Who Is This FL HS Legend? Maurice Wells/Sandalwood

[OldSchoolLion]

Who is he?

Where did he play in high school?

What team stopped him and his team's drive for the state final?

[badbird]

4 hours ago, OldSchoolLion said:

Who is he?

Where did he play in high school?

What team stopped him and his team's drive for the state final?

dang he was really good.  Finished his great high school career with 35 yards on 20 carries.  I had a good view of that game.  

[Perspective]

Maurice Wells.

Sandlewood High School

THE Ohio State University

Got beat in the playoffs by some team from the Orlando area . . . Darter, can you give me some help? 

[DarterBlue2]

4 hours ago, Perspective said:

Maurice Wells.

Sandlewood High School

THE Ohio State University

Got beat in the playoffs by some team from the Orlando area . . . Darter, can you give me some help? 

I believe this was Badbird's greatest moment. Sandalwood, with Maurice Wells, Army All American, came into town and got run into the ground by the Blue Darters! They did score on an 80 yard bomb, but otherwise were dominated.

[badbird]

1 minute ago, DarterBlue2 said:

I believe this was Badbird's greatest moment. Sandalwood, with Maurice Wells, Army All American, came into town and got run into the ground by the Blue Darters! They did score on an 80 yard bomb, but otherwise were dominated.

I believe the longest run of the night by either team was by an Offensive Lineman.  Sandalwood had a really good defense also led by LB Marvin Sapp and S Jamar Hornsby.  

[badbird]

APOPKA MISSION: STOP WELLS

 

By BILL BUCHALTER and SENTINEL STAFF WRITER

THE ORLANDO SENTINEL |

NOV 18, 2004 AT 12:00 AM

 

It's a classic case of team defense vs. Mr. Offense.

 

Apopka's undersized but super-quick defenders face the challenge of their high-school football careers Friday: Slow down Sandalwood running back Maurice Wells.

 

Last week, the 185-pound Wells punished Seminole's smash-mouth, solid defense for 245 yards and three touchdowns.

 

The question is, can he repeat that kind of performance against a defense that last week held Boone to a minus-9 yards of offense?

 

"Our entire defense played well against Boone," Apopka Coach Ty Ensor said. "Our three linebackers, the defensive line. We got a lot of pressure on the quarterback. It was a total team effort."

Ensor says to stop Wells, his Darters must play even better.

Play better than holding a district champion team to a minus-22 rushing yards in 24 attempts?

"He's a good back," Ensor deadpanned. "Obviously, he rushed for more than 3,000 yards last year. He's got around 2,000 this year. Hopefully we can ding him up and take him out of his game. We're going to hit him. Our guys will hit."

But Ensor is a realist. He knows his team must continue to play that kind of defense with that kind of intensity as the playoffs continue.

"We're getting better as a team, but we still have a long way to go," the coach said.

So how does Apopka slow down a back of Wells' credentials? He is Florida's top-rated runner and one of the nation's most coveted recruits.

"We have to be sound, technique-wise," Ensor said. "We must take away the gaps and make him have to break tackles. If he gets a seam, he will take it. And once he gets out there, on film, I've never seen anyone catch him."

Sandalwood (8-2) at Apopka (8-1) is one of two playoff games scheduled for Orange County schools. Jacksonville Mandarin (6-5) visits Edgewater (9-1) in the other.

Edgewater eliminated Sandalwood and Wells last year in round three of the playoffs. A gimpy Wells only played the first half as Coach Adam Geis chose not to take a chance of aggravating a leg injury.

He missed several games at midseason with an injury, including the loss to Mandarin for the district title. Wells has become a major challenge for linebackers Kadu Swift, Marvin Peoples and Quentin Taylor, perhaps Central Florida's deepest talent at the position.

And defensive back Eric Sledge was chosen as the Sentinel's Orange County boys athlete of the week after returning an interception for a touchdown against Boone.

"We've got the same game plan we've had all year," Sledge said about Sandalwood. "We're a team and it's a team thing on defense. We have to focus and be ready to play and stop the run," he said.

That means stop Wells.

[DarterBlue2]

39 minutes ago, badbird said:

I believe the longest run of the night by either team was by an Offensive Lineman.  Sandalwood had a really good defense also led by LB Marvin Sapp and S Jamar Hornsby.  

Yeah, the fumblerooski did go for a lot of yards! It was well executed.

[OldSchoolLion]

Maurice Wells of Jacksonville Sandalwood was considered one of the top hs running backs in the country ...rushed for career totals of 5,955 yards and 55 touchdowns ... led the state of Florida in rushing as a junior with 3,076 yards and scored 31 touchdowns ... in nine games as a senior, rushed for 1,908 yards and 18 touchdowns ... set the Florida single-game rushing record with 429 yards in two and a half quarters in a blowout of Stanton Prep as a junior ... clocked at 4.44-seconds in the 40-yard dash ... played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.