The final week of FHSAA District play and the Sunshine State Athletic Association (SSAA) Regular Season proved to be the best of the season for Seminole County football programs as the locals posted eight victories on the night.
It was also an historic evening as The Geneva School (1-9) posted its first victory in school history in 11-man football and the Knights did it in style, roaring to a 45-0 victory over Halifax Academy from Daytona Beach, and it came during Homecoming at the Eric Liddell Athletic Complex in Casselberry.
Of almost equal importance was Oviedo High School (7-2, 3-0 in Class 6A-District 4) pulling off a ‘miracle’, 29-28, double overtime victory over Evans High School (7-2, 2-1) at John Courier Field, earning the Lions their fourth consecutive District Championship.
Also picking up important wins were Lake Howell, Lake Mary, Lake Mary Prep, Orangewood Christian, Seminole and Winter Springs and while none of those contests had a direct bearing on district championships, the victories did improve each team’s prospects of making the postseason.
The five SSAA schools _ Geneva, Lake Mary Prep, Orangewood, The Master’s Academy and Trinity Prep _ will all begin the Postseason in different levels of the SSAA.
Also, with Halloween being on Friday this year, three games have been moved to Thursday.
Here is a short recap of some games:
Oviedo 29, Evans 28, double overtime
The Lions fell behind, 14-0, but the hosts battled back to take a 22-14 lead on a pair of Sebastian Galeano touchdown passes to Emiliano Galarza and a touchdown run by Brock Joyce, before the Trojans came back to tie the game at 22-22 and force overtime.
Oviedo actually had a chance to win in regulation when Aidan Bermudez came up with an interception in the final minute, but Patrick O’Brien’s 39-yard field goal attempt went wide right.
Evans had the ball first, but fumbled its opportunity away.
The Lions could not answer as Joyce was stopped short of the goal line on a 4th-and-two.
The Trojans then scored on their second possession but missed the extra point kick.
Here comes the miracle, two actually.
Oviedo appeared ready to tie the game, but Joyce fumbled near goal. Fortunately for the Lions Dylan Yablon was Johnny on the Spot and recovered the loose ball for the game-tying touchdown.
The hosts also missed the PAT, but Evans was penalized for roughing the center and O’Brien converted on his second attempt and the Homecoming crowd went bananas.
Lake Mary 51, Lake Brantley 17
The Rams (6-3, 3-0 in Class 7A-District 3) went on the road and made a statement that they were the best in this District and last week’s loss to Evans was not going to affect them as they piled up the points in a 51-17 victory over Lake Brantley (6-3, 0-3).
Lake Mary led 23-10 at halftime before exploding for 28 second half points behind Noah Grubbs, who was 11-for-17 passing for 187-yards and four touchdown passes, two to Malakii Haliburton and one each to Donovan Little and Barrett Schulz.
The Rams also had a big night on the ground as Gavin Isaacs carried the ball six times for 108-yards and Oshea Faison carried the ball 13 times for 92-yards with three touchdowns and a 3-point conversion.
Seminole 27, Hagerty 24
The Fighting Seminoles (5-4, 2-1 in 7A-3) greatly improved their chances of earning an At-Large Bid to the postseason, riding the talents of Anthony Gay III to claim the runner-up spot in Class 7A-District 3 with a 27-24 victory over Hagerty (5-4, 2-1).
Seminole trailed 3-0 after the first quarter, but the hosts scored their 27 points over the middle to periods, before the Huskies made things interesting with a pair of fourth quarter scores.
Gay carried the ball 19-times for a whopping 237-yards and three touchdowns and also caught five passes for 70-yards.
Jeysen Williams looked very good in his return to starting quarterback, completing 10-of-15 passes for 161-yards and a touchdown to 6-foot-7 Markel Barber and also carrying the ball four times for 74-yards.
The visitors kept things interesting as Mkiye McBurse returned the second half kickoff for a 94-yard touchdown and also caught a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. The other Hagerty touchdown came on a 93-yard run off a fake punt by Aurelio Gutierrez.
Winter Springs 46, Lyman 0
Quarterback Isaac Johnson was 13-for-26 for 171-yards and three touchdown passes to Christian Ryan (5-receptions, 121-yards) as Winter Springs improved to 6-3 overall and 1-1 in Class 5A-District 5 with a 46-0 triumph over Lyman (0-9, 0-2 in 5A-5).
Lake Howell 50, Wekiva 6
Brycen Marbrey was 8-for-14 for 219-yards and three touchdowns and Luke Barhorst came off the bench to go 4-for-6 for 62-yards and a touchdown as Lake Howell (6-3, 1-2 in 6A-District 4) improved its slim chances of making postseason with a 50-6 humbling of Wekiva (1-8, 0-3).
Here are the Week 10 results:
Friday, October 24
* The Geneva School 45, Daytona Beach-Halifax Academy 0.
* Melbourne-Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy 28, The Master’s Academy 7.
* Lake Highland Preparatory School 44, Trinity Preparatory School 20.
* Lake Howell High School 50, Apopka-Wekiva High School 6.
* Lake Mary High School 51, Lake Brantley High School 17.
* Lake Mary Preparatory School 35, Tavares-Liberty Christian Prep 6.
* Orangewood Christian School 35, Orlando-Faith Christian School 0.
* Oviedo High School 29, Orlando-Evans High School 28, double overtime.
* Seminole High School 27, Hagerty High School 24.
* Winter Springs High School 46, Lyman High School 0.
Here is the schedule for Week 11:
Thursday, October 30
* Eustis High School vs. Oviedo High School at John Courier Field, 6:30 p.m.
* Lake Howell High School vs. Winter Springs High School at A.W. Epps Sports Complex, 7 p.m.
* Sebring High School vs. Lake Brantley High School at on Tom Storey Field at Darvin Boothe Stadium, 6:30 p.m.
Friday, October 31
* Lake Mary High School at Orlando-Bishop Moore Catholic High School, 7 p.m.
* Lyman High School vs. Hagerty High School at Sam Momery Stadium, 7 p.m.
* Seminole High School at Sarasota-Booker High School, 7 p.m.
SSAA Playoffs
* Jacksonville-Duval Charter School at Orangewood Christian School, 7 p.m.
* Daytona Beach-Halifax Academy vs. The Master’s Academy at Pennington Field, 7 p.m.
* Jacksonville-Harvest Community High School vs. The Geneva School at Eric Liddell Athletic Complex, 7 p.m.
* Lake Mary Preparatory School has a bye.
* Trinity Preparatory School at Gainesville-Oak Hall High School, 7 p.m.
