FSN #52 10/12/17 - 10/26/17

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Volume 2 • Issue 52

Oct 12 - Oct 26 2017

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Crunch Time!

Photos by Bob Gall

Featuring: Apopka, Olympia, Bishop Moore, Windermere Prep and much more!

Page 2 Florida Sporting News • 10/12/17 - 10/26/17

Meet The Athlete: Marco Ribeiro WEST ORANGE – For Marco Ribeiro, soccer was always his favorite sport and hobby.

Growing up in Los Angeles, Marco played youth soccer for AYSO in his younger years, and eventually began playing for Real SoCal, one of the most successful and prominent clubs in California to this day.

by Greyson Everidge

Marco also attends West Orange High School and plays Varsity soccer. In addition to his athletics, his academics are highly impressive.

Marco has over a 4.9 weighted GPA and a 4.0 unweighted. He was also awarded the College Board AP Scholar Award with Distinction for his efforts on national Advanced Placement tests.

“I love playing soccer and it’s something I do almost every day.” said Marco.

In the beginning of fourth grade, Marco and his family moved from Los Angeles, California to Orlando, Florida. For the last eight years now, Marco has continued to play soccer here in Central Florida.

When he first moved, he began playing soccer for Rush soccer club in Winter Gar-

den. After a few years, he had eventually worked his way up to Orlando City’s youth team. He also played a stint at the Development Academy with Orlando City – the highest level of youth soccer in the United States.

Currently, Marco plays club soccer for ACYS Spirit United, a talented team which won last year’s State Cup and Florida Cup.

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“Academics have always been really important to me and I make sure I study hard so that I can maintain the best grades possible.” said Marco.

All of this combined and other allocates have earned him much college interest.

Marco has decided to continue playing soccer in college, and although he hasn’t decided where he will spend his next four years quite yet, his future no doubt looks bright.

10/12/17 - 10/26/17 • Florida Sporting News

Soccer Preview: West Orange Warriors Look To Takeoff In Strong Senior Season WINTER GARDEN – In years past, the soccer team at West Orange High School has been one of the teams to watch in not only the Central Florida area, but the state.

In the last five years, the Warriors have made it to state championships, losing out on penalty kicks.

by Greyson Everidge

better than ever. There is an unprecedented amount of returners, with a majority of them being seniors.

These names include Felipe Cardona, Affonso Temporal, Marco Ribeiro, Kaden Bauer, Alex Aguilar and a number of others. Also returning are a few junior players who were already starting last year. These players include Zach Stewart, Edgar Gonzalez, and Elias Tazi. Sophomores Noah Lewis and Juan Serrano also are set to make an impact for the Warriors.

Head Coach Scott Fisher has been at the head of the soccer program at West Orange for over a decade, where he has seen ups and downs throughout his time at the school.

This year, the Warriors look set to be able to take it all.

At the end of last season, West Orange ended up losing to Seminole in the Regional Semifinals by a score of 3-2. It was a disappointing end to an otherwise great season which saw the Warriors win the district championship, beating rivals Olympia by a score of 4-1. The Warriors lost against Seminole in an extremely tight game, which saw dodgy calls by the referees, which ultimately led

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to West Orange’s Captain, Parker Holland, being sent off in the last ten minutes. Seminole would ultimately go on to score in those final ten minutes against a 10-men West Orange who were overrun.

However this year, West Orange are back and

Coaches among other high schools in the area believe that Seminole will be the team to beat, but the Warriors look just as good if not better and are eager for revenge this season.

In their first game of the new season, the Warriors will play Lake Minneola away at 7 p.m. on November 13.

Page 4 Florida Sporting News • 10/12/17 - 10/26/17

Panthers Fall to the Blue Darters at Home

Orlando- Dr. Philips starts the season off right

with a promising (4-0) record giving hope to all

by Logan Beardslee

of the team and fans that they will be a dominate force this season. After 2 blowout games against Mainland and Oak ridge the Panthers were on top of their game going into their previous games but came up short and got a quick and painful reality check and saw their first loss of the season. Unsure of how this happened the Panthers went to practice next week to fix their mistakes and hopefully get back to their performance level at the beginning of the season. With a challenging opponent coming up the Apopka Blue Darts the Panthers had to train hard to get his win.

After a week of preparing Dr. Philips was ready to face the (6-1) Darters. The first half of the game the Panthers were not out playing the Blue Darters and fell behind (14-0) in the first half. At the start of the third quarter Dr. Philips looking to be getting back on their feet by making a 55 yard passing touchdown and bring the game to a touchdown margin. But Apopka had a quick answer and were able to score yet another touchdown and make it (21-7). With 8 minutes left in the game the Panthers were not giving up and fought for another touchdown to make the game closer. Despite their efforts to beat the Blue Darters they were unable to and lost the game making them (42).

After losing their second game in a row the Panthers plan to make major improvements to hopefully see a victory against Freedom High School (1-6) at Freedom Oct. 13 at 7:00pm and start up another winning streak that will carry throughout the season and allow the Panthers to gain their confidence back.

10/12/17 - 10/26/17 • Florida Sporting News

Royals Stay Red Hot

ORLANDO- The First Academy has proven to many teams in the 3A Region 2 Football Standings to be the team to beat this season. With a record of (1-0) in their district, and a (4-0) altogether, the Royals were set to play their second district game against Four Corners Football from Davenport, FL.

emy, had a terrible start to their season with a loss. They are going into the game with a record of (0-1), compared to the Royals at (4-0).

In their last few games, the Royals managed to pull out two wins which ended quite close. One of which, was played on September 8th, against the Orlando Christian Prep Warriors, which went to 2OT, and was decided by a touchdown. In their other game on September 22nd, against the Calvary Christian Warriors, the Royals managed to secure a two point lead to win the game.

“Four Corners is a first year program. We weren’t sure how good they were, but we came out strong and dominated the game,” stated Coach Leroy Kinard.

Four Corners Charter, unlike The First Acad-

Today is October 6th, and the Royals are playing away versus the struggling Four Corners Charter.

The First Academy was able to easily win this game 49-0. With the Royals being able to run the ball confidently, Rolous Frazier III was able to score two touchdowns, as well as Nathan Edwards and Owen Pifer, who were able to find the end zone, in order to add touchdowns to their

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by Mark Korotetskiy

names. With their passing just as effective, Alex Eleyssami threw two touchdown passes, one of which went to Parker Mara, who also had a rushing touchdown earlier in the game. Michael Shanahan also received the other touchdown reception. On defense, Nathan Edwards was also able to bring in an interception which ensured the win for the Royals.

With a team who didn’t pose such a threat, the Royals look forward to their next opponent and continuing their winning season.

Their next game will be a rivalry game against Trinity Prep on October 13th. The winner from this matchup will get a lot of points towards a playoff run.

SERVING ALL OF HURRICANE IRMA RELIEF FAMILIES FOR THE LOCAL ORLANDO AREA

Page 6 Florida Sporting News • 10/12/17 - 10/26/17

Olympia Adds a Win on the road

Orlando- The Olympia Titans have seen many ups and downs this seasons so far, starting the season with a 2 game win streak and then losing their grip their head coach Kyle Hayes had to get the team back on their feet. Going into the match up against Cypress Creek the Titans were (3-3) and wanted to secure a win for not only their team and record but for their fans as well. Coming into this game hopefully after losing to Winter Park (21-7) both offense and defense needed to see some improvement. Watching the titans dominate over Cypress Creek it was easy to tell that

Coach Hayes worked his team hard to prepare them for this. The defense saw much improvement by only giving up 96 yards resulting in 2 touchdowns and an extra point. While the defense was looking good the offense was doing their part by putting up an impressive 42 points to show everyone that they still have it and that they can still turn this into a successful season. With both parts of the team working at their hardest and performing well it lead to a well-deserved and wanted victory.

Some key components to the Titans win were being able to contain the

by Logan Beardslee

Bears to only 21 overall passing yards and 19 receiving yards. The Titans looked very good with stopping passing plays but had a weak spot with the run game.

The Beards were able to run 75 total yards which allowed them to score 2 touchdowns but it wasn’t enough to stop the offense of the titans.

The titans were able to find themselves and become (4-3), but will the coaching staff and players be able to show themselves like that again against their rivals Dr. Philips who are current (4-2) on Oct. 20th and be able to go (5-3) and start another win streak this season.

10/12/17 - 10/26/17 • Florida Sporting News

Windermere Prep Continue Unbeaten Streak

WINDERMERE – The Windermere Prep Lakers have continued to dominate this 2017 season, as they remain undefeated with no real end in sight. Led by Head Coach Jacob Doss, the Lakers are currently (6-0) overall, with a (4-0) record in their district. Now more than halfway through the regular season, the Lakers look to keep their undefeated run going as they look to win the district championship this year – hopefully making a run deep into the playoffs.

In their last match, Windermere played Clear-

water Academy, winning by a score of 52-22.

“Clearwater Academy has athletes all over the place with size and speed. They are extremely physical upfront.” said Coach Doss. “I am very pleased with our boys who prepared and executed in the game.”

For Windermere, there were a few standouts who are worthy of notable mentions. Rahsaan Lewis had nine touches on the ball, and also scored three touchdowns in addition to racking up 172 yards and an interception. Blake Stillwell also stood out, gaining 48 yards

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by Greyson Everidge

while also recording both an interception and a touchdown. Ismael Cortes rushed for 89 yards, including three rushing touchdowns for the Lakers.

According to Doss, the whole team performed well.

“We pride ourselves in playing three phases of the game with everything we’ve got: offense, defense and special teams. This game I was very proud of our punt return team and kickoff team.” said Doss.

Not to be outdone are the defensive players on the team.

“Our defense only gave up two touchdowns, so they have played exceptionally well this season.”

said Doss.

The Lakers next game will be played against Santa Fe Catholic. Hoping to continue their winning ways, the Lakers look set to get another win.

“We are looking to build off our mistakes and continue to play great defense, explosive offense and game changing special teams.” said Doss.

With quality players, great coaching and a strong work ethic, the Lakers are no doubt a team everyone will want to keep their eyes on.

Page 8 Florida Sporting News • 10/12/17 - 10/26/17

Blue Darters hold of Dr. Phillips

APOPKA- Playing their second game in four days, due to Hurricane Irma, the Apopka Blue Darters, (6-1), matched up against Dr. Phillips, (4-1). This was without a doubt a matchup you

would not wanted to have missed. Both teams are powerhouses in the 8A Division, and despise losing.

by Mark Korotetskiy

A few days earlier, Apopka traveled to Jacksonville, FL., where they played against Jacksonville Mandarin. This game ended in dramatic fashion, due to the angry Mandarin players. Apopka won the game 55-12, as the game was called by the officials, when a fight broke out between two players with five minutes remaining, improving their record to (6-1).

On the other hand, No. 1 ranked Dr. Philips played an away game at Wekiva. Unlike many expected, Wekiva was able to stop their offense, and was able to shut them out, 14-0. Dropping Dr. Phillips’ record down to (4-1).

On October 9th, the Apopka Blue Darters faced the Dr. Phillips Panthers at home.

The Blue Darters got off to a quick start as they were able to score two touchdowns in the first quarter, taking a 14-0 lead. Dr. Phillips was able to respond and score a touchdown in the third and fourth quarter. But that was not enough to beat the Blue Darters, as they lost 21-14. The Blue Darters record went up to (7-1), while the Panthers suffered a second straight loss, dropping their record to (4-2).

As for the Blue Darters, Coach Rick Darlington stated,” the overall defense and the offensive line, were by far the strongest on the field.”

With two starting backs out, the Blue Darters had a JV back rush for 140 yards, and another rush for 100.

This is the third consecutive year that the Blue Darters have beaten the Panthers, but in previous years the point differential was only three points. The last game was decided by seven.

In their next game, the Apopka Blue Darters will play a home game on October 13th versus the West Orange Warriors.

10/12/17 - 10/26/17 • Florida Sporting News

Hornets Bounce Back to Winning Fashion BISHOP MOORE- The Bishop Moore Hornets are a very talented team, and are proud to have a record of (6-1). Suffering a loss last week to Jones, which may very likely be their toughest opponent yet, the Hornets wanted to prove to Melbourne Central Catholic that they are still the better team.

The Melbourne Central Catholic Hustlers, with a record of (4-1), had home field advantage, in which they wanted to please their fans by bringing home the win.

On October 6th, the Bishop Moore Hornets drove to Melbourne, where they were set to face a Melbourne Central Catholic team that has won their last four games.

Although the Hornets, struggled on defense and offense versus Jones, only being able to

score seven points, and allowing thirty seven points against, the Hornets were able to put points on the board against the Hustlers. Key throws made by Quarterback Keanu Kong and timely receptions by Dylan Brazil and Charlie Votey, allowed the Hornets to score some points.

According to Coach Matt Hedrick, “The team played hard and performed pretty well.

Our offensive line was tough and physical.”

Some top performers include Trilion Coles, Zac Suarez, and Evan Anderson. These few stood out from the rest, as Trilion Coles was able to score two touchdowns on runs from 50 and 22 yards. Zac Suarez got the rushing game going for the Hornets, as he achieved 90 yards rushing. And last but not least,

by Mark Korotetskiy

Evan Anderson, who played a crucial role in their win, led the defense with double digit tackles and had two interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown.

The Hornets went on to win 35-24, to improve their record to an impressive (7-1). On the other hand, the Melbourne Central Catholic Hustlers record unfortunately dropped to (4-2).

“We are looking forward to a good game next week. We need to continue as a team and gain momentum as we finish the regular season and hope to make a playoff run,” continued Matt Hedrick.

In their next game, the Hornets play away against Tavares High School on October 13th.

Ocoee Needing to Find Luck this Week to get the Victory Ocoee- with a struggling start to the season for the Ocoee Knights they haven’t seen much success. With a record of (1-6) they have not been preforming up to the standards of their opponents. Seeing some devastating losses this season Ocoee set off to play Edgewater after their first win in the season against West Port. The Knights came into the game Against Edgewater after a win hoping to stretch the win over to that game but ended up falling the Edgewater Eagles on Oct. 9th. Head Coach Jason Boltus has been unable to get a grip on his team to turn the season around and we witnessed this after their (44-29) loss.

While the offense was able to put up points and keep the team barely in the game the defense fell short and allowed 44 point to be scored overall.

Jason Boltus and the Knights plan to make a significate amount of changes over the next few weeks to try and bring some light into their season and so the other teams that they pose a threat to their records. With most of the Knights losses being a low scoring game for them the game against the Eagles had some promising looks. The offense was unable to produce more than 21 points all season

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by Logan Beardslee

leaking the ability to convert on key drives and plays. Even though they lost to the Eagles they were able to score the most points they have this season showing a sign for better things to come in the future for the team.

With their next game coming up against Lake Howell who are currently (2-4) on Oct. 13th at 7:00pm maybe coach Boltus and his team will be able to turn things around and not only score higher but also be able to stop the other team’s offensive plays and secure their second win of the season.

Wahlburgers Waterford Lakes 407.545.6434 749 N. Alafaya Trail Orlando, FL 32828

Page 10 Florida Sporting News • 10/12/17 - 10/26/17

Highlanders Suffer First Defeat

LAKE HIGHLAND- The Lake Highland Prep Highlanders, coming off a 35-28 win versus Providence School, put them at a record of (40), which is just what they wanted in order to keep their undefeated season alive. With their next opponent being Frostproof, Lake Highland Prep wanted to make sure to grab a win in order to ensure the undefeated season continues.

The Frostproof Bulldogs are a strong side, with a record of (3-2), who outscored their opponents by almost twenty points in each of their wins.

Although they suffered two losses, the Bulldogs are not a team to play around with, as they could easily turn mistakes into points.

Today is October 6th, and the Highlanders are set to face the Frostproof Bulldogs in Frost-

proof.

Although the Bulldogs have home field advantage, the Highlanders were able to take a 7-6 lead at the end of the first quarter. With the Bulldogs struggling throughout the second and third quarter, the Highlanders were able to add two more touchdown to the board, going up 21-6.

“We played well, but key mistakes in the 4th quarter allowed Frostpoof to come back. We need to take care of the ball better this week,” explained Coach Ben Bullock.

The Highlanders unfortunately gave up possession of the ball a few times, allowing the Bulldogs to pounce on those mistakes, and put points on the board. The Bulldogs managed to come back and win 22-21 late in the game, as

by Mark Korotetskiy

sixteen unanswered points were scored in the 4th. This caused the Highlanders to have their first loss of the season, and the end of the hope for an undefeated season.

The Highlanders are very unfortunate, as their record stands at (4-1) because of that dreaded loss, but are able to keep their heads up and focus on the next game. Frostproof’s record on the other hand jumped to (4-2), as they were ecstatic from this victory.

The Lake Highland Prep Highlanders will face Astronaut on October 13th, as they hope to bounce back from the loss. This game will be played at home, somewhere the Highlanders haven’t played in about a month.

10/12/17 - 10/26/17 • Florida Sporting News

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