Apopka High School
September 22, 2006
Blue Darters 9, Edgewater 6

By John Peery
Apopka Chief Staff

There’s a time-honored cliché in football circles that “Defense wins championships.” If that’s true, then Apopka and Edgewater both may be bound for some type of championship.

That’s because both defenses dominated, but Apopka’s special teams and opportunistic offense were the difference as the Blue Darters defeated Edgewater, 9-6, on Friday, September 22, at Edgewater’s Frank Lough Field.

The victory was the first for Apopka over Edgewater since the 2001 playoffs as the Eagles had defeated the Darters five straight times, including once in the 2004 playoffs.

It was a hard-fought defensive battle on both sides of the ball as the teams had a combined 349 total yards.

Edgewater had the ball inside the Apopka 15-yard line three times, but came away with no points from those three possessions.
“We had some great defensive stops,” said Apopka head coach Rick Darlington. “I am proud of the way the kids fought through it. They made plays when they had to.”

Apopka, meanwhile, made good use of its limited offensive opportunities. The Blue Darters scored their only touchdown on a perfectly executed 71-yard halfback pass play from Jeremy Gallon to a wide-open Derrick Rouse. The score put the Darters up 9-6 with 3:53 left in the second quarter, which would be the final score of the game.

Apopka’s only other trip inside the Edgewater 20 came late in the first period and also resulted in points as Robert Beary kicked a 32-yard field goal. The Darters were set up on that possession by Derrick A. Clark’s interception of a Robert Arnheim pass.

That field goal pulled Apopka to within three points of Edgewater, which broke out on top 6-0 when Jason Realford scampered 59 yards for the only Edgewater score of the night on the Eagles’ second possession of the game.

Darlington said that he had a conservative game plan because the game was dominated by the defenses and field position was important. “We didn’t want to do anything stupid and lose the game,” he said.

He made good use of punter and placekicker Robert Beary. The senior, who also saw time on defense and offense, averaged 45 yards per punt to 27.3 yards per punt for Edgewater’s punter. Beary also was successful on his field goal try of 32 yards, while the Edgewater kicker failed on a 28-yard attempt. In addition, all three of Beary’s kickoffs found the end zone for automatic touchbacks.
Each team had its share of mistakes as Apopka lost two fumbles and Edgewater suffered two interceptions.

Apopka’s first fumble was on its first possession of the game. Following a short Edgewater punt, the Darters drove to the Edgewater 20, but a mishandled pitch on an option play turned into a fumble recovery for the Eagles.

Then, on the third play of the third period, a low snap to quarterback Andy Summerlin, who was in the shotgun, resulted in the Eagles recovering on the Apopka 9-yard line.

The offensive series that followed was indicative of the Apopka defense’s performance as Edgewater went from first-and-goal at the 9 to turning the ball back over to Apopka on the Blue Darters’ 38-yard line.

Late in the game, Edgewater used its passing game to drive to the Apopka 15-yard line. There, the Eagles faced a third-and-1, but came up short on a run by fullback Jeremiah Schwartz. Then, on fourth and less than 1, Arnheim was denied on a quarterback sneak and the Blue Darters took over.

On the possession that followed, Apopka did not manage to move the ball very far, but that’s when Beary got off his best punt of the night, booming a 55-yarder, putting Edgewater at its own 23 midway through the fourth quarter.

Apopka’s defense again forced an Edgewater punt and, this time, the offense gained one first down before turning the ball back over to Edgewater on downs, this time on the Eagles’ 21-yard line with 1:27 left in the fourth period.

After one first down, the Blue Darters ended the Edgewater threat when Ernest Gilmore intercepted a high Arnheim pass with 52 seconds remaining, setting off a celebration on the Apopka sideline and in the Apopka stands.

“We found a way to win,” Darlington said.