was efficient and ate up large chunks of the clock, giving Apopka's defense time to rest. The Blue Darters put up scoring drives to begin each half to snuff out any chance of a Boone victory. "The defense played their butts off and the defensive coaches did a great job of game planning," Apopka head coach Ty Ensor said. "Offensively, we did enough. "It was a good overall performance."

The first possession for each team epitomized the rest of the game as Boone was forced to punt after three plays gained just two yards against Apopka's defense. The Boone punt was excellent and backed up the Darters to their own 18, but, not to worry, as Maxwell jolted for 33 yards on the first play, putting Apopka inside Boone territory early.

The Braves, however, stiffened and, on fourth-and-2 from the Boone 41, the Darters sent fullback Quentin Taylor into the line for a five-yard gain and then scored three plays later on Maxwell's three-yard run. His score was set up by a 24-yard scamper by wingback Tamaki Jackson. After a Boone penalty on the conversion attempt, the Darters went for two with Taylor bulling over to give Apopka an 8-0 lead with 6:37 left in the first period.

Two possessions later, Apopka had another score, but this was from the defense as Boone quarterback Allen was running from an Apopka defender and lost the ball, which Peoples scooped up without pausing and easily scored from the 13. Robert Beary added the extra point to give Apopka a 15-0 lead with 2:25 remaining in the opening quarter.

Apopka tacked on two more points courtesy of Boone's special teams when, lined up at their own 15 yard line, the Braves' long snapper hiked the ball over the punter's head and through the end zone for a safety, giving Apopka a 17-0 lead with 2:43 left in the second quarter.

The Blue Darters gave the Braves little hope for a second-half comeback by driving 63 yards for a touchdown to open the third period.
Apopka moved quickly into Boone territory with a 20-yard run by Jackson and a 15-yard penalty on the Braves' first play. After an Apopka holding penalty brought the ball back to the 26, Maxwell hooked up with Sledge for the 26-yard touchdown pass. Beary's extra point gave Apopka a 24-0 lead with 9:29 remaining in the third quarter.

Two plays later, Sledge had his defensive touchdown when he picked off an Allen pass and returned it 27 yards for the score. Beary's extra point gave the Darters a 31-0 lead with 7:41 remaining in the third period. Prior to the interception, Allen was 0-for-7 against the Apopka defense. Apopka tacked on its final points of the evening when Beary easily hit a 34-yard field goal with 3:24 left in the fourth period.