District front-runners appear in Hurricane Ian makeup games
OVIEDO, FLORIDA – Hurricane Ian makeup games are fast separating the contenders from the pretenders in high school football district races.
Multiple schools took charge of their district races on Monday night as the last bunch of makeup games are being played this week in Central Florida.
Here is a recap:
Oviedo 57, East River 10
In Class 3M, District 2, Oviedo (6-1, 2-0) remained in contention for the district title with a blowout of visiting East River (3-5, 1-2). It was the Lions’ fourth straight victory and sets up a showdown with Lyman (6-2, 3-0) for the district championship on Friday, Oct. 21.
“I feel good about our standing,” said Oviedo coach Greg Odierno. “We have a good opponent in Lyman on Friday. We need to have a good short week of practice to be ready for Friday.”
The stars were everywhere for Oviedo on Monday night. Omari Wyatt rushed for 100 yards and two touchdowns, Jackson LaTour passed for two TDs, Ethan Manning and DJ Scott each ran for a score, Jacob Thelen and Cameron Keels each caught a TD pass, and Noah Keller had a pick-6 for the Lions, who scored a season-high for points.
Owen Aycock also had an interception for Oviedo, which also played well on special teams. The Lions blocked three punts, returning one for a TD and recording a safety on another.
“We played well in all three phases of the game,” Odierno said.
Kissimmee Osceola 42, St. Cloud 3
The Kowboys won their 12th straight on the field in the 99th edition of the rivalry known as “The Game.”
The win for Osceola (4-3, 2-0) sets up a showdown with fellow Kissimmee school, Tohopekaliga (5-1, 1-0), on Oct. 28 for the Class 4S, District 10 championship.
Sophomore sensation Taevion Swint continued his stellar play for Osceola by racking up more than 200 all-purpose yards, including TD runs of 2, 1 and 63 yards, the last one coming in the third quarter.
David Buggs threw TD passes to Alijah Jenkins, TJ Massey and Terry Cruz – all in the first half – for the Kowboys, who took a 35-0 lead and forced a running clock for the final two quarters.
St. Cloud (5-3, 0-2) was eliminated from district title contention.
Daytona Beach Seabreeze 28, Deltona 26
The suddenly red-hot Sandcrabs (3-4, 2-0) rallied to win their third straight game and second consecutive district contest to set up a showdown with arch-rival Daytona Beach Mainland (5-1, 1-0) for what should be the Class 3S, District 9 championship on Oct. 28. Seabreeze trailed by 13 points at halftime.
Seabreeze's Ty Cordare (22), shown here in a game against Bayside earlier this year, rushed 20 times for 103 yards and a TD in a 28-26 district win against Deltona on Monday night.
Sosa Gonzales had a superb game for Seabreeze, rushing 22 times for 104 yards and two TDs, and completing 8 of 14 passes for 86 yards. He began the season as a wide receiver.
Also for the Sandcrabs, Denali Campbell threw a 30-yard TD pass; Ty Cordare ran 20 times for 103 yards and a TD; Eli Campbell caught three passes for 61 yards and a TD; and Crawford Olsen had three receptions for 37 yards.
Defensively for Seabreeze, AJ Washington had five tackles, two for loss, and a sack; Micah Kerr, four tackles and an interception; and Olsen, three tackles and an interception.
Isaiah Robinson had a solid game for Deltona in defeat, throwing a TD pass and rushing for another score. Jude Santana and Anthony May had TD runs for the Wolves, who missed a game-tying 2-point conversion in the fourth quarter.
“It was a battle with Deltona for the third year in a row,” said Seabreeze coach Pat Brown. “(Deltona coach Jeff Smothers) is going to have his team playing at a high level. They had a solid game plan coming out and we had to make some adjustments on defense, match-up wise.
“On offense, our O-line coach jumped on our guys about the standard we expect them to play at during halftime,” Brown said. “They took that personal and played big-time for us in the second half.
“We ended the game with two 100-yard rushers,” Brown said. That’s a first since I’ve been here. And we got some key stops and turnovers in the second half by our defense.”
Winter Park 35, Hagerty 0
The Wildcats (6-1, 2-0) took control of the Class 4M, District 3 race with a decisive victory. It was the third shutout this season for the Wildcats.
Yale commit Aidan Warner threw three TD passes, Izaiah Jean-Baptiste caught two TD passes, TJ Shifflet caught a TD pass, and Amaris Shaw ran for a score for Winter Park. Defensively, Torian Roberts had a pick-6 for the Wildcats.
Hagerty (6-1, 2-1) saw its school record start halted at the hands of a Winter Park team that forced seven turnovers and allowed only 124 total yards.
“They were ready this week,” said Winter Park coach Tim Shifflet, whose team hadn’t played since Oct. 6 when it lost to non-district foe Ocoee, 31-28, in overtime, “ready to work. They knew what was on the line. They knew it was a huge district game.
“They knew Hagerty was coming in undefeated,” Tim Shifflet said. “They had something to prove after last (game) and they really came out and showed it. They did a great job. I’m proud of them.”
West Oaks Academy 24, Jacksonville Zarephath Academy 18
The Flame (3-4) jumped out to an 18-0 first-quarter lead and hung on for the win. West Oaks has won two straight.
Jeff Gardenour can be reached at jgardenour1962@gmail.com and followed on Twitter @JMarkG1962
