Lakeland at Apopka thoughts and observations

[DarterBlue2]

The final score was 37-20 in favor of Lakeland. But it does not tell the whole tale; in fact the score was not even close to reflecting the relative merits of the two teams. 

Issues I see with this Apopka team:

1. You could almost say it is star crossed. Three other key pieces of the puzzle sustained injuries: 2 Eric Wright; 88, Jaylin Carter; and, 95 Curtis Williams. Add to that the fact that 58 Antonio Meriweather did not play due to injury sustained before the game and Jecoryan Davis-Hamilton being out for the season off his injury last week, and it's not a pretty picture.

2. Special teams - our kicker is accurate with respect to PATs. However, the snapper is inconsistent; and our kicker lacks range, particularly on kickoffs. In fact Lakeland took their first kickoff received to the house and thereafter the team resorted to more or less squib kicking/almost akin to onside kicking the ball on kickoffs. It is hard to beat teams of equal stature if they are consistently starting near midfield. If TV cannot develop his range, and if there is no one else that can do the kickoffs, then he should probably look to kick the ball out of bounds inside the 35, at least against teams that are competitive with Apopka. Our punter has a problem too. For while he has a good leg and range, being an offensive lineman he is slow and unless the snap is near perfect he can be blocked because of this. In fact this accounted for Lakeland's second touchdown where they extended the lead. 

3. The defense - I am not going to give them a hard time. For they were constantly put into bad field position both due to miscues by the offense and our kicking issues. In fact aside from one big play, a run of over 70 yards for a touchdown on second or third and 20 (I forget which), I thought they did a reasonably good job. 

4. The offense - Without Davis-Hamilton, and missing a key offensive lineman, we had trouble sustaining our running game which is our bread and butter. However, although we did not throw the ball much, the passing game came up with three critical plays to both extend drives and flip the field position. Sometimes out of adversity talents are discovered. We shall see. 

Obviously I am not a happy camper and I may come over as being overly critical. But I deeply love Apopka football and to some degree I am typing this from an emotional perspective. We get Dr. Philips next week and should consider ourselves fortunate in that while they still have a lot of talent, it is young talent that is perhaps a year away from being at its best. Thus, even with our injuries we have a shot. 

With all of the above said, this team still has a shot. Certainly the talent is there. But we need guys to step up and assume leadership and can afford no more injuries if Apopka is to have a shot.   

[954gator]

You gotta admit Lakeland is pretty strong.  They were without their biggest OL.   That running back is VERY good. 

 https://247sports.com/Player/Deyavie-Hammond-45573301

[DarterBlue2]

27 minutes ago, 954gator said:

You gotta admit Lakeland is pretty strong.  They were without their biggest OL.   That running back is VERY good. 

 https://247sports.com/Player/Deyavie-Hammond-45573301

The running back is fine. But to me, I preferred their offense from last year. I liked Bartram Trails back (no 22) better. Personal preference for a shifty back with some power over a power runner. 

[Pipe Dreams]

I actually think DP will be ready come playoff time and these tough games will pay off.

West Orange had three big plays on offense (2 to their STUD WR, who is among the best I’ve seen at the HS level) and an INT return TD. DP adjusted and started to dominate but by then it was too late. The game was basically two separate blowouts within four quarters.

I also like West Orange RB Nimea Hall. Bruiser and deceptively quick.

Once DP puts it all together they’ll be a force for any of the teams in 8A Region 2, including Osceola, Vero Beach and Sarasota Riverview.

Looking forward to the game. We are young on both sides of the ball but we’ve got a lot of talent.

Good luck to both teams. As I’ve said many times APK is my second favorite program.