By Marshall Tempest
Reporter
With three years as a varsity starter under his belt, Apopka football’s rising senior quarterback, Tyson Davison, is on a mission to bring the Blue Darters back to glory. But before the 2025 campaign starts, he will face the 2024 state championship runners-up, the Jones High School Tigers, in Apopka’s spring game on Friday.
Davison has had quite the career for the Blue Darters, and it all started as a freshman in 2022. In his first year, Davison started in the very first game. His confidence and his ability grew as the season progressed, as he went from averaging 50-60 passing yards a game to 100-150 a game.
In his first year as a Blue Darter, Apopka went all the way to the state championship final, where the team faced a well-known state tournament rival, Columbus High School (Miami). Davison delivered an incredible title game performance as a freshman, racking up 145 rushing yards and 42 passing yards, but the Blue Darters fell 16-13 in overtime.
Since his freshman season, Davison has been chasing that moment, hoping to get a chance at redemption. In that quest, he has made the state tournament two more times but fell early both years. As a sophomore in 2023, the Blue Darters lost in the regional semifinal round to Seminole High School (Sanford), 42-14. As a junior last year, the team ended the season with a 4-6 record after being knocked out of the state tournament in the first round by the West Orange Warriors.
“Tyson’s had a really good spring,” head coach Jeff Rolson said. “I’m looking forward to what he does in the fall.”
Over the last three years Davison has amassed 1,968 passing yards, 2,003 rushing yards, 13 passing touchdowns, nine rushing touchdowns and a 44.85 completion percentage. Now, in his last year as a Blue Darter, he has one more chance to reach the top of the hill and win it all.
Last year’s 4-6 finish was a far cry from where Davison and the Blue Darters thought they would end up. But injuries, offensive shortcomings and a lack of accountability plagued the 2024 team.
Since the end of the 2024 season, the program has undergone a complete overhaul to return to the principles that made Blue Darter football a perennial playoff and state championship contender. Davison and Rolson, both say the group they have now really wants to be out on the field and get better every day.
Rolson and Davison both expressed the apparent difference in the program’s culture, which is evident at practice, in the weight room and off the field. Davison said the key to the new culture is accountability—and that’s what will make the difference this year.
“It gets rough for everybody, whether that’s in school, with the grades, or even on the field,” Davison said. “We’ve all had some tough days on the field where we’re making mistakes, or our brains are foggy. But you know, it’s all about holding each other accountable, getting on each other and making sure that we are communicating positively and efficiently so we can all be better for each other. Whether that’s the next play, the next down, or even the next second.”
Davison said he’s seen a significant shift in how his teammates attack practice since the end of the 2024 season. He said that when someone messes up, isn’t doing a drill right, or isn’t giving all of their effort, other players hold them accountable, not just the coaches. Davison and Rolson agreed that culture doesn’t stop or start at the coaches; it has to be ingrained into the team at every level.
Davison said the only thing that can stop the team from succeeding is themselves.
“How we handle ourselves after losses, wins, and how we conduct ourselves at practice,” he said. “It’s like what Coach Rolson says, it’s about the program – rebuilding that program. If we don’t continue along this path, that’s when things will start to go awry.”
He said the key to making a deep playoff run and returning to glory will be accountability, consistency and staying healthy.
The Apopka Chief | The Apopka Chief Newspaper“Just going in and working every day, stepping up as a leader and trying to make sure everybody is focused on and off the field,” Davison said. “I have to make sure everybody is healthy, too. A big part of winning is taking care of your body, so making sure everybody’s healing and no one’s banged up all the time so that we can make those long runs.”
Davison enters the season as a bigger quarterback. He said he’s grown almost two inches since this time last year, now standing 6-foot-1 and weighing 190 pounds.
Davison said his focus since last year has been on leadership.
“I’ve been working on just making sure that everybody’s on the same page mentally and then making sure that we’re all physically capable of doing what needs to be done this season,” he said.
Davison built that foundation first with his offensive line. He said that after the offense’s performance last season, he and the offensive line have worked on and off the field to create chemistry and a bond.
“Those guys are putting in a lot of work,” he said. “We’ve all come after school plenty of times, multiple days a week, to try and get on the same page with each other. So, whatever it takes to be successful. Whether that’s hanging out after school and just talking football, trying to connect and be on the same page, or even if it’s just in the weight room—communicating and understanding each other.”
Davison said he’s been working on his game just as much, including footwork and release timing. More importantly, he’s been working on his ability to make any throw anywhere on the field in order to get the ball into the hands of his playmakers.
Davison said the most crucial part of his growth is his confidence and growth as a man. He looks great on the field. Poised, alert, and explosive, Davison, as always, is almost untouchable on his feet, but he’s also shown power, accuracy, and better decision-making in the air.
“A lot of it is just being more seasoned and more confident,” he said. “And then my body maturing, so everything that you know comes with growing up. My legs are getting stronger, and my upper body is getting stronger. My body is just getting more solid in general.”
Davison also plays defense, which he said has been a learning but helpful experience.
“I feel like it’s been amazing conditioning-wise, getting me in shape, mentally and physically, in order to switch my mind from that defensive side of the ball to the offensive side of the ball in a play or two,” he said.
Davison said working out as a defensive back has helped his ability to read defenses while in the pocket.
He then said that his time as a quarterback also helps him on the defensive side of the ball, as he can recognize what a play is trying to do and who it is trying to get open.
“He can play back there,” Rolson said about playing Davison at defensive back. “So he may play back there some. I mean, I had a corner at Osceola that played corner and started at quarterback and went on and played at Auburn. All our guys played both ways at Osceola back in the day, like the skill guys anyway, the better ones. So I don’t know, he might play back there. I don’t know. I’m not worried about him playing back there. If we need him, we’ll use him.”
The spring game is just days away, and Davison is ready and raring to go. He said it will be a great test of where he and the team are currently and give them an idea of what they need to work on. A talented team like Jones will reveal where they are strong and weak.
“We’re all excited to play them,” he said. “Jones has great athletes and great coaches. But we have amazing coaches and athletes on this side, too. So it’ll come down to just putting them in the right position to make plays and do what’s best for the team. We’re all hyped and energized, ready to go.”
The spring game against Jones is at Jones High School starting at 7 p.m. on Friday, May 23. Davison ended his interview with two final words, showcasing his enthusiasm to be competing on the field again as a Blue Darter.
“Hoka Hey!”
