Apopka High School
Sep 14, 2007
Blue Darters 24, Dr. Phillips 20

By John Peery
Apopka Chief Staff

It was a tale of two halves with an hour lightning delay thrown in as the Apopka Blue Darters stormed out to a 24-7 halftime lead and then held on for a 24-20 victory Friday over the Dr. Phillips Panthers before about 2,500 fans.

Apopka junior quarterback/wingback Jeremy Gallon accounted for 100 total yards, rushing for 43 and passing for 57. Travelle Davis led the Blue Darters in rushing with 63 yards on 13 carries.

Senior running back Embry Peeples led all rushers with 79 yards on 14 attempts. He had a 24-yard touchdown run early in the second period, then had a 78-yard scoring jaunt nullified by a penalty later in the quarter.

For Apopka, it was the third road victory to open the season, while the outcome spoiled the home opener for the 0-3 Panthers.
In its first two games, Apopka (3-0) had mediocre first halves and followed that with strong second halves. In the victory over Dr. Phillips, it was just the opposite.

“It was awfully good we got a lead,” said Apopka coach Rick Darlington. “I told them at the start of the fourth quarter, ‘This is what we do, we live to outlast people in the fourth quarter.’”

And the Darters did just that, getting a huge stop in the fourth period, denying the Panthers a first down when Dr. Phillips faced a fourth-and-3 at the Apopka 31 midway through the final period. A Chris Wilkes pass went incomplete in the end zone to end the scoring threat on what would be the Panthers’ final possession of the game.

Apopka then went on a clock-eating drive of 68 yards that ended at the Dr. Phillips 1-yard line and the Blue Darters taking a knee to run out the clock.

A big play in that game-clinching drive was a defensive pass interference penalty as Carmeiras Stewart was sandwiched by a pair of Dr. Phillips defenders just before the ball got there. It came on a third-and-14 play from the Apopka 27, giving the Darters a first down and new life at their own 42.

From there, the Apopka offense ground out four first downs and the clock to claim the victory.

The hour lightning delay came just as the teams came out of the locker rooms from the halftime break. The storm never reached Dr. Phillips’ Bill Spoone Stadium, but lingered close enough to cause the delay.

With Apopka nursing its 24-7 halftime lead, the Panthers came out of the long break on fire, marching the second-half kickoff 54 yards in seven plays as Wilkes tossed a 16-yard scoring pass to a crossing Thomas Shuler with 8:21 left in the third period. Trent Taylor added the extra point to pull the Panthers to within 24-14.

Three plays later, the Panthers had the ball again, recovering an Apopka fumble on the Blue Darters 16-yard line. It took just two plays for Wilkes to loft a 15-yard scoring pass to Kenny Shaw. But, the snap was mishandled and the desperation run for the two-point conversion failed, leaving the Blue Darters up, 24-20, with 5:58 left in the third period.

There was certainly plenty of time for both teams to put up more points, but neither did as the defenses gave up yardage, but no points.

In the first half, Apopka appeared as if it would take an early lead in the game when Gallon returned the opening kickoff to the Dr. Phillips 38, but the drive stalled at the Panthers’ 12-yard line when the Blue Darters couldn’t get a first down after having a third-and-1.

On fourth-and-1, the Darters went to their power formation in the single wing, but a mishandled snap went for a loss and the Panthers took over.

After a Dr. Phillips punt and an Apopka quick kick - for the third time this season – the Blue Darters put up the first points of the game when sophomore linebacker Bradley Gallon, the younger brother of Jeremy, returned a Peeples’ fumble 35 yards for a score.

Pooh Bear Mars, a junior linebacker, got a hat on the ball that popped up out of Peeples’ hands and into Bradley Gallon’s. The linebacker broke one tackle and rumbled for the touchdown. Jon Beary’s extra point gave the Blue Darters a 7-0 lead with 5:34 left in the first period.

The Apopka defense forced a second straight three-and-out and the Blue Darters promptly marched 57 yards in six plays, scoring on a 3-yard run by Jeremy Gallon. Apopka had back-to-back big plays on the drive. The first was when Marcus West made a great catch of a Jeremy Gallon pass for a 26-yard gain. On the next play, Jeremy Rouse found daylight for a 30-yard gain to the 3, setting up the scoring play for Gallon.

Beary’s extra point gave the Blue Darters a 14-0 lead with 2:12 still left in the first period.

Dr. Phillips responded with an 84-yard scoring drive, running Shuler up the gut for much of the drive, although Peeples scored the touchdown, scampering 24 yards around right end. Taylor’s extra point pulled the Panthers to within 14-7 with 7:57 left in the second period.

The Blue Darters then put together a drive that ended in a 23-yard Beary field goal, marching from their own 20 to the Dr. Phillips 6 before stalling. The drive was highlighted by a 31-yard pass play from Gallon to Rouse.

Dr. Phillips’ defense stiffened inside the 10, forcing the field goal and with 2:37 left in the first half, as the Blue Darters took a 17-7 lead.

The Panthers thought they had narrowed the score on their next possession, but Peeples’ 78-yard scoring run went for naught as a block in the back brought the ball back to the Dr. Phillips 25. On the next play, Apopka’s Adarrius James picked off a pass intended for Dr. Phillips’ Damion Allen to give the Darters the ball on their own 42 with 1:58 left in the second period.

The Blue Darters quickly took advantage as Gallon, playing wingback this time, scampered 26 yards to the Dr. Phillips 32. The next two plays netted nothing for Apopka, but on third-and-10, Rouse kept the drive alive with a spectacular catch along the sideline. The Apopka senior wingback caught a Gallon pass above his head while tightroping the sideline, keeping one foot solidly inbounds.

That gave Apopka a first down at the Dr. Phillips 8 and with the clock below one minute, Davis ran up the middle to the 1. After an Apopka timeout, Caleb Nelson scored on a quarterback sneak, easily getting across as the Apopka offensive line pushed the pile three yards into the end zone with 18 seconds left in the half. Beary’s extra point gave the Darters a 24-7 lead.

With lightning off in the distance, the teams went to their respective locker rooms, but eventually would come back about 80 minutes later to play an exciting second half before Apopka held on and prevailed.