- January 10, 2025
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All good things, unfortunately, eventually come to an end.
After missing out on the playoffs last year, West Orange (7-4, 2-1) came into this season with one goal in mind: make the postseason.
The Warriors did just that, but it ended up being a short trip as they tumbled out of the Class 8A playoffs in a tough 16-0 loss to the top-seeded Wekiva on Friday, Nov. 9.
“We prepared hard, we practiced really hard and the kids were ready to go — we just had a really hard time moving the ball,” said West Orange head coach Bob Head. “Hats off to their defense — their defense is stout and tough, and we just couldn't move the ball. They whooped us up front.”
The Wekiva defense was as dominant as they have been all season, as the Mustangs (10-1, 2-1) suffocated the Warriors at every turn of the game with little remorse. And if you look at the stats they’ll show just how impressive a performance it was for the the Mustangs.
On the Warriors’ first six possessions of the game they were forced to punt each time. That trend was broken up in the third when Warriors’ QB Elijah Stimmell was picked off by Wekiva corner Malcolm Green for the only turnover of the game.
The last two drives of the game — which saw freshman QB Julian Calvez come in — wouldn’t end any better as the Mustangs’ defense held the Warriors on an attempt to convert a fourth down, before blocking a punt on the Warriors' final drive.
All together the Warriors picked up only 66 total yards of offense (59 through the air and seven on the ground) on 30 total plays.
A big part of the headache for the Warriors came from the Wekiva d-line, who spent most of the game seemingly camped out in the Warriors’ backfield.
By the time Stimmell had the ball in his hand, someone was already in his face — on multiple occasions that person was senior DE/DT Norell Pollard (two sacks, four tackles) or senior DE/OLB Erion Lowe (one sack, three tackles).
“It hurts,” Head said. “We have some great seniors and I love them to death, and I just wish we could have given a better game.”
If there’s a silver lining to take from Friday night’s game, it’s that the Warriors’ defense — despite giving up 389 total yards of offense — held its own decently.
Outside of giving up two touchdowns in the second quarter and a field goal in the third, the Warriors’ defense kept the Mustangs scoreless in the first and fourth quarter. The defense forced three punts, two turnovers on downs and watched a field goal attempt go wide.
But that tidbit won’t do much to take the taste of the frustrating loss out of the mouths of players. That said there’s still a lot of positives to take away from this season.
“I would say this was the best season overall — No. 1 as a team, and No. 2 by myself,” said senior wide receiver and Duke University commit Darrell Harding. “I played the best I’ve played since I’ve been at West Orange, and it’s mostly because of the team that I have around me and the coaching staff coming together.
“The atmosphere was just different from the past couple of years,” he said. “Just coming together from what we’ve accomplished, I can’t be mad — he (Head) brought us back to playoffs.”
For the team’s seniors, Friday night’s game was the last time that many of them will walk on the field as players. It’s a moment that Head has to deal with a lot as a coach, but there is always the solace in knowing that the program is in better shape than the year before thanks to his seniors.
“Our seniors are incredible,” Head said. “You have guys like Darrell Harding, you have guys like Garrett Clark and Nasir Carter and Tywon Little who have been a part of our program from the very beginning for all four years. What they have done for our school and our team is unbelievable.”
