From Orlando to Kissimmee, Leesburg to Mount Dora, it’s no secret the West Central Florida Region is home to some of the best players and traditions round the state.
Chasing History
The three county area (Orange, Osceola, Lake) that makes up the West Central Florida Region has seen its share of success over the last 50 years with 7 state titles and 15 state runner-up finishes.
Here is a list of the areas state champions and state runner ups.
State Champions
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Bishop Moore (1970)
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Eustis (1983)
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Evans (1991)
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Osceola (1998)
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Apopka (2001, 2012, 2014)
State Runner-ups
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Eustis (1965)
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Leesburg (1969)
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Groveland (1970)
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Trinity Prep (1971, 1977)
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Clermont (1977, 1980)
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Osceola (1982, 2014)
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Edgewater (2002, 2003, 2004)
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Boone (2007)
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Dr. Phillips (2010)*
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Apopka (2013)
* – Later forfeited due to ineligible players
Loaded Gun
There is an old saying among football coaches, great teams don’t rebuild they reload every year.
To be a consistent highly successful program, a coach must be able to replace the missing pieces and keep the tradition going.
In Apopka they say, same gun, just new bullets every year.
Apopka is one of those programs that doesn’t rebuild every year they reload.
Since 2000, the Blue Darters have made the playoffs 15 consecutive years, won three state titles and have made three straight title game appearances.
A huge part of the recent success was three-year plus starters Martez Ivey, Chandler Cox, Ben Bascom and Ray Ray Smith, who guided the Blue Darters to a 37-8 record, two state titles and a state runner-up finish.
Those guys are all gone, its time for someone else to step up and take their place now.
Among the possibilites are junior quarterback Demetri Burch, junior tailback Deshawn Massey, senior fullback Dekwon Wilson and senior athlete David Douglas.
Running The Gauntlet
It’s no secret next to Apopka, Dr. Phillips has been the most consistent and hottest program in the Orlando area over the last ten years.
Since 2008, the Panthers are 82-8 on the field (67-23 off the field), having won at least ten games seven years in a row.
Five years ago, Dr. Phillips cruised to the Class 6A title game losing to Miami Central 42-27. The season was later forfeited due to an ineligible player on the roster.
Since then, a second round loss to Tampa Plant, state semifinal loss to Apopka, second round loss to Tampa Plant and a third round loss last season to Manatee have kept the Panthers from getting back to the state title game.
Perhaps sensing a pattern in his schedule, head coach Rodney Wells beefed it up a bit this season.
Come playoff time, the Panthers will be playoff ready after a five game gauntlet of Lake Mary (Sept. 4), West Orange (Sept. 11), Apopka (Sept. 18), Mainland (Sept. 25) and Oak Ridge (Oct. 2) to open the season. All five made the playoffs last season and combined to go 54-10.
Dr. Phillips hasn’t seen such a stretch of tough games since 2008, when the Panthers faced Edgewater, Niceville and Seminole. The previous year the Panthers opened the 2007 season with losses to Edgewater, Byrnes (SC) and Apopka.
Rivalry Aside
Coming off graduation and helping his Osceola team make it to the Class 7A state championship game this past season, four-year starter Dominic Lee couldn’t wait to get to Butler Community College and began his new career.
Unfortunately, Lee never got that chance.
According to the FHP, on the morning of June 1 about 4:20 a.m., Lee was driving eastbound on US Highway 192 in Brevard County along with former Gateway Da’Ja Clayton, Rakeem Randall, Breyuna Walker and Darnell Clayton.
Lee, who was not wearing a seat belt, lost control of his Chevrolet pickup which traveled over a center median and into the westbound lanes and flipped several times ejecting Lee and some of the Gateway players.
Lee died shortly after the crash, while the other four were in serious condition.
When Gateway and Osceola meet up Oct. 16 for their annual showdown at Osceola, there likely won’t be much trash talking going on between the two.
If anything you can likely expect quietness, a moment of silence and lots of respect that night with the two schools coming together for once.
Randall along with Lee and Darnell Clayton all played football, while Walker and Da’Ja Clayton played basketball and ran track.
Lee accumulated 62 tackles (43 solo), three interceptions, 10 pass deflections and two blocked punts last season.
Double Take
When opposing coaches line up at midfield and begin shaking hands with each other, you have to think many will turn around and take a second look.
By day, Treecie Hargroves teaches intensive reading and journalism to 11th and 12th graders at Mount Dora but once the bell rings she quickly begins her second job as special teams coach for the Hurricanes varsity football team.
Hargroves has been around football her entire life, staring with Pop Warner in Miami, attending the University of Miami games with her parents and later playing in the Miami band at Hurricanes games.
After attending nearby Lake Sumter Community College, Hargroves settled in Mount Dora and was hired at Mount Dora to be the team’s equipment manager.
It didn’t take long for coaches at Mount Dora to realize Hargroves talents which led to a position on the coaching staff.
“I’d love to see myself one day move up to the college level,” Hargroves told the Leesburg Daily Commercial. “But right now I’d have to say that God’s got me in the right place. I love to help people and I’m able to help people doing something I love. And I love the Friday Night Lights.”
