Blue Darters get it done in rematch with East Ridge

CLERMONT -- Jeremy Wright caught a 60-yard pass and gave an Olympic sprint downfield in his attempt to mount an East Ridge comeback over Apopka in the last five minutes of a Class 6A region semifinal.

Only problem was, Apopka's defense was a little quicker.

Three devastating plays, including two sacks and a tipped pass, helped the No. 5 ranked Blue Darters beat the No. 3 Knights 41-34. It also halted a previous nine-game win streak for East Ridge (10-2) Friday at the Dungeon.

Apopka (10-2) will face Sanford Seminole on the road in a region final December 5.

The Blue Darters' defense was so impressive that even Jeremy Gallon didn't have much to say about his performance of 276 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns of 85, 78, 26 and 1 yard.

"Defense wins games," said Gallon, who committed to Michigan. "Offense just sells tickets."

Apopka contained Wright, the state's leading rusher, for much of the first half, holding him to just 45 yards on the ground. He still finished, though, with 162 total rushing yards, 75 yards receiving and even threw a 65 yard touchdown pass.

He worked to bring East Ridge back into contention with his 45-yard rushing touchdown on the first drive of the fourth quarter trailing 41-34.

He charged up the field catching a 60-yard pass from quarterback Tyler Dye, but that's when Apopka's defense took over.

Dye stalled on a pass with just under four minutes left and defensive end Andre Montgomery punished him with a sack for 10-yard loss. Linebacker Larvez "Pooh Bear" Mars broke up Dye's third and long pass and Jon Beary added another sack to erase an East Ridge comeback.

Shannon J. Owens can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Apopka 41, East Ridge 34

FIRST -- ER: Pace 54 pass from Dye (Seaman kick); A: Gallon 85 run (kick fail); A: Gallon 1 run (Gallon run). SECOND -- A: Gallon 78 run (Catron kick); E: Arnold 65 pass from Wright (Seaman kick); E: Pace 75 pass from Dye (Seaman kick); A: Gallon 26 run (Catron kick); A: Davis 15 pass from Gallon (Catron kick). THIRD -- E: Wright 1 run (kick fail). FOURTH -- A: Smith 30 pass from Gallon (kick fail); E: Wright 28 run (Seaman kick).

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed