- December 26, 2024
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Week Eight of the high school football season was yet another affected by severe weather, forcing coaches and athletic directors to get their calendars out to move, reschedule or cancel games.
As a result, six games originally scheduled for Friday, Oct. 11, were moved to Oct. 14 and 15. Despite the changes, there were plenty of notes for Orange Observer Sports Editor Sam Albuquerque to pick from in the first edition of the Monday/Tuesday Night Five.
This week's top observation? West Orange High's win over West Port means the Battle for the Shield rivalry game between the Warriors and Ocoee High in Week 10 will decide the winner of the district championship.
No. 1: The Battle for the Shield will determine the Class 7A, District 5 title
With its 48-12 rout of district foe West Port High, West Orange (6-1) moves to 2-0 in district play and has the chance to clinch the title in its Week 10 game against its nearby rivals, Ocoee High (5-2) Oct. 24.
However, a Knights' win would create a three-way tie with Apopka High (3-3) for the championship and the district crown, and the playoff spot that comes with it, would be determined by the FHSAA rankings.
Currently, West Orange is the highest-ranked of the three, slotting in at No. 8 in Class 7A, while Ocoee is at No. 19 and Apopka at No. 20.
No. 2: Windermere is on the path to its first undefeated season
After rolling over Oak Ridge High in a 52-6 rout, the Wolverines have put together enough dominant showings this season that its path to an undefeated season appears as wide open as ever.
These are the three remaining games on Windermere's docket: Home vs. Lake Howell High (1-6) in Week Nine, on the road at Innovation High (4-3) in Week 10, and its rivalry game — the Battle of the Groves — at Horizon High (0-7) to finish the season.
With both the Silver Hawks and the Horizon Hawks having only one win between them, the consensus is that Windermere should easily capture those victories.
As for first-year school, Innovation, the common opponent breakdown also points to another Wolverines win — given Windermere beat Oak Ridge and East River by a combined 87 points, both teams that beat Bulls this season.
No. 3: Foundation's one-possession win signals young team is growing
Twice this season the young Foundation Lions football team has lost by a combined six points on go-ahead touchdowns in the final seconds of those two games, so when they entered the fourth quarter of their Week Eight game against Faith Christian down one point, 8-7, it would have been fair to fear another heartbreaker was on the horizon.
But not this time.
On offense, a go-ahead rushing touchdown from six yards out and two-point conversion by running back Sam Wood made it a 15-8 game, but the job wasn't done yet. The Lions' defense and special teams made big play after big play — including a fourth-down sack to force a turnover on downs, a punt that pinned the Faith Christian offense on its five-yard line with two minutes to go, and a game-sealing fourth-down sack with one minute left that brought home the victory for the Lions.
Being able to hold on to this lead and make plays to hold off the Faith Christian offense shows the growth of this talented young roster.
No. 4: CFCA coach Kevin Blackman has program back on track in Year Two
After a winless season to begin his tenure as the Central Florida Christian Academy football coach in 2023, Kevin Blackman has begun to build up the program and the Eagles' third win of the season shows he's on the right track.
Despite the small number of players on his roster, Blackman preaches versatility by employing his athletes at various different positions on both sides of the ball. Combine that mindset with an influx of talent from a few key transfers and CFCA could ride this momentum to a winning record by the end of the 2024 season.
No. 5: Week Nine is chock full of great matchups in the area
Since the schedules were released in the preseason, Week Nine was probably the first circled by the area's high school football fans, as a handful of matchups jumped off the page.
As the 2024 season has progressed some of these matchups have gotten even juicier.
First, is the matchup between two Central Florida high school football blue bloods; the Dr. Phillips Panthers will put its undefeated 6-0 record on the line against the 5-2 Edgewater High Eagles.
Next, two 6-1 powers — the Royals of The First Academy and Seminole High — will clash in the TFA homecoming game. Expect to see a plethora of college football-level talent at almost every position group on both sidelines.
Beyond the two headliners, Ocoee High (5-2) traveling to Winter Park (3-3) should be another quality game, while two other area teams will duel it out on homecoming night in Winter Garden, as the Titans of Olympia (3-4) will head to Raymond Screws Field to play the West Orange Warriors.
