Apopka High School
2006 Spring Football Game
Blue Darters 21, Astronaut 7

By John Peery
Apopka Chief Staff

A lot of the offensive numbers weren’t pretty, but the numbers that count -- the ones on the scoreboard -- looked just fine to the Apopka Blue Darters Tuesday, May 23, as Apopka downed the Titusville Astronaut War Eagles, 21-7, in the annual spring game.

The Blue Darters, playing under head coach Rick Darlington for the first time since 2002, struggled on offense, especially early, but put together two scoring drives, one of them right before halftime that allowed Apopka to seize momentum.

“There’s things we did well and things we need to work on,” Darlington said. “We wanted to see what people could (in a game situation). It’s good to get a win.”

Apopka gained just 94 yards rushing on 32 attempts and 88 yards passing, but made the most of those yards. On Apopka’s two scoring drives, the Darters compiled 123 yards. With all but a few skill position starters out due to injuries, discipline or grades, the Darters ran much of their offense around Robert Beary.

Once restricted to placekicking and punting duties, Beary began playing some defense last season and, if the spring game is any indication, will have a huge say in the success of the Blue Darters in the 2006 season.

Beary scored both of Apopka’s offensive touchdowns on passes from quarterback Andy Summerlin. The rising seniors connected on pass plays of 26 yards and 17 yards.

It was the 26-yarder right before halftime that grabbed the lead and the momentum for the Blue Darters. With Apopka trailing Astronaut 7-0 and hurrying to beat the halftime clock, Summerlin dropped back and hit Beary in the hands with a pass at about the 10-yard line. Beary was hit immediately by a pair of Astronaut defenders, but bowled over one then carried two others into the end zone for the touchdown with just 13.3 seconds left in the second period.

Using the swinging gate formation on the extra point, Apopka’s Brian McCullough easily scored the two-point conversion to give the Darters an 8-7 halftime lead. Not only did that swing the momentum Apopka’s way but it also gave the Apopka offense some confidence. Prior to that scoring drive, the Blue Darters had run just nine offense plays, gaining only 48 yards.

The drive was set up by a diving interception at Apopka’s 30 yard line by linebacker Danny White. During the drive that took 4:31 off the clock, Apopka converted on a fourth down and on two third downs, including the scoring play.

Astronaut had control of the game for the first quarter and a half, but could score just once, and that against Apopka’s second team defense line. The War Eagles scored on a 13-yard run by their all-everything back Cameron Harris. He had 96 yards on 14 rushes, but was injured late in the first half and did not return. Without his running threat, the War Eagles threw the ball more in the second half, but thanks to a solid pass rush and good coverage by the Blue Darters, Astronaut quarterback Jacob Younger was just 3-for-12 for 34 yards in the second half and most of that came on one pass play late in the game.

Younger also threw two interceptions, the one by White and another that Reggie Haynes returned 40 yards for an Apopka touchdown.
Haynes tipped the ball to himself and gathered it in at the Astronaut 40 yard line and picked up blocking down the left side of the field and was never touched on his way to the end zone.

His score followed just 21 seconds after the second Summerlin-to-Beary pass play for a touchdown. This one was a 17-yarder as Summerlin hit Beary on a curl-in and then Beary made a move on the defensive back and jaunted into the end zone. On that touchdown, the extra point attempt by Beary was blocked, but he made the one following Haynes’ interception return for a score.

For the first quarter and a half, Astronaut moved the ball against Apopka’s defense, but could not put the ball in the end zone except for the one time. In the second half, the War Eagles accounted for only 2 net yards rushing and 34 yards passing.

Apopka, meanwhile, wasn’t putting up big offensive numbers, but enough to come away with the victory. Much of Apopka’s game in all phases fell into the hands -- and feet -- of Beary. Not only did he catch three passes for 49 yards and two touchdowns, but he rushed five times for 25 yards, punted, kicked off, attempted extra point conversions, returned punts, returned kickoffs, and played defensive back, causing a fumble that a teammate recovered. He rarely came off the field. “He’s a heck of an athlete and a heck of a young man,” Darlington said about Beary.

Haynes also made himself noticed, rushing for 30 yards on four attempts and catching one pass for 24 yards. He also had the interception return for a touchdown and had several tackles.

Apopka ran almost all of its plays from the shotgun, but Darlington said after the game that he hopes to have the quarterback in the traditional spot under the center more often in the fall. With the running back corps depleted this spring, the shotgun was a necessity, he said.

Defensively, Apopka had trouble tackling Harris, Astronaut’s top runner, some, but that will happen a lot more often in the fall. And, for the most part, the defensive line got a good pass rush and Apopka’s defensive backs covered well. Rufus Williams, Astronaut’s big tight end, got loose for three catches for 54 yards, but turned the ball over on a fumble when Beary knocked the ball out of his arms after a 28-yard gain.

The game ends spring practice for the Darters, but soon, summer conditioning workouts and play in a local passing league will take place. Then, on August 1, the Darters and all other high school football teams in Florida will begin fall practice. The regular season will begin August 25 when the Blue Darters host the Lake Brantley Patriots.