On a night meant for celebration, the Apopka Blue Darters showed flashes of progress but couldn’t keep pace with the defending rural state champion Madison County Cowboys. Despite one of their most competitive first halves of the season, the Blue Darters fell 43-6 on homecoming night. 

Roger Williams Field was packed with alumni spanning five decades, but the crowd’s early energy couldn’t lift a young Apopka team that dropped to 1-7 on the year. Madison County improved to 4-5 and used big plays and turnovers to pull away in the second half. 

Apopka head coach Marcus Neeson said the team’s effort was there, but its execution still needs work. 

“Our offense moved the ball, we sustained drives, but we couldn’t execute on short yardage,” Neeson said. “If it’s third and one or fourth and one, we’ve got to be able to move the chains, and we’re not there yet.” 

Apopka opened the game with the ball, aided by a roughing-the-kicker penalty that extended the first drive. But a failed fake punt attempt near midfield gave Madison County great field position at the Apopka 35.  

A facemask penalty put the Cowboys in the red zone, and senior running back Na’Quez Christian punched in a one-yard touchdown for a quick first score. Brandon Williams’ two-point run made it 8-0 midway through the first quarter. 

The Blue Darters answered with a promising drive, one of their longest of the season. Starting from their own 27, quarterback Cody Owens hit receiver Blake Childs twice for 20 yards and used his legs for 31 yards on three plays to move deep into Cowboy territory. But on the first play of the second quarter, Owens was hit while throwing, and FIU commit Zay West intercepted the pass at the 14-yard line. 

The Apopka defense responded by forcing back-to-back three-and-outs, flipping momentum. With 5:26 left in the half, the Blue Darters broke through on special teams when Kaden Lovett scooped up a blocked punt and returned it for a touchdown. 

“BLUE DARTERS SCORED! BLUE DARTERS SCORED!” longtime PA announcer Steve Schwartze shouted as the crowd went into a frenzy. 

The two-point try failed, but Apopka had cut the lead to 8-6 and injected life into the homecoming crowd. However, that momentum was short-lived. 

Just one minute later, Madison County quarterback Ladarrious Crumity, a Georgia Tech commit, rolled left and fired a 43-yard touchdown pass to Travis Arnold. Another successful two-point try made it 16-6. 

After a failed fake punt from the Apopka 33 in the final minute of the half, the Cowboys needed just three plays to strike again, with Crumity finding Ryshard Miller for a 22-yard touchdown to make it 22-6 at halftime. 

The Blue Darter defense held firm early in the third quarter, forcing two punts, but another turnover proved costly. Arnold intercepted a deep Owens pass, giving the Cowboys a short field. Crumity capitalized with a 20-yard rushing touchdown on the next play, extending the lead to 30-6. 

Apopka’s T.J. Frazier gave the home team a spark with a 40-yard kickoff return, but the Cowboys’ defense held again on fourth down. A few plays later, Apopka’s Jaquan Walker made a toe-drag interception on the sideline, but the offense stalled on the ensuing possession. 

Madison County added two more scores in the fourth quarter. A 21-yard touchdown pass to Christian and a 51-yard breakaway run from sophomore Ke’Montae Lee sealed the 43-6 victory and trigger a running clock. 

Crumity finished the night with 150 passing yards, three touchdowns, and 49 rushing yards with another score. Arnold caught two passes for 61 yards, a touchdown, and added an interception. Christian collected a one-yard rushing score and a 21-yard touchdown grab. Madison County totaled 292 yards of offense and recorded two interceptions on defense. 

Owens led Apopka with 99 total yards, 57 passing and 42 rushing. Childs, Jaylen Laster, and Nyzier Collington combined for 50 receiving yards. The Blue Darters managed 118 total yards and five first downs in the loss. 

After the game, Neeson said the team’s next step will come from accountability and capitalizing on chances. 

“The offense showed flashes, but we’ve got to capitalize on those little wins,” he said. “Defense did solid because we have a fresh rotation. We knew where to line up and played sound football. Just seems once we got tired, we lost where we needed to be.” 

Apopka will look to bounce back next week as the season winds down. The Blue Darters are set to face cross-town rival Wekiva in the Battle of the Mayor’s Cup at 7 p.m. Thursday at Roger Williams Field.