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Volume 2 • Issue 53
Oct 27 - Nov 8 2017
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Lake Highland on Fire!
Cross Country Wins!
Photos by Bob Gall
Featuring: Windermere Prep, Foundation, Dr Phillips and much more!
Page 2 Florida Sporting News • 10/27/17 - 11/8/17
Winter Park Remain Unbeaten
by Kaden Bauer
WINTER PARK – The Winter Park Wildcats (9-0) are looking like serious competition for the state title. The Wildcats have outscored opponent 300-51 thus far into the season and have not lost a single game. This includes their 4-0 record in a tough district which includes the likes of Boone (7-2) and Timber creek (4-4). Head coach Timothy Shifflet says that winning the district has been the highlight of the season for his team so far, but there’s no doubt that he is looking for a state championship. Winter Park’s last game was a 27-7 win over Boone that secured their dominance in their district. Senior quarterback Cameron Legree threw for 212 yards and 4 touchdowns which add to his 1197 yards and 19 touchdowns for his senior season. Not to mention his 341 rushing yards and 5 rushing touchdowns that he picked up along the way. 3 of the 4 touchdowns from that night were scored by Seniors Brian Gomez and Cameron Brown who remain the Wildcats most dangerous wide receiver pair. Gomez has 32 receptions for 428 yards and 8 touchdowns for the season while Brown has pulled in 20 receptions for 360 yards and 4 touchdowns. While the Winter Parks running game was quite against Boone, only 73 yards, the Wildcats have a very dangerous running back in junior Tyrone Davis who has 121 rushes for 887 yards and 7 touchdowns this season. Coach Shifflet believes that some of the
keys to his team’s game as they progress through the playoffs will be to “continue being consistent” and “getting off the field defensively”. The later of these two should be no problems for the Wildcats with their current defensive players. The Wildcats hold 3 defensive players on the All FACA Team (Junior JJ Valle-Smith, Senior Cullen Honohan, and Senior Michael Lopez), 2 of which have been an Orlando TD Club Defensive Player of the Week (JJ Valle-Smith
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in week 9 and Cullen Honohan in week 3). Winter Park’s next, and final, regular season game will be against a tough Lake Mary Rams (7-2) side that will make the Wildcats fight for an undefeated regular season. After that, Coach Shifflet and his team will make a run for the state championship.
10/27/17 - 11/8/17 • Florida Sporting News
Oak Ridge Football Holding Steady ORLANDO – The Oak Ridge High School Football team is holding steady, as they currently sit with a record of (4-5) making them nearly even on the season thus far. In their district, they are even with their record, sitting (2-2) after their fourth district match. The Pioneers last win came against University High School on October 17. Oak Ridge won the match by a score of 36-21, which at the time progressed them into positive district record of (2-1). Although they have since lost that record after losing to Olympia last week on October 27 by a score of 48-13, Oak Ridge looks like a very solid team, with good coaching, good players and a strong work ethic. Some of the standouts this season for Oak Ridge have included wide receiver Marcus Taylor, who
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by Greyson Everidge ceptions with one game left in the regular season. Corner back Sam Joseph has six interceptions this season, adding to a strong defensive side for the Pioneers. With one game left in the regular season, Head Coach Clint Johnson feels that the most important thing is to keep their eye on the game, even though he is extremely proud of his team’s strength and resilience. “Focus, do your job!” said Coach Johnson simply.
has recorded 18 touchdowns for the Pioneers so far this season. In addition to Taylor is quarterback Malik Davis, who has thrown for over 1500 yards, with 20 touchdowns and only three inter-
The next game for Oak Ridge, and their last of the regular season will come against Apopka, who have had some mishaps in the last few weeks. Should the Pioneers be able to take advantage of a shaken Blue Darters team it will be perhaps their best win of the season to date.
Page 4 Florida Sporting News • 10/27/17 - 11/8/17
Dr. Phillips Beats Rival Olympia
by Mark Korotetskiy DR. PHILLIPS- Dr. Phillips, after suffering two tough losses to Wekiva and Apopka, bounced back and won their game against Freedom, 35-8. This win put the Panthers at a decent record of (5-2), and raised their confidence as they play Olympia the following week. The Olympia Titans are a solid team with a (4-3) record, and look forward into pulling of a huge upset. This match is a district game, which could mean a lot to both teams in their pursuit for a playoff run. Olympia coming off a huge 42-13 win against Cypress Creek, also seemed ready for the big rival matchup. The Dr. Phillips Panthers were set to play a home game versus the Olympia Titans on October 20th, hoping for their 6th win on the season. In the early stages of the game, the Panthers were able to secure a 14 point lead at the end of the first quarter. The first touchdown was scored by Davarius Bargnare, a few plays after a forced fumble on Olympia’s own nine yard line. The next one, was a run by Devodney Alford, who had much success with his run game versus the Titans. The second quarter wasn’t filled with much action, as both teams were able to score field goals. With the score at 17-3, both teams went into halftime with different mentalities. After halftime, the Titans seemed like they were still in the game as they were able to put up a touchdown, closing the gap between the two teams. Before you knew it, the Panthers fired back and changed the momentum, scoring two touchdowns, putting them up 31-10. The fourth quarter ended up being scoreless, ending the game at 3110, in favor of the Panthers. This would mean the Panthers record moves up to (6-2), and the Titans drop to (4-4). Quarterback BeSean McCray also had an outstanding game. With his 144 yards of passing and 53 yards of rushing, allowed Dr. Phillips to win their tenth consecutive District Championship. According to Coach Rodney Wells, “We need to remain injury free, and continue to block, tackle and secure the ball in order to progress through to the playoffs.” In their next game, the Panthers would easily dominate Cypress Creek, defeating them 37-7. This would put their record at (7-2) and would ensure them a spot in the playoffs. Doctor Phillips will play their last regular season game at Timber Creek, on October 30th, at 7 P.M.
10/27/17 - 11/8/17 • Florida Sporting News
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13th Annual Golfing For Autism Charity Tournament The 13th annual Golfing Fore Autism Charity Tournament was held on Saturday, October 21st at the Orange Lakes Legends Golf Course. This is the biggest and most important fundraiser of the year for the Autism Gym located here in Orlando. ! This charity golf tournament keeps the gym running and offers its members free admissions. It also allows the charity to have great events like the prom, BBQ, Holiday party, family bowling nights, airhead’s events and much more!
With over 20 foursomes in the event, the Disney Transportation team of Ryan McCowan, Jay Elliott, Jimmy Feely and Mike Attardi took the top prize for the event. This team defended their 2016 tournament win with a 16 under par score. The event hosted many Disney cast members and other friends of the Autism Gym. The golf course was in perfect shape and all the golfers were treated with free food, drink and cigars from the volunteer group. Arial footage with his drone was provided by Ryan Jones.
The NFL has an exciting week 7 Seattle quarterback RUSSELL WILSON passed for a franchise-record 452 yards with four touchdowns and one interception in the Seahawks’ 41-38 win over Houston. Wilson, in his sixth season, has seven career games with at least four touchdown passes and one or fewer interceptions. Only Pro Football Hall of Famers DAN MARINO (10) and BRETT FAVRE (nine) have more such games in a player’s first six seasons. Houston rookie quarterback DESHAUN WATSON passed for 402 yards and four touchdowns against Seattle. Watson has thrown at least three touchdown passes in four consecutive games and is the first rookie in NFL history to accomplish the feat. Watson has 16 touchdown passes in his past four games, the most in league annals by a rookie in any four-game span. This season, Watson has 19 passing touchdowns, the most ever by a rookie in his first seven games of a season. Watson has also passed Pro Football Hall of Famer KURT WARNER (18 from 1998-1999) for the most passing touchdowns by a player in his first seven career games.
New Orleans quarterback DREW BREES completed 23 of 28 passes (82.1 percent) for 299 yards in the Saints’ 20-12 win over Chicago. Brees has 6,011 career completions and joined Pro Football Hall of Famer BRETT FAVRE (6,300) and PEYTON MANNING (6,125) as the only players in NFL history with at least 6,000 completions. Brees reached the milestone in his 240th career game and is the fastest in NFL history to accomplish the feat (Manning, 259 games and Favre, 286). New England quarterback TOM BRADY passed for 333 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions in the Patriots’ 21-13 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. Brady, who has played his entire career with the Patriots, has 44 games with at least 300 passing yards and no interceptions. That is tied with DREW BREES (44 with New Orleans) for the most such games with a single team in NFL history. Philadelphia quarterback CARSON WENTZ threw two touchdown passes in the Eagles’ 3310 win over San Francisco. Wentz has thrown
by Mike Attardi
19 touchdown passes this season, the most by a quarterback in franchise history through the team’s first eight games. The previous mark of 17 touchdown passes was shared by Pro Football Hall of Famer NORM VAN BROCKLIN (1960) and NORM SNEAD (1967). Buffalo running back LE SEAN MC COY rushed for 151 yards and a touchdown in the Bills’ 34-14 win over Oakland. Over the past five seasons, McCoy has eight games with at least 150 rushing yards, the most in the NFL during that span. Dallas running back EZEKIEL ELLIOTT rushed for 150 yards and two touchdowns in the Cowboys’ 33-19 win at Washington. Elliott, who played in his 22nd career game, has 21 rushing touchdowns and tied Pro Football Hall of Famer BARRY SANDERS and BILLY SIMS for the third-fastest to reach 20 career rushing touchdowns since the 1970 merger. Only Hall of Famers EARL CAMPBELL and ERIC DICKERSON (20 games) reached 20 career rushing touchdowns in fewer games since the merger.
SERVING ALL OF HURRICANE IRMA RELIEF FAMILIES FOR THE LOCAL ORLANDO AREA
Page 6 Florida Sporting News • 10/27/17 - 11/8/17
Foundation Academy Football Look For A Playoff Spot
by Greyson Everidge
tackles on the season, with 9.5 tackles for loss, and 6.5 sacks. Safety Luke Birk has 41 tackles and 6 interceptions so far, which places him at second place in the state in the 2A division. Defensive line player Warren Sapp II has 11 sacks with 12 tackles for loss, which makes him the state leader in sacks with 11 in the 2A division.
WINTER GARDEN – The Foundation Academy Lions Football team are looking solid as of late, sitting (6-3) on the season after eight games. During the past week, the Lions played in three games, winning all three that were scheduled in a very short period of time. It is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the team to win games back to back to back despite being tired and fatigued multiple days in a row. In their past two games, the Lions have won by scores of 35-7 and 22-21 against Bishop McLaughlin Catholic and Poinciana respectively.
In the game against Bishop McLaughlin, the Lions played well and it showed. Winning by a gap of over 20 points, the Lions displayed what they have done for a majority of the season – a strong defensive outing followed up an explosive offense to help secure in the win. In a tight game this past week against Poinciana, the Lions received for a total of 183 yards and rushed for a total of 171 to narrowly hold on to a win against a tough Poinciana Eagles team. Top performers in the game reflected the players who have done well the entire season. Defensive Lineman Eddie Loos has 55
Running back Austin Mathis has recorded 407 yards this season with 5 touchdowns to contribute to the offense. Quarterback Henry Austad has thrown for 680 yards passing and gained 341 yards rushing for six touchdowns. Allaround athlete Lance Axson has 144 yards rushing with 240 yards in receptions, 34 tackles, two sacks, and two picks Tight end Kenny Ames has 242 yards receiving this year. The key to making the playoffs according to Head Coach Brad Lord will be beating Seffner Christian on November 3, which is entirely in reach for the Foundation Academy Lions.
10/27/17 - 11/8/17 • Florida Sporting News
Windermere Prep Football Remain Undefeated
Page 7
by Greyson Everidge
our defense has been our strong point this season.” At the backbone of the Lakers defense which has performed so well this season is Mason Russell, who has 96 total tackles, three forced fumbles and two defensive touchdowns. In addition to Russell is Khadry Jackson, who is a dynamic athlete with three punts blocked, one field goal block and 28 tackles this season. On the other end of the field is the offense, which Windermere Prep has certainly not lacked in. Ismael Cortes has 77 attempts for 758 yards this season, with eight rushing touchdowns and two receiving touchdowns. Quarterback Kai Patterson has thrown for over 900 yards, passing for 16 touchdowns and seven rushing touchdowns. He has only thrown one interception the entire season.
WINDERMERE – The Windermere Prep Lakers have more than exceeded expectations this season, which were already set high after a successful 2016 campaign. The Lakers currently sit (8-0), with an equally perfect district record which set Windermere up for a playoff run in the top seed. With 374 points for and only 83 against, the last two games of the season are looking just as promising as the first
eight before them. “The highlight of our season is the way of defense has been playing. Our kids are taking a lot of pride on that side of the ball.” said Head Coach Jacob Doss. “They enjoy the physical component of defense and are understand our pressure schemes. We have traditionally been known as an ‘offensive’ minded program but
Coach Doss says that the most dynamic athlete the coaching staff has even coached is Rahsaan Lewis, who is the son of the famed Ray Lewis. Rahsaan has six special teams touchdowns, with five of those coming off of punt returns. He also has four offensive touchdowns. With a strong lineup, the Lakers hope to remain undefeated as they approach the end of the season. In their next game, the Lakers play Orlando Christian Prep in their second game of the SSAZC playoffs.
Page 8 Florida Sporting News • 10/27/17 - 11/8/17
Not the Season Windermere High Wanted
WINDERMERE – The Windermere Wolverines did not have the breakthrough season that they were probably hoping for their first varsity football season of the school’s history. The
team is 0-9 with only one game left to play in the season. During the regular season the Wolverines have conceded 368 points while only scoring 7
by Kaden Bauer
themselves. Interestingly enough, four of the team’s seven points were scored from safeties. Freshman Dearkquarious Lewis and sophomore Dylan Palmer each had a safety thus far in the season. Junior Anthony Fiallo contributed the last three of the Wolverines points off of a 35 yard field goal. Most of the team’s yards come from the special teams with kickoff and punt returns. Freshman Stone Rivers leads the pack with 342 yards. He has a total of 286 yards and averages 19.1 yards off of kickoffs and 56 yards for an average of 11.2 off of punts. Offensively Junior Isaiah Jackson seems to be running the show for the Wolverines. He leads the team in rushing yards with 125 rushing yards which is more than double any of his other teammates. These stats are not as bad as they seem considering this is the first season for this football program and they are lacking a senior class. This brings a lack of squad depth, strength, and experience. Once these things are brought into the program the team should greatly improve and head coach Greg Miller and the Windermere Wolverines will have much more successful seasons ahead of them. Speaking of the future, the Wolverines have one remaining game in their season against the Olympia Titans (4-4) which means the Wolverines have one more chance to score their first touchdown or secure their first win in the school’s history. Windermere desperately needs a leader to step up take charge if they want to hit these milestones.
10/27/17 - 11/8/17 • Florida Sporting News
Ocoee Losses Again OCOEE- The Ocoee Knights have had a horrible season, where losing was normal for them, and their fans didn’t expect much. If having a (1-6) record isn’t bad enough, the Knights were also in last place in the 7A District 4 Standings, and were without a doubt not going to the playoffs. The Knights, only winning a single game to West Port, set to play a district game at Lake Howell. The Lake Howell Silver Hawks have been struggling this season as well. Having a (1-2) record in Districts, and a (2-4) record overall, proved that they weren’t playoff worthy as well. On October 13th, Ocoee made its trip to Lake
Howell, to try and steal a District win, to improve their (1-3) record. Unfortunately, Lake Howell had other ideas, winning the game 20-14, in a hard fought battle. This placed Lake Howell’s District record at (22), while dropping Ocoee’s to (1-4). The Knight’s next matchup was also another District game, where they played at home verses Lake Minneola. Lake Minneola, also struggling, had a (2-3) record in the District, and a (2-6) record overall. The Hawks wanted to make their presence known, as they came to Ocoee to battle the Knights.
Lake Nona bounces back versus Liberty LAKE NONA- The Lake Nona Lions are a very strong team, which have won six games in a row. With a loss only coming from Winter Park, the Lake Nona Lions, (6-1), set to face the Boone Braves, (5-2). Two strong sides that both conceded to Winter Park, looked to battle it out to see who the better side was. The game between Lake Nona and Boone, was set to be played on October 24th, at Boone. Boone is one of the top teams in the 8A District 3 Standings, only trailing behind a Winter Park team, who holds a (4-0) record in the District. Boone, however holds a (3-1) record, which gives them a respectable second place. The Lions were ready as they drove to Boone, to get this match on the road. Unfortunately, Boone was able to take this one in a hard fought battle. The Lions were able to put up 21 points, but that was not enough compared to the 38 points from Boone. Boone
won this game 38-21, which improved their record to (6-2), while dropping Lake Nona’s record to (6-2) as well. In their next matchup, the Lake Nona Lions set to face a struggling Liberty side. The Liberty Chargers are (3-6) and are pretty much out of the playoffs at this point. Lake Nona on the other hand, are (6-2) and are ready to comeback from their dreaded loss to Boone. This game was to be played on October 27th, at Liberty. Lake Nona has been scheduled to play 2 games, all within 4 days. This is a pretty difficult task, but that did not stop the Lions from coming out and playing. Lake Nona battled hard and were able to pull out a win. The final score was 28-12, ehich favored the Lions. This allowed their record to go up to (7-2), as
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by Mark Korotetskiy The Lake Minneola Hawks were able to defeat Ocoee, with a score of 47-27, where their offense played outstanding. The Ocoee fans had not been expecting much, as their teams record dropped to (1-8), and (1-5) in their District. The Lake Minneola Hawks record went to (3-6), and (2-4) in the District. Both teams battled hard this season, but neither are looking to make the playoffs. Next year, is the only thing both of these teams have to look forward too. In their last regular season game, the Ocoee Knights play a home game against the West Orange Warriors, on November 3rd, at 7 P.M.
by Mark Korotetskiy well as dropping Liberty’s poor record to (3-7). Lake Nona’s last regular season game is against the Wekiva Mustangs, on November 3rd, which they look forward to winning, to get a good feeling before playoffs.
Page 10 Florida Sporting News • 10/27/17 - 11/8/17
Lake Highland Prep Going Strong
ORLANDO – The Lake Highland Prep Highlanders (6-2) are taking this season by storm. The Highlanders have had a particular successful last couple of seasons and Head Coach Ben Bullock looks to finish this year with the best season yet. The Highlanders have outscored opponents 240 to 106 in their past eight games and won six of them by at least seven points, but normally by at least twenty. Lake Highlands Prep’s first loss came in a grueling 22-21 loss to the Frostproof Bulldogs (5-4) in a game that came down to the wire. Their second loss came in their most recent matchup against a tough First Academy Royals (8-0) side in a game that ended 21-14. Other than those disappointing losses determined
by only a combined 8 points, the Highlanders have been extremely successful with the highlight of their season coming two weeks ago when they upset the Lakeland Christian Vikings (6-1) in a 31-3 blowout. The Highlanders consistently put up a lot of points on the board. The main reason for that is the dual threat offense that they run. Quarterback Thomas Furry has thrown for 934 yards this season while completing 52 of his 112 attempts. This brings his average yards-per-completion at an impressive 18 which helped him to 8 passing touchdowns. The top receivers are Malik Dixon, Jake Stanley, and Briton Allen who all have three touchdowns. Malik Dixon has the highest receiving yards of the three with 411 on 18
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by Kaden Bauer
receptions. The Highlanders rushing game is dominated by Elijah Lucas and Devyn Castor who have a combined 694 yards for 16 touchdowns. With one game left in the regular season, Coach Bullock will look to finish the regular season strong. Going into their final regular season game and most likely the playoffs, Bullock has said that the most important thing for his team to do is, “Continue to tackle well and take care of the football on offense.” This has obviously worked well for the Highlanders during the season and if they continue this they will have a good chance at winning their final game against the Berkley Prep Buccaneers (4-4).
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10/27/17 - 11/8/17 • Florida Sporting News
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Page 12 Florida Sporting News • 10/27/17 - 11/8/17