By Marshall Tempest
Reporter
The Apopka football team’s annual blue and white scrimmage provided a stage for Blue Darter athletes last week. The game focused on getting a good look at the team at game speed and allowing some reps for some players who may not see the field come fall.
This year’s game was a bit different, as the teams were evenly split and matched. The idea was to get everybody on the field and create a challenging environment before the spring game against Jones this week.
“Everybody got to play, so that was fun,” head coach Jeff Rolson said. “We did some good things. We didn’t look great, but we had a complete split squad. So, you’ve got some guys out there that are not going to be in the ones twos or maybe even threes rotation. So, it was about everybody playing.”
Rolson said he was very happy with his offensive line, especially his younger guys, who have really stepped up during the spring.
“I like all our o-linemen. I think we’ve got some good guys. They’re just really young. We have a lot of freshmen. Like our second line for the front is all freshmen. And I love them, I think they’re going to be good players.”
When discussing how he thought the offense looked, Rolson said he was happy with the results, but they are far from where they want to be. He says the team is still having trouble memorizing the new offense, which limits what they can do effectively right now. He wants to make starting quarterback Tyson Davison’s life easier by having some reliable guys up front and some guys who can get open and catch the ball.
The offense is currently very run-heavy because of the limitations in the passing game between Apopka’s green offensive line and less-than-spectacular receiver group. Rolson said he has his No. 1 receiver out and hurt right now, so he expects a big jump in efficiency when he can get him back on the field.
“I think we’re going to be able to run some power and counter,” Rolson said. “I think we’re going to be able to run zone and ISO stuff. Throw-game-wise, we have to take advantage of what we get. We have to be smart about what we do. We don’t have a lot in right now because we don’t have the ability to – we are having trouble memorizing the very few things that we do, so it’s hard to move on.”
Rolson said that the key right now is figuring out the right way to play his guys so that they can be most successful. The process will evolve over the next few weeks as Rolson and his staff reduce the roster to about 58-60 players. To put it into perspective, the roster for the blue and white scrimmage was 115, and the roster will be reduced to 52 players by the start of the fall season.
As Apopka approaches the end of spring, the goal is to reduce the coaches’ workload by zeroing in on the guys who will be integral come fall. With the coaching shortage Apopka is facing, Rolson’s staff has had to coach both ways at the same time. This extra workload is only compounded by the massive roster of 115 players.
Rolson and the rest of his staff have just a few months left to find the guys who will carry the Blue Darter legacy come August.
The spring game against Jones High School is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday, May 23, at Jones.
