Apopka dismantles Timber Creek 49-14

Apopka closed its football season with a statement, scoring five second-half touchdowns to defeat Timber Creek 49-14 in the continuation of their Oct. 16 matchup suspended by inclement weather. 

The Blue Darters resumed play Tuesday with a 12-7 lead and 7:30 remaining in the second quarter. With the offense stalling on third and 17, Jacobo Trujillo opened the continuation with a 50-yard punt that pinned Timber Creek at its 15. 

Trujillo continued to deliver when Apopka needed him. After the Blue Darters’ next drive stalled, he sent another punt down to the Timber Creek 5. The Wolves were called for intentional grounding in the end zone, giving Apopka a safety and a 14-7 lead with 40 seconds left in the half. Trujillo later boomed a 46-yard punt to the 5, and Apopka carried its lead into halftime. 

The Blue Darters found their offensive rhythm after the break. Following a defensive stop and another Timber Creek punt, freshman quarterback Kai Goodling launched a deep pass to Nyzier Collington, who beat his defender along the right sideline for a 49-yard touchdown. The score extended Apopka’s lead to 21-7 with 8:30 remaining in the third quarter. 

Collington’s touchdown added to a performance that began before the suspension, when he caught a jump-ball score and threw a touchdown pass to Jakyvion Kemp. Collington’s dominance late in the season brought his touchdown total to eight, and he leads Apopka in receiving yards.  

Apopka’s defense continued to create opportunities. Kamron Medina covered a deep pass on fourth down to force a turnover, and Goodling helped lead a scoring drive that ended with Hunter McNenney’s quarterback sneak. Kemp gashed the Wolves on multiple runs up the field, and McNenney’s touchdown and put Apopka ahead 28-7. 

Timber Creek responded with a touchdown early in the fourth quarter off a busted play that was scored by a lineman, 28-14. Trujillo again flipped the field after Apopka’s offense was unable to convert a third-and-20. His punt landed at the Wolves’ 12. 

The Blue Darters’ defense soon delivered another turnover. After pressuring the quarterback and forcing a fumble, Marcus Young recovered at the Timber Creek 25 and had a dance party with Kentral Baker. Apopka capitalized, with Goodling finding Aiden Bolden on an out route in the end zone to make it 35-14, with Jacob Redder hitting his third extra point of the night. 

Apopka kept its foot on the gas. Le’Melle Griffin and Jakendall Kemp combined for a sack, and Jakyvion Kemp followed with consecutive runs of 13 and 16 yards before scoring from the 3-yard line. The touchdown pushed the lead to 42-14 with 3:08 remaining. 

The Blue Darters added one more highlight. Goodling tossed a jump ball to Ceon Cotton on the first play of their final possession, who went up over a defender and came down at the pylon for a touchdown. Trujillo’s first extra point of the season made it 49-14, and the running clock ended the game. 

Apopka finished the season 5-5, with its playoff hopes hinging on results elsewhere in Class 6A Region 1. 

Goodling, who accounted for 22 total touchdowns through the air and on the ground, reflected on the possibility of Friday being the final game for the seniors. 

“It’s definitely emotional, for the seniors especially. I can just imagine emotions playing on this feeling one last time,” Goodling said. “I just wanted to give them my all. It’s a team sport, so it’s not all me. It’s the team.” 

The freshman quarterback is already looking ahead. 

“I gotta do more. I gotta limit the mistakes and just keep learning. That’s the biggest thing,” he said. 

Goodling also made clear where he sees his future. 

“This is my home now. I’m a Darter for life.” 

McNenney, who scored for the first time since week one, said the moment reflected the work he put into the team. 

“Man, it feels so good. It’s almost relieving to the point where I feel like I deserve it because of how hard I’ve worked. I’ve given everything to this team,” McNenney said. “It’s like an addicting feeling of like the eruption and everybody around you, your teammates, the crowd, the band. It’s a feeling that you just want every time you wake up in the morning.” 

McNenney established his role as a pure leader this season. He did what was necessary to put the team in a better position to win football games and was at the forefront when it came to keeping his teammates motivated and leading the sideline vocally. 

Head coach Marcus Neeson credited the team’s ability to refocus and the impact of special teams. 

“I told the guys before the game, just control what we can control,” Neeson said. “And I told them, tonight we got to put as many points up on the board as possible to have a fighting chance and say, hey, look at us. We deserve to be in the playoffs.” 

Neeson pointed to Trujillo’s work as a key part of the win. 

“Special teams was huge. Jacobo handling down on the other end of the field was huge. Defense scored two points and kept them off the board, that’s all you can ask for.” 

In this day and age of the transfer portal, Neeson believes in keeping Apopka homegrown and continuing to build on what he has this offseason. 

“The focus is on building the guys that we have. I don’t agree with the whole transfer portal in high school. Apopka has great homegrown kids,” Neeson said. “Getting them faster, stronger, out on the field doing field work and getting to seven on sevens when we can. But the guys that are here are invested, they see they see the good things that are on the horizon.”