Apopka High School
Oct 26, 2007
Blue Darters 48, East Ridge 16

By John Peery
Apopka Chief Staff

East Ridge kept Apopka junior quarterback Jeremy Gallon under wraps, holding the electric runner to 38 yards and no scores on 14 rushes, but Apopka senior running back Jeremy Rouse got loose for 168 yards and three rushing touchdowns in leading the Blue Darters to a 48-16 victory over the Knights Friday, October 26, at Apopka’s Roger Williams Field.

The victory wraps up Apopka’s second straight District 6A-4 title and secures a November 16 first-round home playoff game for the Darters (8-1 overall, 4-0 in district).

East Ridge (5-4 overall, 3-1 in district) must win at Ocoee Friday, November 2, to punch its own ticket to the postseason, although the Knights could fall to 3-5 Ocoee and still be involved in a three-way shootout on November 5 for second place, as long as Olympia defeats Wekiva today, Friday, November 2.

Apopka coach Rick Darlington was very happy for his team’s victory that clinched the district championship. “It’s awesome. It’s great to win at home. We always want to play for championships, but we want to be humble and keep our head on straight,” he said.

In addition to his three rushing touchdowns, Rouse also caught a 4-yard scoring strike from Gallon in the third period.

East Ridge junior running back Jeremy Wright – who entered the game with 1,029 yards – led the Knights in rushing with 67 yards on 13 attempts and he scored the Knights’ lone rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter on a 20-yard scamper up the middle. Apopka held him in check through the first three quarters, allowing Wright just 16 yards on 8 attempts.

For the game, the Blue Darters were stout on defense with the rest of the East Ridge’s runners netting a minus-15 yards, including a minus-17 by quarterback Tyler Dye.

With Apopka’s defense allowing few running opportunities for the Knights, Dye, a sophomore, was busy. He finished with 12 completions in 28 attempts. He had one touchdown and two interceptions. Derrick Clark had both interceptions for the Blue Darters, one of which he returned 69 yards for the first Apopka score of the second half, giving the Blue Darters a 35-9 lead and effectively ending any chance of a comeback for the Knights.

Dye’s touchdown pass was a 44-yarder to senior speedster Brian Youman, who ran a slant pattern, caught the strike from Dye, and outran the Apopka defense to the end zone.

The touchdown pass answered Apopka's and Rouse’s third touchdown of the game and gave the Knights some momentum late in the first half. A fumbled snap on the extra point try left East Ridge trailing, 21-9, with 2:02 left in the second period.

But Apopka grabbed the momentum back when they quickly drove 80 yards and scored on a 24-yard pass from Gallon to Derrick Clark as the clock struck all zeros. That lifted Apopka to a 27-9 halftime lead and a ton of momentum.

East Ridge’s defense forced Apopka into a three-and-out on its first possession of the second half, but three plays later, Clark stepped in front of a Dye pass and raced 69 yards with the interception for an Apopka touchdown, building the 35-9 lead with just 3:05 gone in the third period.

Even though the Knights moved the ball on their next possession, the Blue Darters eventually forced a punt and Apopka scored when Rouse raced 65 yards to the East Ridge 5 to set up his 4-yard touchdown reception from Gallon to give Apopka a 42-9 lead with 4:38 left in the third.

The Blue Darters opened the game with a pair of touchdown runs by Rouse before East Ridge was able to get a 39-yard field goal by senior Donahue Malvo. He later missed from 27 yards.

Rouse’s first touchdown came on a 69-yard Apopka drive that took just 2:14 off the first-period clock. The drive included a fourth-and-4 conversion by the Darters in which Gallon gained 7 yards to the East Ridge 19.

Rouse’s second touchdown of the game was an 18-yard jaunt three plays after Malvo, also East Ridge’s punter, dropped a snap on a punt attempt and was tackled at his own 20-yard line.

An Apopka fumble led to East Ridge’s first points, Malvo’s 39-yarder with 9:17 left in the second period. East Ridge’s next possession ended in the missed field goal when a short Apopka punt gave the Knights the ball at the Apopka 39.

Apopka’s offense got back on track with Rouse running 61 yards for his third score of the game to give Apopka a 21-3 lead.