After waiting through an hour-long weather delay, Apopka finally took the field Friday night for its first official game of the 2026 season. 

The Blue Darters battled Boone from the opening whistle to the final seconds, but a late comeback attempt came up just short as Apopka fell 21-14 to the Braves at Boone High School. 

For a team that entered the season with plenty of outside doubt, the Blue Darters showed they could compete with a playoff team that went 10-2 last season. But turnovers, penalties and missed opportunities ultimately kept Apopka from completing the upset. 

“We gotta fix all the little details,” Apopka head coach Marcus Neeson said. “We just gotta limit all the little mistakes, and tonight they just came back to bite us.” 

Boone received the opening kickoff, but Apopka’s defense immediately set the tone. 

Jakendall Kemp and Kentral Baker combined for an 8-yard tackle for loss on the first play. On the third play of the drive, Le’Melle Griffin forced a fumble on a run up the middle, and Apopka recovered. 

The Blue Darters quickly turned the takeaway into points. 

Quarterback Hunter McNenney found Nyzier Collington for a 10-yard first down on third down, and a Boone offside penalty moved Apopka five yards closer. After McNenney was sacked, Jakyvion Kemp broke through the middle for a 21-yard run to the Boone 10. 

Kemp followed with a 6-yard rush before finishing the drive himself two plays later, powering into the end zone for a touchdown. The extra point gave Apopka a 7-0 lead with 6:03 remaining in the first quarter. 

The defense answered again on Boone’s next possession. 

After Boone moved toward a third-down situation, Apopka defensive line coach Matt Anderson recognized the upcoming play and alerted Demetri Tarpley to be ready for a rollout to his side. 

Boone ran the play exactly as expected. Tarpley blew it up for a 6-yard sack, forcing a fourth-and-13 punt. 

The Blue Darters’ offense struggled to capitalize on the next possession, and a series of special teams miscues nearly proved costly. A fumbled fake-punt snap was eventually picked up and kicked, but the punt was blocked. Jaylen Laster recovered the loose ball and raced left for a miraculous first down. 

Apopka was stopped at its own 27, however, and a shanked punt gave Boone possession at the Blue Darters’ 36. 

The Braves tied the game to start the second quarter on a rushing touchdown with 11:18 left in the half. 

Apopka’s offense then stalled, and Boone eventually took its first lead of the night after a long drive from midfield ended in another rushing touchdown. The Braves led 14-7 with 3:56 remaining in the half. 

Apopka had opportunities to respond. 

Laster caught a bubble screen for 10 yards, and Nicholas Taylor added another 10-yard reception on a screen. But the drive ended when a fumbled snap gave Boone the ball at the Apopka 38. 

The Blue Darters kept fighting. 

A Boone pass was deflected at the line, and Baker came down with the interception, returning it to the Braves 40-yard line with 1:40 remaining. 

Apopka went into its two-minute offense, with McNenney finding Collington for five yards and Kemp breaking loose for a 20-yard run. A deep pass intended for Collington fell incomplete, then a deflected pass was intercepted at the Boone 15 with 37 seconds left. 

Boone kneeled into halftime with a 14-7 lead. 

The Braves extended that advantage in the third quarter after back-and-forth defensive stops. Apopka fumbled another snap that gave them possession deep in Blue Darters territory. Boone punched the ball into the end zone with 23 seconds remaining in the quarter to make it 21-7. 

Apopka, however, refused to go away. 

Freshman quarterback Kai Goodling entered the game and immediately connected with Collington on back-to-back plays. Goodling also found Ceon Cotton for a 36-yard gain, and a pass interference penalty moved the ball to the Boone 21. 

A potential touchdown drive was erased by a holding penalty, and Apopka eventually turned the ball over on downs. 

The defense continued to give the Blue Darters chances, forcing another three-and-out and creating another fumble that Jayden Caban recovered. 

McNenney returned to quarterback and led Apopka on its final two drives. 

He connected with Kemp for five yards, benefited from a Boone offside penalty and watched Johnson Navilssaint take a reverse for a first down. McNenney then found Ryan Bacon at the 20 before delivering a perfectly placed touchdown pass to Kemp on a wheel route with 1:43 remaining. 

The Blue Darters attempted an onside kick but could not recover it, leaving Boone with the ball and a chance to run out the clock. 

Apopka’s defense forced a fourth down, but Boone was able to drain the clock down to 32 seconds. 

After a big stop, Apopka had one final opportunity. 

McNenney found Laster deep to the Boone 37 with 17 seconds remaining. After an incomplete deep pass, Apopka went to its bag of tricks with five seconds left. 

McNenney was hit as he threw, but the pass found Collington on a curl at the 20. Laster followed underneath for a hook-and-ladder lateral pass, and after the defense swarmed the play, the ball was pitched again to Kemp. 

Kemp fought his way to the 10-yard line before being tackled, ending the game. Kemp finished the night with both Apopka touchdowns and led the team in total yards. 

Though Apopka outgained Boone in total yards, they finished the night on the wrong side of a 21-14 score. Neeson said the performance showed his team can compete — if it cleans up the details. 

“The play-calling is there,” Neeson said. “We just can’t turn the ball over. We can’t put the ball on the ground. Quarterbacks, when they’ve got a pocket, they’ve got to be able to stay in the pocket and throw the football. Receivers did a good job of getting open and making some huge catches. Running backs did a good job running the ball. The line gave solid protection.” 

The Blue Darters entered the game as significant underdogs according to the On3 Massey ratings, but Neeson said outside expectations do not matter to his team. 

“Everyone’s gonna doubt us this year because of what’s happened the past two years,” Neeson said. “So I’ve tuned out of all the outside noise, and doubters are gonna doubt.” 

Instead, Neeson is focused on improvement. 

“I told my coaches we’re gonna coach hard, and the kids gotta respond to it,” he said. “I told them they’re going to need to match my intensity. It sucks that we’re in this position, but you don’t want to peak in the first week. So being able to stack days and improve each week is the goal.” 

Apopka will get its first chance to do exactly that Friday when the Blue Darters return home to host Winter Park at 7 p.m. for their home opener.