Kickoff Classic exhibition games across the state marked the start of Week Zero of the high school football season, and the preview week offered a wealth of fascinating information.
Some of the usuals were, well, usual, while South Lake revealed what Brad Lord has been telling everyone, Edgewater introduced a new running back, and Lake Brantley showcased their passing offense.
Dr. Phillips, Winter Park, West Orange, and DeLand were the typical suspects, and they all won handily on Friday night.
2025 High School Football Transfer Tracker for the Orlando area
Line-of-scrimmage shifts, which Rick Darlington has made standard in his one-win offense at DeLand and at Apopka, were among the offensive sets that Edgewater’s new coach Patrick Browning demonstrated the Eagles would employ this season.
In the Battle of College Park, Edgewater defeated Bishop Moore 36–27, and Browning also revealed a new position for senior linebacker Damian Moore. As he will throughout the season, the exceptional linebacker performed excellent on both sides of the ball.
Before both teams largely turned to their younger players, Moore ran for roughly 75 yards and scored three touchdowns in the first half. Moore was a linebacker as well.
Senior Grayson Gibson scored a short touchdown throw from senior quarterback Carter Emanuel, a UConn commit, to conclude the Edgewater scoring, while standout senior linebacker JJ Edwards, who is committed to Miami, had a 28-yard pick-6.
Blake McCullough, a sophomore, looked well throwing the ball, and Bishop Moore has a new quarterback to replace Bjorn Jurgensen, who graduated and is now at Virginia. He made passes to junior Magnus Talma for 80 yards and senior Illinois commit Kenyon Alston for 40 yards. Donovan Ferrufino’s short touchdown run was the source of Bishop Moore’s other score.
I thought our effort was fantastic. For the first time, we were able to put everything together and get dressed. Browning held the Battle of College Park trophy and remarked, “Obviously, we made some mistakes that are correctable.” However, we accomplished a lot of good things, and I believe the children are understanding our attacking and defensive goals.
IMG humbles the First Academy in the Kickoff Classic football opener.
- South Lake Coach Lord has been telling people all summer to watch out for his bunch and it appears he was not kidding. The Eagles have a lot of pieces and defending Class 7A, District 10 champion Lake Nona found out to the tune of a 16-0 shutout. Sophomore Ahvioume Scott had two interceptions and senior Tyger Darden had one to spearhead the defense. Seniors Malik Holman and Tyrese Thompson both had rushing touchdowns for South Lake.
- Winter Park got touchdowns from seven different players as they rolled past East River 52-0. Notre Dame commit Ayden Pouncey led the barrage of scoring plays, along with Syracuse commit Eshawn Sutton, Rhode Island transfer Sebastian Lora, Lake Howell transfer Decorie Johnson, junior Tristan Gunn, freshman Tae Williams and transfer quarterback Onrique Archie. Archie and Viera transfer Robbie Blalock split duties at quarterback. On defense, Giacomo Sanfillippo and KJ Davis had two sacks each.
- West Orange rolled past Horizon 53-14 as junior running back Jayden Ammons scored two rushing touchdowns and sophomore quarterback AJ Chung threw two TD passes to senior Edison Delgado and one to Dakiren Duggy Glover. Junior Keemarien Welch also had a rushing touchdown and freshman quarterback Jackson Long threw a touchdown pass to freshman receiver Jase Gibson. Matheus Kaminski Cordeiro recovered a loose ball in the end zone after a Chakai Scott blocked punt. Devonte Anderson and Nolan Turner each had interceptions.
- Lake Brantley, with new coach Garrett Kruczek, new quarterback sophomore sensation Jackson Stecher and a new offense, rolled past Melbourne Central Catholic 35-20. Stecher threw for 283 yards and two touchdowns on 18-for-23 passing. Running back Curtis Dewberry rushed for 90 yards and three touchdowns on 11 carries. Davon Washington and Jacob McDonald had receiving touchdowns.
- Oviedo stunned Class 7A runner-up Lake Mary 14-9 as the Lions forced three fumbles, two inside the 3-yard line by Lake Mary running back O Shea Faison. Lake Mary quarterback Noah Grubbs, a senior Notre Dame commit, threw for nearly 400 yards in the loss. Oviedo senior return man Samari Chisolm took the second kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown.
- New Dr. Phillips quarterback Camren West, who transferred from Osceola after leading the Kowboys to the 6A title game a year ago, had a rushing touchdown and a passing touchdown in guiding the Panthers to a 30-7 win over Boone.
- Osceola suffered a stunner. The visiting Kowboys, Class 6A state runners-up last season, led 13-0 at halftime before Mainland rallied to win 14-13.
Kickoff Classic games
Final results
Thursday
The First Academy 7, IMG Academy 41
Haines City 6, Evans 36 (The weather caused the game to terminate at halftime.)
Oak Ridge 0 Satellite 38
Friday
36 Edgewater, 27 Edgewater
Boone 7, Dr. Phillips 30
14 Oviedo, 9 Lake Mary
38 Olympia, 0 Wekiva
Freedom 0; Lake Buena Vista 26
Osceola 13; Mainland 14
Melbourne Central Catholic 20, Lake Brantley 35
East River 0, Winter Park 52
Horizon 14, West Orange 53
Apopka 10, Tampa Bay Tech 44
Gate 6 Windermere 30
52 DeLand, 7 Leesburg
Eustis 0 Colonial 3
Atlantic (Port Orange) 19, Winter Springs 0
Poinciana 12, Orlando Christian Prep 33
Pasco 6 (shortened because of weather) and East Ridge 28
Howell Lake 21, Deltona 16
Timber Creek 7, Tohopekaliga 27
Nona Lake 0; South Lake 16
Results of the Lyman Jamboree: Mount Dora 42, Lyman 0; Ocoee 28, Mount Dora 14; Ocoee 28, Lyman 0.
Discovery 0 (game ended at halftime), Celebration 46
Innovation 14 St. Cloud 28
Tavares 7, South Sumter 13,
Liberty 14; Orlando University 28
Orange City University 36, North Miami 37
On Saturday
Jones against Seminole at Camping World Stadium
Regular-season SSAA games
Trinity Prep 27, Christian Six at Seven Rivers
The Master’s Academy 8 and Foundation Academy 33
Geneva School 7 and Orangewood Christian 28
Mount Dora Christian 14 Fernandina Beach 20
Harmony 14, Villages Charter 41
Lake Minneola 0 and Land O Lakes 37
Phoenix 49, Pine Ridge 0
Legacy Charter 0, Lake Mary Prep 73
Lakeside’s First Academy Leesburg 41 Christian 18
Jacksonville Stanton 6, Umatilla 32
Eight-Man
Liberty, City of Life 25, Christian Prep 19
You may reach Chris Hays at X.com@OS_ChrisHays.
