Just one week away from the start of the fall high school football season and both of Apopka’s hometown teams, the Apopka Blue Darters and the Wekiva Mustangs, are preparing for the 2025 campaign.   

While it may not be Week 1, next week marks the annual preseason games known as the Kickoff Classic.  

On Aug. 15, Apopka will play Tampa Bay Titans for the second year in a row and will host the game this year. Wekiva will be facing off against the Olympia Titans and will also host the game. Both games are set to start at 7 p.m.  

Apopka vs. Tampa Bay Titans  

According to MaxPreps, the Tampa Bay Titans have a preseason ranking of 23rd in the state. They finished the 2024 season with a 9-3 record. Tampa Bay Tech scored 456 points and allowed 192. Apopka, on the other hand, has a preseason ranking of 56th in the state, having finished the 2024 season with a 4-6 record. The Blue Darters scored 127 points and allowed 129. 

In last year’s preseason matchup, Tampa Bay dominated the Blue Darters 38-7. The Blue Darters collected 222 yards, 195 of which were rushing yards.  

Apopka’s offense in that game was a preview of what it would look like for the rest of the season – run-heavy, with lots of yards and multiple scoring opportunities. Apopka had three turnovers against Tampa Bay, two fumbles and one interception.   

Last year, Apopka had its worst season in 20 years, scoring its lowest number of points in over two decades (127 points or 12.7 points a game). But the Blue Darters’ new head coach for the 2025 season, Marcus Neeson, has a new offensive game plan.   

He said he wants to simplify the offense. He has reduced the number of formations and further streamlined offense by keeping play calls simple.  

However, a significant difference in the Blue Darter offense this season will be the presence of a new quarterback.  

Apopka’s starting quarterback for the last three years, Tyson Davison, transferred to Ocoee High School over the off-season. Now, Apopka’s offense truly has a new beginning with a new scheme and a new leader at the quarterback position.  

Neeson said he has still not made a final decision on the starting quarterback as of Wednesday.   

Defensively, Apopka was torched by the Tampa Bay Titans last year as they put up 180 rushing yards and 175 passing yards.  

Apopka’s run defense is always stout, but last year against Tampa Bay, even that wasn’t solid. This year, Neeson said the Blue Darters’ defensive line group looks like the best group on the team, thanks to defensive line coach Matt Anderson.  

Tampa Bay has been a state championship-caliber team for the last four years and had 23 juniors on its squad last year. The Titans will be more experienced and larger overall compared to Apopka.   

Apopka is in the process of rebuilding back from a disastrous 2024 season, having lost 28 players in six months, as well as its head coach. However, Neeson said he has a great deal of confidence in his team.   

Wekiva vs. Olympia Titans  

In last year’s preseason Kickoff Classic, the Mustangs trounced the Olympia Titans 36-0. But that was the best game of the Mustangs’ season, other than a 53-6 win over Eustis. Wekiva finished the 2024 season with a 3-7 record, ranked 197th in the state, scoring 202 points and allowing 311.   

Last year’s win over Olympia was more about Olympia than about Wekiva, though. While the Mustangs outplayed Olympia, it was the Titans’ own mistakes that ultimately cost them the game. Olympia fumbled the ball six times due to high snaps, and Wekiva’s defense was responsible for the first nine points of the game.   

However, Olympia’s mistakes could be attributed mainly to a tumultuous 2024 offseason, much like Apopka’s 2025 offseason. The school lost 36 seniors and 21 starters from the previous season, yet still finished the 2024 season with a 4-6 record.   

Interestingly, Wekiva has been in a similar situation. Last year, head coach Doug Gabriel said team replaced nearly 75 percent of the 2023 roster. During this year’s spring game loss to Lyman High School, Gabriel said he is still dealing with a lot of inexperienced kids, as many of his starters graduated last year.   

“All of our players have graduated, so we’re very young,” Gabriel said. “I was happy with the performance, but we have a lot to learn because they still don’t know the plays.”  

In last year’s matchup, Wekiva put up 275 yards to Olympia’s 114. Of those yards, 165, and a passing touchdown, came through the air from the Mustangs quarterback Jackson Keillor.   

Unfortunately for the Mustangs, Keillor was in his senior season. Now, the Mustangs face a similar challenge to Apopka as they try to figure out who in their quarterback group is ready to take charge.