Apopka High School
October 12, 2006
Blue Darters 42, Olympia 7

By John Peery
Apopka Chief Staff

Apopka used a balanced offense to score four first-half touchdowns Thursday, October 12, in a 42-7 victory over the Olympia Titans.

The Blue Darters rushed for 151 yards and passed for 148 yards in the first two quarters in winning their sixth straight game. Apopka is now 6-1 overall and 3-0 in District 6A-4.

Apopka performed well on both sides of the ball, but what got the most attention was the performance at quarterback by junior Derrick Shaw. Substituting for injured starter Andy Summerlin, Shaw led a much more crisp Apopka offense than two weeks prior in his first start against the Evans Trojans.

“He played well,” Apopka coach Rick Darlington said about Shaw. “I think he’s improved a lot.” Apopka punted just once and that was in the third period after the game’s outcome was well decided.

Shaw led the Blue Darters with 84 yards rushing on 8 carries, including a 36 touchdown run in which he cut back twice against the Olympia defense on his way to the end zone.

But, he had plenty of help as Apopka’s offensive line opened the way for 252 yards rushing in addition to Shaw’s 148 yards passing.
Travelle Davis gained 67 yards on 6 attempts. He scored once on an eight-yard run. His longest run of the game was a 39-yarder that set up his score.

Jeremy Rouse had 42 yards on just five carries for the Blue Darters, but he scored twice, the first time on an 11-yarder and then on a seven-yard jaunt on the final play of the game.

Deontae Payne had a four-yard run for a score and gained 42 yards on 6 attempts. Jeremy Gallon rushed for 17 and a touchdown on 8 carries. Backup quarterback Caleb Nelson added 17 yards on two rushes for the Blue Darters.

Despite Olympia’s penchant for passing the ball, the Blue Darters had one more pass attempt in the first half than did the Titans as Shaw was 8-for-15 for 148 yards over the first two periods. On the first play of the game, he and Derrick L. Clark hooked up for a 43-yard pass play. Five plays later, Gallon scored from the 1 and Danny White ran in the two-point conversion to give the Blue Darters an 8-0 lead with 8:52 left in the first period.

On its next possession, Apopka got to Olympia’s 21-yard line before running out of downs. However, three plays later, an Olympia fumble was recovered by the Darters at the Titans’ 47. Davis scampered for 39 yards on second down and then scored two plays later. Robert Beary’s extra point gave the Darters a 15-0 lead with 11:47 remaining in the second period.

That was the first of three second-period scores for the Blue Darters as on their next possession the Darters drove 63 yards in five plays. Shaw ran for 20 yards on third-and-3, then after an incomplete pass, had his nicest run of the night, scampering 36 yards for an Apopka touchdown. After Beary’s extra point, the Darters led 22-0 with 8:25 remaining in the second quarter.

Apopka put the game out of reach on its next possession, taking over at the Olympia 45-yard line following a short punt. Rouse scored just four plays later on an 11-yard run. The drive was highlighted by a great one-handed catch by Gallon for an 18-yard gain. When Beary added the extra point to Rouse’s score, the Blue Darters led 29-0 with 3:15 remaining in the second period.

Olympia managed to drive to the Apopka 2-yard line on its first possession of the third quarter, but the Darters denied the Titans the score, turning the ball over at the 5. However, on its next possession, Olympia scored its only touchdown of the game when E.J. Carter scored from the 4 with 44.6 sec. left in the quarter.

With the Blue Darters substituting liberally on both sides of the ball, Apopka’s final two touchdowns were a four-yard run by Payne with 9:42 left in the fourth period and a seven-yard jaunt by Rouse on the final play of the game.