Apopka fights to the end in loss at Seminole

Apopka’s mistakes proved costly Friday night as the Blue Darters fell 43-18 to undefeated Seminole at Thomas E. Whigham Stadium in Sanford. 

The Blue Darters struggled to execute in the first half, turning the ball over and giving Seminole favorable field position as the Seminoles built a 33-0 halftime lead. 

“It comes down to the execution,” Apopka coach Marcus Neeson said. “First half, everything that we wanted, we had trick plays that were there that we didn’t execute. We had basic, simple plays that were open and didn’t execute, and we gave the ball to them in short yardage in the red zone.” 

Seminole wasted little time getting on the board. 

After Apopka went three-and-out on its opening possession, Seminole quarterback Daniel Proenza found his receiver on a short throw to the left side. A broken tackle sent the receiver up the sideline for a 66-yard touchdown. The extra point was missed, giving Seminole a 6-0 lead with 9:47 left in the first quarter. 

Apopka punted on its next possession, and the Seminoles drove deep into Blue Darters territory before Apopka’s defense locked in and forced a turnover on downs. 

Kai Goodling then found Jakyvion Kemp several times during an Apopka drive that reached the Seminole 37-yard line. But a holding penalty pushed the Blue Darters back, and Seminole blocked the ensuing punt. 

On their next and final play of the first quarter, Seminole went over the top for a 40-yard touchdown, extending its lead to 12-0. 

Apopka attempted to create some momentum in the second quarter with a pitch-pass from Nyzier Collington, but the throw toward an open Kemp fell incomplete. The Blue Darters then tried a fake punt, with Jaylen Laster completing a pass to Jakendall Kemp, who was stopped 1 yard shy of the first-down marker. 

Seminole took over but was once again stopped deep in Darter territory. On Apopka’s next play, Goodling got the snap and pitched the ball to a reversing Darter. The pitch was fumbled and recovered by Seminole. 

In two plays, the ‘Noles scored a 9-yard rushing touchdown after recovering a fumble on a failed reverse. The touchdown made it 19-0 with 7:12 left in the half. 

Apopka’s next possession ended with another turnover. Goodling’s pass intended for Collington was tipped and intercepted, with the Seminoles returning the ball to the Apopka 19-yard line. 

Seminole appeared to face a difficult fourth-and-22 from the Apopka 34, but quarterback Daniel Proenza chucked up a prayer toward the end zone, where Ladarian Hill came down with the ball between three Blue Darters defenders. The touchdown put Seminole ahead 26-0 with 4:13 remaining in the half. 

Another quick Apopka fumble gave Seminole possession again, and the Seminoles capitalized with a 27-yard run to the Apopka 1-yard line before punching in another touchdown. A low snap onApopka’s following possession gave Seminole another opportunity, but the Blue Darters’ defense responded with a sack from Jakendall Kemp and eventually forced an incompletion on fourth down. 

Apopka went into halftime trailing 33-0. 

The Blue Darters came out with a different level of energy in the second half. 

After Apopka’s Robert Hewlett and Cameron Smith blocked a Seminole punt, Alay’jen Williams recovered it at the Seminole 33. Goodling immediately went deep to Laster, who caught the pass and raced into the end zone for a 33-yard touchdown. The score cut the deficit to 33-6 with 10:30 remaining in the third quarter. 

For the ensuing kickoff, Apopka sent out a freshman kicker, Landon Etling. With a noticeable gap in Seminole’s return team, he popped the ball up over the first line, placing a dribbler near the Apopka sideline. As Seminole went to pick up the ball, a flock of Darters swarmed in, crushed him, and recovered the ball. 

The offense went four-and-out, and Apopka’s defense continued to hit or miss. They allowed another deep touchdown pass before recovering another Seminole fumble off a huge hit in the backfield on the next two possessions. 

Late in the third quarter, Goodling connected with Kemp for a first down and later found Collington and Ceon Cotton as the Blue Darters moved inside the Seminole 10-yard line. Goodling eventually threw up a 3-yard fade to Collington for a touchdown, bringing the score to 40-12 after the failed two-point attempt. 

Seminole answered with a fourth-quarter field goal to push its lead to 43-12. 

Apopka continued to battle late. 

A double-pass attempt from Collington resulted in a 19-yard rush, and Goodling connected with Cotton for 20 yards before finding him for another 16 yards near the goal line. Goodling finished the drive with a 1-yard quarterback sneak, cutting the deficit to 43-18 with 1:50 remaining. 

The Blue Darters stopped Seminole on their final possession before time expired. 

Neeson said the execution issues extended to both sides of the ball. 

“We didn’t help the defense out offensively and defensively, we just got to make sure that we’re aware of down and distance,” Neeson said. “It’s hard to manage the defense when guys aren’texecuting. That goes for the offense as well.” 

Apopka falls to 2-4 with the loss and returns home Friday for Senior Night against Lake Brantley.