There are 11 Orlando-area football teams alive in the FHSAA football playoffs and region semifinal action kicks off Friday night for all of those teams.
Also, there are Sunshine State Athletic Association championship games on the line for Lake County teams at The Villages. Mount Dora Christian goes after the 11-Man crown on Saturday night and Real Life Christian (12-0) of Clermont vies for the 8-Man title Friday afternoon at 1.
Boone (10-1), the No. 6 team in the Sentinel’s final regular season Super 16 Coaches Poll, travels to face undefeated Super 16 No. 3 DeLand (11-0) in a Class 7A District 1 semifinal. Another local vs. local matchup has Kissimmee Osceola (7-4) heading to South Lake (10-1).
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Veteran coaches Andy Johnson at Boone and Rick Darlington at DeLand are quite familiar with each other. Johnson, is 0-6 against Darlington-coached Apopka teams dating back to 2006.
Johnson lost to Darlington’s Blue Darters teams twice as coach at Freedom, and four times as Boone’s head coach. He knows what to expect Friday night, but the key is slowing a unique single-wing offense that is averaging 440 yards (321 rushing) and 48 points per game.
“Well, they are extremely physical with a lot of speed and they are extremely efficient at executing an offense that kids never see,” Johnson said. “So the challenge of just getting the kids comfortable enough to line up is one problem, and then the second problem is dealing with the talent that they have and how they run it so well and they just keep coming at you.
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“There is no let up. They are rarely in bad situations. They are rarely behind the sticks. Even when they don’t have a perfect execution they’re probably still going to get some positive yardage.”
Johnson understands it will be anything but easy but he wants to simplify things. The defense needs to remain patient, gap-sound and every player has to be responsible for what is in front of him. There can be no freelancing nor guesswork. DeLand is meticulous, and the defense must be the same if it intends to stop the Bulldogs’ well-oiled machine.
Darlington confuses things with schemes. He puts defenders on their heels before each snap with the constant movement at the line of scrimmage. Then the counter decisions after the snap keeps defenses guessing and unbalanced.
“You have to understand your read and your gap and the flow and just being disciplined, not chasing and not getting out of position,” Johnson said. “Easier said than done. Having really good defensive players also helps.”
The key defensive players for Boone will be linebackers Noah Maddox and Max Edmunds and defensive end Will Buzyniski. Boone will be without speedy corner LJ Wilson, who is no longer with the team.
Boone head coach Andy Johnson will have the task of guiding his team against one of the most potent offenses in the state Friday night in a Class 7A Region 1 semifinal game at DeLand. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)
DeLand, No. 1 in the FHSAA 7A rankings, owns two of the most potent offensive weapons in the state. Versatile senior Marceles Carey and sophomore running back Taihj Moore average 288 combined yards per game and 12.5 yards per touch.
Offensively for Boone, the coach’s son, Sam Johnson, leads the way at quarterback. The Braves have 1,000-yard rusher Aaron Hardy, gifted receiver Garrison Woods and a very talented offensive line led by Miami commit Rhys Woodrow.
“It’s gonna take some great play on our part, but it can be done,” Johnson said. “Our best play on defense is going to be our offense a lot of the time. Extending drives and keeping their offense on their bench will definitely help. We can’t be going 3-and-out. We can’t turn the ball over. We can’t get behind the sticks. We gotta move the ball, control the clock and make sure their offense is watching more than they are playing.”
Region semifinals
7A Region 1
Spruce Creek (9-2) at Lake Mary (8-3), 7:30 p.m.
Senior quarterback Noah Grubbs, who led Lake Mary to the title game a year ago, is 21 yards away from moving into ninth place on the state all-time career passing yardage list. If he made it the final again and averaged at least 380 yards in those four games, the Notre Dame commit could potentially wind up as No. 6 all-time.
7A Region 2
West Orange (10-1) at Venice (7-3) 7 p.m.
The Warriors have the challenge of tangling with the 7A defending state champion and top seed. Venice is not as talented as it was last year, it is still a formidable foe. West Orange has secret weapon Chakai Scott in its back pocket. The senior defensive back has a knack for blocking kicks. He has done so 9 times this year — 7 punts, 2 field goals.
7A Region 3
Lake Nona (8-3) at Vero Beach (11-0), 7 p.m.
Lake Nona stunned St. Cloud with a beautifully-played defensive game last week in a shutout. Sophomore Charles Woodson Jr. is stepping up lately. He had an 80-yard pick-6 interception last week and a 65-yard touchdown catch. LSU commit DeAnthony Lafayette had 3 sacks.
7A Region 3
Dr. Phillips (8-3) at Ft. Pierce Central (10-1), 7 p.m.:
DP has relied heavily on the running of Zion Matthews all season. He ran for 140 yards and 2 TDs last week.
6A Region 2
Osceola (7-4) at South Lake (10-1), 7 p.m.
It’s perennial power Osceola against upstart South Lake, which is higher seeded. South Lake coach Brad Lord has ramped things up in his three seasons and the Eagles won their first playoff game in 25 years last week. Osceola was state runner-up a year ago.
5A Region 2
Tampa Bay Tech (9-2) at Edgewater (11-0), 7 p.m.
Edgewater, ranked No. 1 in 5A, should have back the services of their main offensive weapon, running back Damian Moore. He rested a sore ankle last week as the Eagles shut out Lake Gibson 33-0.
4A Region 2
Vanguard (9-2) at Jones (9-2), 7:30 p.m.
Jones, ranked No. 1 in 4A, is another 2024 state runner-up looking for a return to FIU’s Pitbull Stadium. Coach Elijah Williams has the right man to lead the way in senior Miami commit, quarterback Dereon Coleman, the Sentinel’s offensive player of the year last season. He’s poised and calm and nothing rattles the Tigers talented leader.
3A Region 2
Eastside (9-2) at Bishop Moore (10-1), 7:30 p.m.
Hornets coach Matt Hedrick made a decision to hire Ryan Fleming as offensive coordinator this year and ithat move has paid huge dividends. That, and the play of sophomore quarterback Blake McCullough, who is the nephew of former NFL star Greg Olson. The Hornets are averaging 47 points a game.
SSAA 11-man final
Saturday, 7 pm, at The Villages
Jupiter Christian (11-1) vs. Mount Dora Christian (12-1)
MDCA, like DeLand, runs a form of Darlington’s single-wing offense and is averaging 47 points per game. Sophomore running back Isaac Farling averages 120 yards and 2.5 touchdowns per game.
Chris Hays can be found on X.com @OS_ChrisHays.