Some may find it difficult to focus on the 2025 season with all that has been going on with the Apopka football program, but ready or not, the season opener looms next month.
The team lost about 20 players and, subsequently, head coach Jeff Rolson after the spring game. Still, the school’s practice of creating a schedule that puts the team on the path to a state championship rings true again this season.
While facing one of the most demanding schedules in Central Florida, the Blue Darters will be working on the fly with a new head coach, a new game plan, and new personnel on the field and on the sideline.
Apopka’s schedule includes five teams who finished top-50 in the state last year, two state champions, one state runner-up, one regional runner and one final-four finisher. Apopka’s athletic director, Aaron Crawford, confirmed the Apopka football team’s schedule with The Apopka Chief this week.
The Blue Darter football team finished the 2024 season with a 4-6 record, ranked 107th in the state. Apopka was knocked out in the first round of the playoffs with a 20-19 loss to the West Orange Warriors.
Kickoff Classic Aug. 15
The Blue Darters’ preseason game this year will be a rematch of last year’s game against Tampa Bay Tech. Apopka will host this year after Tampa Bay defeated Apopka 38-7 in their preseason matchup last year before finishing the season 9-3 and ranked 23rd in the state. Tampa went on to compete in the Region 2 Finals of the FHSAA State Championship but lost to Lakeland, 24-21.
Aug. 22 Week 1
In week one, Apopka will travel to face cross-town rivals, the Ocoee Knights, for their annual season opener. Apopka has won the season opener in the last two seasons, but that was with Tyson Davison at quarterback. The former three-year starter from Apopka, now an Ocoee Knight, will do his best to take home a win on the other side of the line of scrimmage.
Apopka defeated Ocoee 10-0 in the season opener last year. Ocoee finished the 2024 season with a 5-5 record, ranked 125th in the state.
Aug. 29 Week 2
Week two will be another away game as Apopka is matched up against the Evans Trojans. Last year, Apopka defeated the Trojans 6-0 in a low-scoring thriller. Apopka has defeated Evans in their previous five meetings (Aug. 30, 2024, 6-0; Nov. 10, 2023, 22-13 in a Class 4M regional quarterfinal, Oct. 26, 2023: 33-13, Oct. 27, 2022: 23-12, Aug. 30, 2019: 2-0).
Evans finished the 2024 season with a 6-5 record, ranked 120th in the state.
Sep. 5 Week 3
Week three will be yet another away game as Apopka travels to Orlando to face Dr. Phillips. The high-octane Dr. Phillips offense was quelled last year when they faced the Blue Darters, but they still came away with the win.
Dr. Phillips defeated Apopka 6-3 last year and finished the season with a 12-2 record, ranked 35th in the state. They went on to compete in the Final Four round of the state tournament but were defeated 24-13 by Lake Mary.
Sep. 12 Week 4
Week four will be the last away game for Apopka for a while, as they host Ocala West Port for their first home game of the season. It will be a good home game, as the Blue Darters should easily beat West Port, but with the current state of Apopka football, it may be more competitive than usual.
Apopka defeated West Port 49-0 last year in the biggest win of the season. West Port finished the 2024 season with a 2-8 record, ranked 380th in the state.
Sep. 19 Week 5
Apopka will have its second home game of the season against Edgewater High School in week five. In their matchup last year, the Eagles defeated Apopka 35-0, marking the Blue Darters’ worst loss of the season.
Edgewater went on to finish their season with a 10-2 record, ranked 36th in the state. Edgewater fell 28-17 to Tampa Bay Tech in the regional semifinals.
Sep. 26 Week 6
Apopka will look for revenge against West Orange, which knocked the Blue Darters out of the playoffs last season. The Warriors defeated Apopka 20-19 in a nail-biting game in the first round of the state tournament, following a 25-7 regular season win. After defeating Apopka, West Orange went on to fall to Venice High School, which ultimately became state champions, in the regional final, 55-26.
West Orange finished its season with a 10-3 record, ranked 60th in the state.
Oct. 10 Week 7
For week seven, Apopka is back on the road as the Blue Darters go to face the 2024 state champions, the Cocoa High School Tigers. Last year, Apopka and Cocoa were supposed to face off in the regular season, but the game was canceled due to inclement weather caused by Hurricane Milton.
Cocoa finished its season last year with an 11-3 record, ranked eighth in the state, and won a state championship.
Oct. 17 Week 8
Another away game in week eight as Apopka will face the Osceola Kowboys. The Kowboys defeated Apopka 14-6 in the regular season last year before losing in the state championship. Osceola advanced to the state championship game, where the team fell 26-7 to West Boca Raton.
The Kowboys finished the 2024 season with a 12-3 record, ranked 19th in the state and state runners-up.
Oct. 24 Week 9
The Blue Darters will host Madison County for their ninth game of the season. Madison County defeated Apopka 13-7 last year and advanced to the state championship final, where they defeated Hawthorne 21-14.
Madison County concluded its 2024 season with a state championship and a 10-3 record, ranking 49th in the state.
Oct. 30 Week 10: The Mayors Cup
And for the final game of the 2025 season, Apopka will host hometown rivals the Wekiva Mustangs. With both teams in a rebuilding year, this game will provide valuable insight into which program has made the most progress throughout the season.
Last year, Apopka took home the Mayors Cup for the second year in a row with a 20-16 win. Wekiva finished the 2024 season with a 3-7 record, ranked 197th in the state.