Apopka High School
Nov 2, 2007
Blue Darters 56, West Orange 0

By John Peery
Apopka Chief Staff

Not only did the Apopka Blue Darters defeat foe West Orange for the ninth straight time, but they did it in impressive fashion, recording the largest margin of victory in the decades-long rivalry.

Apopka moved to 9-1 with its 56-0 pasting of the Warriors Friday, November 2, at Roger Williams Field.

The Blue Darters and Warriors have played 34 times and this was, by 14 points, the biggest margin of victory in the series. Previously, the biggest margin of victory was a 42-0 Apopka victory in 1988.
Apopka led, 36-0, at halftime, something that pleased head coach Rick Darlington.

“We wanted to go out and play well in the first half because we hadn’t done that in a while,” he said. Leading the way for Apopka on offense was Travelle Davis. The junior running back had 82 yards and three touchdowns on 12 carries. “I thought Travelle ran the ball well tonight,” Darlington said.

He also praised his defense, which held the Warriors to 93 yards rushing and 8 yards passing. “The defense has gotten a lot better over the last couple of weeks.”

It was clear from the beginning, well, the second play of the game, that Apopka was the much better team as Jeremy Rouse picked up a couple of key blocks, found a lane and raced 78 yards for an Apopka touchdown just 54 seconds into the contest.

And it took less than eight more minutes for the Blue Darters to build a 23-0 lead.

Apopka got its second touchdown on a 51-yard run by quarterback Jeremy Gallon, who broke out of pack, running against the grain to break out into the open for the score.

On both of the first two touchdowns, Gallon ran in the two-point conversion, giving the Blue Darters a 16-0 lead just 6 minutes 29 seconds into the contest.

The next Apopka score also came quickly when the Blue Darters forced the second West Orange punt of the game that was blocked by Pooh Bear Mars. Apopka took over at the West Orange 12-yard line and on the next play, Travelle Davis found plenty of running room around the left end for the touchdown. Jon Beary’s extra point gave the Darters a 23-0 lead with 3:11 left in the first period.

While Apopka’s offense was putting up touchdowns with ease, the Blue Darter defense continued its improvement, not allowing a West Orange first down until after the Darters had the 23-0 lead. For the game, the Warriors managed just four first downs and the only West Orange first down over the final two and a half quarters was due to a defensive pass interference penalty.

Thanks to a 43-yard run by Ryan Middleton, West Orange had its best opportunity of the game snuffed out when Apopka stopped a fake field goal try shy of the first down marker. West Orange’s Matt Cappleman came in to try a field goal of 24 yards on a fourth-and-5 from the Apopka 7-yard line. The holder flipped the ball to Cappleman, who was tackled at the 3, a yard short of the first down.

On the next play, Gallon scampered 97 yards for an apparent Apopka score, but a late flag was thrown and Apopka was penalized for holding. That only delayed the inevitable by three plays as Gallon threw to Caleb Nelson for a 78-yard score with 2:58 left in the first half. Nelson caught the ball over the middle, bounced off a couple of West Orange defenders and then outraced them to the end zone.

Beary’s extra point gave Apopka a 30-0 lead, but the Darters weren’t through scoring before halftime.

When the Apopka defense forced a quick West Orange punt that rolled dead at the Warrior 39, the Darters took just four plays to score when Davis ran 17 yards for the score with one minute remaining in the first half.

Apopka substituted freely in the second half and there was a running clock, but Davis still got another rushing score in the third period when he ran 12 yards for the touchdown with 3:31 left in the third quarter. Beary’s extra point gave Apopka a 43-0 lead.

Tanner Hullinger got the Blue Darters on the board early in the fourth period when, playing the blocking back position, he took a direct snap for a 3-yard touchdown run with 8:34 left in the fourth. Hullinger set up his score with a 21-yard run earlier in the drive.

Apopka’s final score of the game and what proved to be the final play of the game with the running clock came on a West Orange punt that Gallon returned 72 yards for a touchdown.