ORLANDO, Fla. — Winter Park looked dominant through the first 1.5 quarters of this game, as they boasted a 28-3 lead in the middle of the second quarter.
Immediately following their fourth score, though, Timber Creek began to forge a comeback on the back of a kick return touchdown from Caleb Blake, to bring Timber Creek within striking distance before halftime.
Winter Park went scoreless in the second half, while Peter Hayes-Patrick picked up two scores on Timber Creek’s first and last offensive plays of the fourth quarter. His first score came on the ground after a lengthy drive in which Timber Creek used its heavy formation to squeak out first down after first down. His second score was on a long pass play with one minute left in the game.
After his second score, with about a minute remaining, Timber Creek tried an onside kick to give them a chance to get the ball back to their offense for one final drive, but it was to no avail.
Despite a lackluster second-half performance, Winter Park walked away with the victory.
Timber Creek Takeaway: Peter Hayes-Patrick Needs Help
Hayes-Patrick was asked to be the focal point of the Timber Creek offense Friday. This has come to be expected, but not to the extent this was true this week.
Known for his talent running the football, it was odd to see him lined up behind the center so frequently. In game two of the season, Timber Creek unveiled what was, essentially, a wildcat formation which enabled the offense to get the ball in the hands of Hayes-Patrick at a faster clip.
But, without a standard offense and the threat of downfield completions, the offense had a hard time moving the football. Winter Park’s defense was able to stack the box and negate the explosiveness we’ve seen the future D1 running back show previously.
Putting Peter Hayes Patrick at quarterback and asking him to carry the load doesn’t allow him to fully thrive and has hindered Timber Creek’s growth on the offensive side of the ball.
Winter Park Takeaway: Continue to Get the Ball in the Hands of Playmakers
Winter Park’s spread offense showed a unique versatility during Friday’s game. The offense has an avalanche of weapons, such as Cameron Brown, Cullen Honohan, Michael Lopez, and Malik Tolbert, who line up on the outside and force defenses to cover the whole field.
The Wildcats were able to use jet sweep motion and trips formations to get the ball into the hands of their playmakers quickly, allowing them to make plays after the catch. The team leveraged their athletic advantage this way, as Timber Creek’s defense struggled to stop them once their receivers got into the open field.
With such strength on offense, they should continue to follow this blueprint.
The X-Factor: Cullen Honohan
Winter Park captain Cullen Honohan had his impact felt on the defensive end for the Wildcats, particularly later in the game. The strong safety was all over the field, lining up inside and outside of the box, as an extra linebacker, and in coverage in the slot. Even when in coverage, he was still repeatedly swarming to the ball when he read run. That knack for scanning the whole field was on display all game long.
Late in the game, when Timber Creek approached desperation time, they began to transition in and out of heavy formation shotgun sets, which could have easily confused the defense and led to huge running lanes for Peter Hayes-Patrick. The captain helped orchestrate the defensive efforts to close the holes and hold Timber Creek to modest gains, which wound up being at the crux of why Winter Park walked away with a victory.
So, what happened?
Winter Park was the more athletic and physical team
While the final scoreboard showed an even contest, Timber Creek’s late-game comeback efforts were the real reason for that.
Winter Park imposed their will on Timber Creek early in the game and that continued whenever the offensive play-calling allowed it to.
Quarterback Cameron LeGree led the charge, as he was able to knife through the Wolves defense for large gains, including a run in the second quarter that wound up being the game-winning touchdown.
Overall, the athletic ability of the offensive skill-position players made up for what they lacked schematically and at the line of scrimmage and when that clicked with the play-calling, the offense was dominant.
Quick Hits
- If Peter Hayes-Patrick is going to continue to line up at Quarterback for the Wolves, they’re going to need to develop a more complete passing game, lest they risk their offense being extremely predictable.
- The extra-heavy offensive formations were a nice compliment to Timber Creek’s regular offense and, if further developed, could help them to improve their run game and help them to effectively manage/chew clock, particularly late in games. After all, time of possession is vital for run-heavy offenses.
- With such a vast amount of playmakers for Winter Park, it becomes easy to spread defenses out, but what makes them even more dangerous is their ability to leverage that by giving quarterback Cameron LeGree and running back Tyrone Davis room to run up the middle.
- Timber Creek’s Caleb Blake is very talented and showed incredible elusiveness with the ball in his hands. This was on full display on a lengthy kick return touchdown in the second quarter. Blake should play an even larger role in the offense moving forward.
Next Up
Timber Creek (2-2) will square off with West Orange (2-3) on Oct. 9th, while undefeated Winter Park (5-0) will matchup with Olympia (3-2) on Oct. 5th.
