The debut of Apopka High’s new student section, The Nest, brought plenty of noise and energy Friday night, but it wasn’t enough to lift the Blue Darters against one of Florida’s top programs.  

Edgewater, No. 2 ranked in Orlando and No. 18 ranked in Florida, came to town and flexed their power on both sides of the ball, scoring three defensive touchdowns in a 35-0 shutout win at Roger Williams Field. 

The Eagles (5-0) brought a roster stacked with Division I commitments and experience, while Apopka (1-4) entered looking to build off last week’s defensive breakthrough. But Edgewater’s playmakers quickly showed why they’re considered one of the state’s toughest outs. 

Senior quarterback Carter Emanuel, a UConn commit, got the visitors rolling on the opening drive. He connected on back-to-back short throws before breaking a 23-yard keeper into the red zone.  

On the very next play, Emanuel launched an 18-yard strike to his brother, Cole, for the game’s first touchdown with eight minutes to go in the opening quarter. 

Apopka didn’t back down from the challenge early. Quarterback Cody Owens led the Blue Darters on a methodical, 14-play, 68-yard march to the redzone that featured four first downs and a pair of clutch completions under pressure. 

Owens extended plays with his legs and dropped a 23-yard sideline pass to Blake Chiles that put Apopka at the 17. 

The drive ended painfully when linebacker Justin Edwards, a Miami commit, broke through untouched and jarred the ball loose from Owens at the 12-yard line, sucking the life out of the Blue Darters. 

That set up the kind of night Edwards would have. Ranked as one of the nation’s top 55 linebackers, the senior finished with 3.5 sacks and forced two fumbles, one of which directly turned into points.  

Early in the second quarter, with Apopka backed up inside its own 20, Edwards again stormed through on a blitz. As Owens tried to escape and fling the ball away, it went backwards, where a swarm of Eagles fell on it in the end zone for a defensive touchdown and a 14-0 lead. 

The damage didn’t stop there. Just two minutes later, Apopka tried to change the pace by inserting backup quarterback TJ Frazier. His first throw sailed high into traffic and was intercepted by Edgewater’s Lawrence Pipkin, who weaved through tacklers for a 35-yard touchdown return. 

In the span of a few minutes, the Eagles’ defense had scored twice and turned a competitive game into a three-score margin. 

Despite the quick strikes, Apopka’s defense did its part to keep the margin from ballooning even further. The Blue Darters’ front held Edgewater to just 39 rushing yards on the night and forced a missed field goal midway through the second quarter after a sack by senior lineman Jakendall Kemp.  

The Eagles’ high-powered offense managed only two touchdowns, but their defense consistently made life miserable for whoever was at quarterback, sacking them six times and only allowing 82 total yards. Still, Edgewater found a way to break the game open wider after halftime.  

On the very first play of the third quarter, Owens looked left to an out route, but defensive back Octavius Lewis jumped the throw and returned it 25 yards for the Eagles’ third straight defensive score.  

One series later, Carter Emanuel fired a slant to Hanoj Williams, who sprinted untouched 45 yards to the end zone to push the margin to 35-0 and trigger a running clock for the remainder of the game. 

The win marked Edgewater’s third straight shutout of Apopka. Emanuel finished with 241 passing yards and two touchdowns on 16-of-28 completions, while his brother Cole hauled in five catches for 84 yards and a score. Grayson Gibson added six receptions for 86 yards. 

Apopka’s bright spots came mostly from its defensive front. Kemp recorded two sacks, and the Blue Darters as a team totaled three. But miscues proved too costly, as all five of Edgewater’s touchdowns came on explosive plays. 

Apopka head coach Marcus Neeson wasn’t pleased with the number of points on the board but was content with how his defense handled the game. 

“We played physical, didn’t give up a lot of rushing yards,” Neeson said. “Our inexperience in the secondary showed, but our front did some good things… and they’ve got a heck of a quarterback over there who did a good job reading us. But the run defense was pretty solid, so that’s a good thing for us.” 

Neeson said the focus now shifts to cleaning up mistakes and sharpening execution. 

“Thirty-five points on the board, that’s five plays that we gave up for touchdowns,” he said. “We had a lot of guys that had the, ‘oh, my bad.’ Well, when you have five, ‘oh, my bads,’ that’s 35 points. It’s hard to play catch up when the clock’s running. We can’t put ourselves in those positions. But we’re gonna get back on the board, and if we’ve got to go two ways with guys, then that’s what we’ll do. I told them, show up Monday ready to work.” 

For Apopka, the challenge will be moving forward from another lopsided result against a powerhouse opponent. They take on West Orange (4-1) at 7 p.m. Friday at Roger Williams Field.