West Orange football hold off Apopka, wins 20-19

On the back of three touchdowns by quarterback Brian Dillard and a gritty performance by its defensive front, West Orange High football held on to beat the Apopka Blue Darters in the regional quarterfinals of the FHSAA Class 7A playoffs, 20-19, at Raymond Screws Field. 

"It was a very gutsy win," said Warriors coach Geno Thompson after the game. "Hats off to Jeff (Rolson) over there; they did a phenomenal job. Whenever you play a team twice, it's very difficult because you don't know what they're going to come out in. That was the case tonight, they didn't do anything they did on film, so that made it very difficult to prepare. ... We have to obviously learn from our mistakes, but hats off to our team and their resiliency. We've seen it all year: A never-quit attitude, always willing to sacrifice for each other and in no moment did they not believe. Like I said at the beginning of the year, I had no idea what the record was going to be, but I knew this was going to be a special group because of the camaraderie, because of the culture, because of the senior class and all the kids buying in. It's a full group effort, and we're just blessed to be here."

Dillard does it again

After trading scores to open the game, the West Orange (9-2) offense took control and extended its lead over Apopka (4-6) to 20-6 by the 4:36 mark in the third quarter. Do-it-all athlete Brian Dillard led the Warriors attack with three touchdowns — two on the ground and a passing TD to receiver Ryne Brown. 

"He's a playmaker; he's a game changer," Thompson said about his sophomore quarterback. "He plays every position in the book; you even saw him at the running back spot tonight, which is a new position (for him). He's selfless and will do whatever it takes for the team to be successful. He led the team tonight, obviously accounting for all of our points, and I mean, (it's crazy that) college coaches don't notice him, because he's the best athlete in Central Florida."

Pressure package

Despite taking control in the first three quarters, West Orange had to hold on in the fourth quarter as the Blue Darters' offense began to click, especially when Apopka's junior QB Tyson Davison got out of the pocket and extended plays. 

"We tried as best as we could to try to contain him; he's just a really good athlete," Thompson said. "He made a lot of plays with his legs tonight, he was connecting on passes, and we kept trying to change the look, but they seemed to be, at times, one step ahead of us at the end there. It's definitely something we have to go back and reevaluate. This is a game that we can definitely (use to learn about) our weaknesses."

Although Davison was able to use his legs to make plays, the Warriors defensive front — led by senior Logan Hartman and freshman Matheus Kaminski Cordeiro — practically lived in the Apopka backfield, constantly hitting the Blue Darters QB and generally making him uncomfortable throughout the night.

West Orange will be on the road in the regional semifinals, as it heads an hour west to take on the Raiders of Plant City High (9-2) at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 22.