Apopka High School
September 1, 2006
Blue Darters 51, Cypress Creek 0

By John Peery
Apopka Chief Staff

Last week, Apopka Blue Darters head coach Rick Darlington said he wanted his offense to develop a toughness and be physical. To do that, he said the Blue Darters were going to “run and run and run and run.”

He could have added the word “run” 41 more times to the four times he said it last week as the Darters rushed 45 times for 309 yards and didn’t attempt any passes Friday, September 1, in a 51-0 pasting of the Cypress Creek Bears.

The Darters were led by Jeremy Gallon’s 95 yards on 11 attempts.
The Metro Conference victory gave Apopka a 1-1 overall record and continued Apopka’s dominance over the Bears in recording the Darters’ sixth victory in as many games against Cypress Creek.

“We needed to work on the running game,” Darlington said. “It lends itself to the toughness we need as a team.” Darlington did not like what he saw from his offense in the 7-3 loss to Lake Brantley on August 25. In that game, the Blue Darters passed the ball 29 times, but, more importantly, rushed for just 12 yards on 20 attempts.

In the victory over Cypress Creek (0-2), Darlington definitely wore a few more smiles. “I think we’re getting better on the O (offense) line,” he said. Cypress Creek, as expected, blitzed on defense quite a bit and Apopka’s offensive line did well, the coach said. “We were expecting them (to blitz), so we were able to pick them up.”

They picked the blitzes up so well that Apopka didn’t have to punt. The Blue Darters scored on seven of eight possessions in the game with the game clock ending Apopka’s final drive of the contest.

Taking time off the clock by having a strong rushing game also helps the Apopka defense because it keeps the opposition’s offense on the sideline, Darlington said. “We’re playing good defense and I think we’re going to have to,” he said of Apopka’s tougher upcoming opponents.

Part of that good defense is creating turnovers as the Blue Darters recovered four fumbles and had one interception. Apopka, meanwhile, had no turnovers for the second straight game. The turnovers began early for the Bears as the Blue Darters forced a fumble on the first play of the game, giving the Apopka offense the ball on Cypress Creek’s 12-yard line. Following a five-yard penalty against the Blue Darters, Apopka scored two plays later on Travelle Davis’ 13-yard run. Danny White ran in the two-point conversion to give Apopka an 8-0 lead and the Darters had their first touchdown of the season just 1:11 into the game.

Cypress Creek managed three of its four first downs on its second drive, the first coming on a roughing the punter penalty. Then, on a pair of pass completions, the second a very nice 35-yard catch by Blasher St. Vil, the Bears drove to the Apopka 16 before the Darter defense stiffened and forced a 42-yard field goal attempt that went awry and never got off the ground.

The Blue Darters took over at their own 29 and drove 71 yards for a touchdown. The march included a 4th-and-4 conversion deep in Cypress Creek territory. Derrick Rouse scored on a four-yard run to end the 12-play drive and when White added another two-point conversion run, the Darters sported a 16-0 lead with 9:57 left in the second period.

That score started a three-touchdown barrage in a span of 1 minute, 55 seconds that effectively shot down any chance of a Cypress Creek upset victory. It was another Cypress Creek fumble, this one after a pass completion, that gave the Blue Darters the ball at the Cypress Creek 27-yard line. Three plays later, Jeremy Rouse scampered 23 yards for the TD and Robert Beary’s extra point kick gave the Darters a 23-0 lead with 8:20 left in the second quarter.

Then, on the second play after the kickoff, White intercepted a Nico Rainieri pass, returning it about 30 yards to the Cypress Creek 3-yard line. From there, Gallon scored on the first play and Beary’s extra point gave the Darters a 30-0 lead with 8:02 remaining in the second period.

But, the Blue Darters weren’t through scoring before halftime as another Cypress Creek fumble, this one by Rainieri, gave Apopka the ball at the Bears’ 40-yard line.

With Derrick Shaw taking over at quarterback from starter Andy Summerlin, the Darters marched to the end zone in eight plays with Derrick Rouse scoring from nine yards out. Beary’s extra point gave Apopka a 37-0 lead with 1:14 left in the second quarter.

The Blue Darters opened the second half with the ball and, with Darlington substituting liberally, the Apopka rushing game never missed a beat as the Darters drove 54 yards in 12 plays before Gallon scored from the 2. Beary’s extra point handed the Darters a 44-0 lead with 2:57 left in the third period, in which a running clock was utilized.

After Cypress Creek got its only first down of the final three quarters of the game, Apopka scored in just two plays, on a Deiontae Payne 28-yard run with 7:28 remaining in the fourth period. Beary’s extra point made the final margin 51-0.