The Regular Season for local FHSAA football programs came to a close this past week with Lake Mary pulling off an upset, Oviedo and Hagerty piling up the points and Winter Springs winning the Tuskawilla Tussle with Lake Howell, while three teams won opening games in the Sunshine State Athletic Association (SSAA) Playoffs.
The defending Class 7A State Runner-ups and current 2-time 7A-District 3 Champion Rams (7-3) went on the road and clobbered previously unbeaten Bishop Moore Catholic (9-1), 42-22, in College Park, while sophomore Caden Manning made his first career start at quarterback for the Lions (8-2) and threw five touchdown passes in a 63-6 humbling of Eustis (1-9), the Huskies (6-4) capped off a tough season for Lyman (0-10), 49-0, and the Bears (7-3) held off the Silver Hawks (6-4), 31-28.
It was a good weekend for the local SSAA teams as The Geneva School won for the second straight week, Orangewood Christian and The Master’s Academy both won to set-up a head-to-head face-off in the second round and Lake Mary Prep found out who it will be playing after a bye week in the first round.
FHSAA schools will now have a week off to prepare for the Quarterfinal Round of the Playoffs.
And while Lake Mary and Oviedo know they are guaranteed a spot by winning their respective District Championships, teams like Seminole, Winter Springs, Hagerty and Lake Howell are waiting to see if they will make the Postseason as Wild Card teams. The FHSAA is expected to announce the brackets on Thursday or Friday.
Here are a few recaps:
Lake Mary 42, Bishop Moore 22
Visiting Lake Mary had its second straight big win since getting a wake-up call from Evans, exploding for 21 points in the second quarter to build a 28-0 lead at halftime and eventually led 35-0 before the hosts could score and the Hornets would score a couple of late touchdowns to make the score look at lot better than it was.
Quarterback Noah Grubbs had a pedestrian game for him, completing just 6-of-12 passes for 116-yards, but two of the throws went for scoring strikes to O’Shea Faison for 53-yards and Donovan Little for 27-yards. The senior Notre Dame commit also carried the ball three times for 18-yards and a touchdown.
But it was the running game that carried the day for the Rams as Gavin Isaacs carried he ball 12 times for 89-yards and two touchdowns and Faison carried the ball 13-times for 74-yards as the guests accumulated 190-yards on 31 attempts.
The defense also got in on the act as Dmarion Simmons returned an interception for a touchdown as did the Special Teams as Jahvon Robinson returned a kickoff for a 97-yard touchdown.
Oviedo 63, Eustis 6
Sophomore Caden Manning got his first start at quarterback in place of an injured Sebastian Galeano and he made the most of it, completing 10-of-13 passes for 183-yards and a remarkable five touchdowns, two to DeShon Febres and one each to Emiliano Galarza, Jordan Donahoo and Phillipee Herrera.
Star running back Brock Joyce also had a huge game, carrying the ball just four times for 128-yards and a touchdown. Johnnie Cobbs, Aiden Bermudez and Kasen Williams also added one rushing touchdown each.
Hagerty 49, Lyman 0
Quarterback Royce Jenkins threw four touchdown passes, two each to Greg Weatherington and Mikaye McBurse, to build a 28-0 lead and the Huskies would tack on a pair of running touchdowns to lead 42-0 at halftime before cruising to the running clock victory.
Winter Springs 31, Lake Howell 28
The host Bears scored 17 fourth quarter points to erase a 21-14 deficit at the end of the third quarter, including scoring the final 14 points after falling behind 28-17 with seven minutes left in the game to retain the trophy representing the “Tuskawilla Tussle”.
The Silver Hawks built their lead behind quarterback Brycen Marbrey (11-for-22, 192-yards, 2 touchdowns), wide receiver Devin Coleman (4-receptions, 113-yards, two touchdowns) and running back Malek Wilkerson (11-carries, 124-yards, 2 touchdowns).
But Winter Springs was able to come back behind quarterback Isaac Johnson (14-for-25, 248-yards, 2 touchdowns), Tristen Raines (5-receptions, 94-yards, touchdown), running back Isiah Rouse (21-carries, 77-yards, 2 touchdowns) and a Michael Vigil field goal early in the fourth quarter.
The Geneva School 30, Harvest Community 12
Quarterback Luke Gilmartin was 6-for-10 passing for 78-yards and a touchdown to William Thigpen and also carried the ball 10-times for 125-yards and another score in leading the host Knights to their second straight win, 30-12, over Harvest Community High School from Jacksonville.
Running back Marcus Jho also had a big game, carrying the ball 17-times for 132-yards and a touchdown and David Howell also ran for a score.
Orangewood Christian 34, Duval Charter 27
Quarterback Tre Roach threw three touchdown passes, two to Grayson Hilinski and one to Jack Benson, as host Orangewood Christian won its opening SSAA Playoff game.
Hilinski and Benson also ran for a touchdowns as the Rams earned second round game with the 2-time defending state champions The Master’s Academy.
Here are the Week 11 results:
Thursday, October 30
* Oviedo High School 63, Eustis High School 6.
* Winter Springs High School 31, Lake Howell High School 28.
* Sebring High School 33, Lake Brantley High School 21.
SSAA Playoffs
* The Geneva School 30, Jacksonville-Harvest Community High School 12.
* Gainesville-Oak Hall High School 28, Trinity Preparatory School 7.
Friday, October 31
* Lake Mary High School 42, Orlando-Bishop Moore Catholic High School 22.
* Hagerty High School 49, Lyman High School 0.
* Sarasota-Booker High School 21, Seminole High School 9.
SSAA Playoffs
* Orangewood Christian School 34, Jacksonville-Duval Charter School 27.
* The Master’s Academy 43, Daytona Beach-Halifax Academy 10.
* Lake Mary Preparatory School had a bye.
Here is the schedule for Week 12:
Friday, November 7
SSAA Playoffs
11-Man 1A Championship
* The Geneva School at Spring Hill-Bishop McLaughlin Catholic High School, 7 p.m.
11-Man 3A Championship
* Orangewood Christian School vs. The Master’s Academy at Pennington Field, 7 p.m.
8-man 1A Championship
* Gainesville-Saint Francis Catholic Academy at Lake Mary Preparatory School, 7 p.m.
