By John Peery
Apopka Chief Staff

November 19, 2004 Blue Darters home with Jacksonville Sandalwood For Playoff Game #2

Jacksonville Sandalwood tailback Maurice Wells came to Apopka with more than 4,800 yards rushing in 24 games over the past two years, an average of more than 200 yards per game. He left Apopka with the worst rushing night of his career as he was held to 49 yards on 20 carries by a tenacious Blue Darter defense that led Apopka to a 31-21 Region 6A-1 semifinal victory over the Saints Friday, November 19, at Apopka's Roger Williams Field.

"Our defense did a real good job of containing him," said Apopka head coach Ty Ensor. The Darters harassed Wells all night, allowing him just six runs of more than two yards. The all-star's longest run was a 10-yarder on the final play of the first half when Apopka was guarding against a long pass attempt by Sandalwood.

Apopka had four tackles for loss against Wells. Leading the way for the Blue Darters on defense was linebacker Kadu Swift. He had 14 tackles, eight solos, and had a pair of tackles for loss, including one where he chased the speedy Wells down from behind. But, he certainly had plenty of help as names like Reggie Tarver, Chris Orr, Marvin Peoples, Quentin Taylor, and Corey Pettigrew were called all night for making plays on defense.

It wasn't just the Apopka defense that had a solid night as the Darters excelled on special teams and offense as well. The biggest name for Apopka in those two areas was Tamaki Jackson. The senior wingback didn't pile up big numbers, gaining 43 yards on 12 carries, but he had two rushing touchdowns. He also made an impact on special teams, blocking two punts, including a critical one late in the third quarter that he returned 35 yards for a touchdown. "Tamaki's a good football player," Ensor said. "He made something happen."

While Apopka dominated much of the game, it didn't start out that way as Sandalwood scored quickly on its first possession of the game, then held Apopka, forcing a punt on the Darters' opening drive. The way that Sandalwood scored on the first drive was a surprise to everyone on the Apopka sideline as the Saints drove 69 yards with Wells getting just one carry for minus 1 yard and quarterback Rusty Smith passing for 70, including a 33-yard for touchdown pass to wide receiver Jamar Hornsby, who caught two other touchdown passes, including a 92-yarder.

On its second drive, the Darters got moving offensively, driving to the Sandalwood 5 before stalling and turning to sophomore placekicker Robert Beary, who made a 22-yard field goal to pull the Darters to within 7-3 with 1:11 left in the opening period. The big play of the Apopka drive was the first one as quarterback Jonathon Maxwell found a wide open Edward Sands for a 37-yard gain that put Apopka at Sandalwood's 29 yard line.

Apopka's defense continued its dominance of Wells and the Sandalwood offense and, following a punt by the Saints, the Darters took the lead for good with a 53-yard drive, that included a fourth-and-four conversion on the touchdown when Maxwell again hooked up with Sands, this time for a 35-yard scoring pass. Beary's extra point gave Apopka a 10-7 lead with 7:36 remaining in the second period. Apopka had a great opportunity to expand the lead when Jackson partially blocked a Sandalwood punt, but an Apopka fumble at the Sandalwood 13 ended the threat.

However, the Blue Darters did get on the board on their next possession, and the Darters did it in exciting fashion as, on third-and-10 from the Sandalwood 41, Ensor dug deep into his bag of tricks, pulling out the fumblerooskie. Offensive lineman Abe Eveland and the rest of the Darters pulled it off to perfection as Eveland found plenty of open space to run 21 yards, giving the Darters a first down at the Sandalwood 20.

That gave the Darters plenty of momentum as Jackson scored three plays later from the 8 with 51.1 seconds remaining in the first half. Beary added the extra point to give the Darters a 17-7 halftime lead.

Apopka appeared ready to put the game on ice in its first possession of the third period, driving from its own 31 to the Sandalwood 4, but an Apopka fumble ended the drive and three plays later, the game took a huge turn in Sandalwood's favor as Smith connected with Hornsby on a 92-yard pass play to pull the Saints to within 17-14 with 4:11 left in the third period.

But Jackson pulled momentum back to Apopka's side when he blocked a Sandalwood punt on the final play of the third quarter and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown. Beary's extra point gave Apopka breathing room and a 24-14 lead.

Apopka put any Sandalwood comeback out of reach when, following an interception by Sands, Jackson scampered five yards for a touchdown with 2:42 left in the fourth period. Sandalwood did drive quickly for a touchdown against Apopka's second- and third-teamers for the final margin.