Bouncing back after their first loss of the season, the Apopka Blue Darters used a pair of early touchdowns and critical extra points to defeat the Evans Trojans, 14-12, Friday, September 30, in a critical District 6A-4 game at Evans Stadium.

Apopka, 5-1 overall, moved to 2-0 in district play while the Trojans dropped to 1-4 overall and 0-2 in district competition. "I was proud of the effort," said Apopka head coach Ty Ensor. "I thought we played well."

Ensor said he wasn't sure how his team would react in the game following the first loss of the season, a 32-13 setback to archrival Edgewater just a week prior to the win over Evans. "That's the best we've played after that week. I was a little concerned about that," Ensor said.

While the low score might indicate a defensive struggle, the game actually featured a good amount of offense -- between the 20s. Both teams moved the ball well in the middle of the field, but met stiffer defenses inside the red zone. Both Apopka and Evans had long drives that took lots of time off the clock, but produced no points.

The Evans long drive came after Apopka took a 14-6 lead on Joseph's 12-yard run with 11:27 left in the second period. The Trojans took 7:24 off the clock, driving 70 yards from their own 15 yard line to the Apopka 15, but a 32-yard field goal just missed to the right.

Apopka's long non-scoring drive was critical to the victory as the Blue Darters took over at their own 19 with 9:18 left in the game and didn't give up possession of the ball until moving it to the Evans 28 with 2:32 remaining, a total of 6:46. "That was a much-needed drive, even though we didn't score," Ensor said. "We needed time to keep our defense off the field and give them some rest."

Apopka rushed for 251 yards, including 138 yards and two touchdowns on 12 attempts for Steven Joseph. That is the second-highest amount this season for the Blue Darters, which has had trouble moving the ball against some lesser teams this season, despite winning the games.
Ensor said that "Joseph is a hard runner and a fast kid," but he also complimented the guys up front. "The offensive line, they opened up a lot of holes," Ensor said.

Apopka's offense had one of its best outings of the season while rotating three quarterbacks for much of the game. Ensor played Cedric Bryant, Carl Randolph, and Andy Summerlin, rotating them play by play for some of the game. He said the experiment would continue as long as it was effective.

Evans, meanwhile, was balanced in its attack, rushing for 131 yards and passing for 128. The Trojans were led on the ground by tailback Dontae Jones, who had 97 yards and a pair of scores on 20 rushes. But, after the first four rushes for Jones, in which he picked up 46 yards and a touchdown, the Apopka defense held him to 51 yards on 16 carries.

The Trojans got on the board first, driving 55 yards in just six plays on their opening possession of the game. But, Elliott Dix's extra point was wide left and that proved critical. Apopka's rotating-quarterback offense quickly responded, moving 77 yards in six plays, highlighted by a 55-yard scoring jaunt by Joseph. When Robert Beary nailed the extra point, he gave Apopka a 7-6 lead with 5:23 left in the first period.

The touchdown came on 3rd-and-10 with Summerlin at quarterback and everyone in the stadium expecting a pass from the tall junior. Instead, he handed the ball to Joseph, who found a huge hole opened by the Apopka offensive line, then ran past several Evans defenders to the end zone.

Apopka's defense allowed only one first down on the next possession by Evans and the Blue Darters offense responded with another quick score, giving rise to the thought of an offensive shootout.

The Darters drove 63 yards in five plays with Joseph again scampering up the middle, this time from 12 yards out. Beary added the extra point to give Apopka a 14-6 lead with 11:27 remaining in the second period.

That's when Evans went on its long non-scoring drive, getting to Apopka's 10 yard line before the Darter defense forced a 32-yard field goal attempt by Dix that was wide right. The Trojans put the final points of the game on the board in their first possession of the third quarter when Jones found paydirt from 23 yards out with 7:45 left in the period.

Evans appeared to have tied the game with a 2-point conversion but a blocking-below-the-waist penalty negated that and forced the Trojans to try the conversion again from the 18 yard line. The Trojans completed a pass that gained just three yards and Apopka kept its 14-12 lead.

The Trojans had one more serious scoring threat, taking 5:53 off the clock in a drive that moved to the Apopka 14 before the Darter defense took control. With a first down at the Apopka 14, the Trojans were immediately forced backward by the Darters as Jones was thrown for a five-yard loss by Dexter Fountain. Then, on the next play, Apopka's Kyle Wilber sacked Evans quarterback Fred Bouie for a nine-yard loss, forcing the Trojans into a 3rd-and-24 from the 28 yard line.

Bouie completed a pass to the Apopka 1 yard line, but offensive pass interference was called and in high school, that penalty is brutal -- 15 yards and loss of down. Evans then faced 4th-and-39 from the Apopka 43, forcing a punt. That's when Apopka went on its long non-scoring drive, essentially sealing the victory.