It was a wild couple of days of football during Week 11 as the Orlando-area high school regular season nears its end.
TFA shocked Lakeland on the road. Unbeaten Edgewater ruined Boone’s undefeated season. Lake Mary ruined Bishop Moore’s undefeated season, and Windermere won its 20th straight game.
Cypress Creek nearly ended its losing streak, but the Bears lost again, falling short for the 31st straight game, 8-2 against Freedom. The skid stretches back to the 2022 season.
Central Florida Christian saw its undefeated season end at 10-1 with a 49-13 loss to Monticello Aucilla Christian in the Sunshine State Athletic Association playoffs. Umatilla saw its record stretched to 11-0 with an SSAA playoff win over Lake Weir 26-12.
TFA 35, Lakeland 28 (2 OTs) — If the season ende…
It was a wild couple of days of football during Week 11 as the Orlando-area high school regular season nears its end.
TFA shocked Lakeland on the road. Unbeaten Edgewater ruined Boone’s undefeated season. Lake Mary ruined Bishop Moore’s undefeated season, and Windermere won its 20th straight game.
Cypress Creek nearly ended its losing streak, but the Bears lost again, falling short for the 31st straight game, 8-2 against Freedom. The skid stretches back to the 2022 season.
Central Florida Christian saw its undefeated season end at 10-1 with a 49-13 loss to Monticello Aucilla Christian in the Sunshine State Athletic Association playoffs. Umatilla saw its record stretched to 11-0 with an SSAA playoff win over Lake Weir 26-12.
TFA 35, Lakeland 28 (2 OTs) — If the season ended Friday for the TFA players, who have filed paperwork seeking an injunction against the FHSAA to be reinstated for the upcoming postseason, then it was a fabulous way to cap a crazy, two-year whirlwind of events for the Royals.
TFA (5-5) rallied, behind eighth-grade quarterback Anthony Woods Jr. and a staunch second-half defensive effort to stun Lakeland (8-2) on the road 35-28 in two overtimes.
Woods engineered a late scoring drive that went 84 yards in just over three minutes, capped by an end-around pass from Brian Dillard to Brian Williams Jr. to tie the game at 21 and send it to overtime. TFA, which managed just 62 yards of offense in the first half, rolled up 200 yards in the second.
The First Academy head coach Jeff Conaway reacts after getting an ice-water bath from his players following a 35-28, double-overtime victory at Lakeland on Friday night. (Chris Hays/Orlando Sentinel)
In the two overtimes, TFA tied the game again on a Woods to Alex Willis pass and a defensive lineman entered into the game on offense, with a touchdown pass from the 10. The Royals scored the game-winner when Woods hit Dillard for a touchdown. On Lakeland’s final possession, the TFA defense rose up again with four straight stops inside the 10-yard line.
Led by the front line of Willis, Srlando Whiley, CJ McCoy, Blaze Jones and Jacob Duffy, the defense had an impressive turnaround after giving up 21 points and 202 yards in the first half, allowing just 64 yards in the second.
“Unbelievable has been the story, the word of our last two seasons,” said TFA head coach Jeff Conaway, whose team finished 9-1 a year ago only to have to forfeit the nine victories. “Our team has been through so much. It’s been a rollercoaster.”
Conaway got an ice-water bath from his players after the victory.
“When you go through the ups and downs of the two seasons like we have, sometimes you come into games defeated, sometimes you come into games exhausted and sometimes things don’t go your way,” Conaway said. “But what I was proud of was the way our team showed a lot fight and a lot of resilience.”
Now TFA awaits word of the possible injunction. The FHSAA will announce the playoff brackets on Thursday at noon, so the clock is ticking on a decision.
No. 1 Edgewater 28, No. 4 Boone 7 — It was quite a way for first-year Edgewater coach Patrick Browning to cap his first regular season, as the Eagles (10-0) completed their second undefeated regular season in the past three years.
“This is historic,” Browning said of the 74th rendition of the Battle for the Barrel rivalry. “You can’t put words to how much this rival remains to each community. Anytime you can go undefeated in the regular season it’s rare, and I’m extremely proud of how these guys, since the spring, have taken on the challenge of really getting better each week.”
Edgewater got three short touchdown runs by quarterback Carter Emanuel and running backs Damian Moore and Alexandre Delinois Jr., and Emanuel hit Saphir Miller with a 40-yard touchdown pass.
No. 2 Jones 27, Ocoee 0 — Running back Daunte Wallace rushed for two touchdowns, finishing the regular season with 14 for Jones (8-2). Freshman Cameron Tooley, in his first action of his high school career after nursing an injury all season, caught a 19-yard TD pass from quarterback Dereon Coleman.
**No. 11 Lake Mary 42, No. 3 Bishop Moore 22 —**The Rams (7-3) scored on their first four drives, led by the running back tandem of O’Shea Faison and Gavin Isaacs. The duo rushed for a combined 146 yard and Isaacs scored two touchdowns as Lake Mary knocked off the No. 3 Hornets (9-1) on the road.
Quarterback Noah Grubbs tossed two touchdown passes, one to Faison and the other to Donovan Little. D’Marion Simmons had and interception and Jahvon Robinson had a 95-yard kickoff return for Lake Mary.
No. 5 DeLand 55, Lake Gibson 7 — DeLand (9-0) remained unbeaten and faces Spruce Creek (8-1) for the Class 7A, District 1 title on Tuesday. That game will be a resumption of a previously postponed game, in which DeLand was leading 14-0 with 8:07 left in the first quarter when play was stopped.
**No. 8 West Orange 28, No. 7 Dr. Phillips 19 — **West Orange (9-1) won the Battle for the Ole Orange Crate. Sophomore quarterback AJ Chung threw for 245 yards and 3 touchdowns on 14-of-22 passing, and he now holds the school season record for TD passes with 36.
No. 16 St. Cloud 55, Lake Minneola 6 — The Bulldogs (8-2) rolled into the postseason as sophomore Jeremiah Lattier set a school record for passing yards in a season with 2,721. Lattier threw three touchdown passes, two to Bryce Williams. Williams also snagged his ninth interception of the season, tied for second in the state.
No. 16 South Lake 55, Leesburg 6 — Tre Kelly threw five touchdown passes on 19-of-21 passing for 309 yards. Malik Holman ran 10 times for 138 yards and two touchdowns. Keydrick Powell had six catches 113 yards and two touchdowns.
Tavares 77, East Ridge 35 — Tamauri Collins scored five rushing touchdowns, Camare Williams had three and Ari Bentley scored twice.
Senior offensive lineman Chancellor Barclay, who is headed to Clemson next year, celebrates a second-half touchdown for the Royals during their upset of Lakeland on Friday. (Chris Hays/Orlando Sentinel)
Thursday and Friday results
Super 16 scores
No. 1 Edgewater 28, No. 4 Boone 7
No. 2 Jones 27, Ocoee 0
No. 10 Lake Mary 42, No. 3 Bishop Moore 22
No. 5 DeLand 54, Lake Gibson 7
No. 6 TFA 35, Lakeland 28 (2 OTs)
No. 8 West Orange 28, No. 7 Dr. Phillips 19
No. 9 Oviedo 63, Eustis 6
St. Petersburg Lakewood 28, No. 11 Osceola 18
Sarasota Booker 21, No. 12 Seminole 9
No. 13 Evans 71, Oak Ridge 0
No. 14 Winter Park 43, Olympia 0
No. 15 South Lake 51, Leesburg 13
No. 16 St. Cloud 55, Lake Minneola 6
Elsewhere
Winter Springs 31, Lake Howell 28
Windermere 48, Horizon 15
Apopka 35, Wekiva 0
Lake Nona 38, Innovation 0
Gateway 33, Celebration 15
Freedom 8, Cypress Creek 2
Deltona 28, Orange City University 14
East River 38, Orlando University 10
Sebring 33, Lake Brantley 21
Lake Buena Vista 42, Liberty 20
Timber Creek 24, Poinciana 6
Tohopekaliga 30, Avon Park 28
Tavares 77, East Ridge 35
Hagerty 49, Lyman 0
Harmony 37, Colonial 27
New Smyrna Beach 15, Orlando Christian Prep 12
Villages Charter 49, Mount Dora 0
Sunshine State Athletic Association Playoffs
Aucilla Christian 49, Central Florida Christian Academy 13
Foundation Academy 28, St. Joseph 14
Lake Highland Prep 35, Old Plank 14
Mount Dora Christian 36, Eagle’s View 0
Umatilla 26, Lake Weir 12
Windermere Prep 41, Faith Christian 8
Halifax Academy 43, Master’s Academy 10
Geneva School 30, Harvest Community 12
Orangewood Christian 34, Duval Charter 27
Oak Hall 28, Trinity Prep 7
St. Edwards 42, Cornerstone Charter 21
Chris Hays can be found on X.com @OS_ChrisHays.