DP, Apopka win, set up semifinal
Gaines led Panthers in comeback Darlington’s 4 TD passes spark Blue Darters’ rout
Dr. Phillips will get a chance to play in the Class 8A state semifinal, and the Panthers have Deionte Gaines to thank for that.
Gaines did everything he was asked to do and then some Friday night, scoring on a 41-yard run, intercepting a pass on his own goal line and returning a punt 55 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter. Because of Gaines’ effort, the Panthers rallied from a14-0 deficit to defeat Tarpon Springs East Lake as the Panthers rallied to a 31-21 victory.
Dr. Phillips (13-0), No. 1 in the Sentinel Super 16 and No. 15 in the USA Today national poll, will play at Apopka, which defeated Neptune Beach Fletcher in another region final.
The Panthers clinched the victory with a 14-play drive that ate up more than eight minutes of the clock and ended with Eric Harrell scoring on a 3-yard run with 2:02 left in the game.
“I just woke up this morning and I told myself that I wasn’t going to let my teammates down,” Gaines said. “This feels great, but we can’t sit on this win. We have to come back in practice on Monday and work hard because we don’t want it to end here.”
East Lake quarterback Pete DiNovo came into the game with a reputation as a gunslinger — and he showed it, especially in the first half when he was 16- of-20 with one interception for 248 yards and three touchdowns.
But, in the second half, the Panthers started getting more pressure on him. He only had 96 yards passing in the second half and couldn’t engineer a scor- ing drive. He finished 24-of-34 for 344 yards. He was sacked four times in the second half, and defensive back Marvin Brown had three passes defended in the half.
“We feel like our defense is the best around,” said quarterback Alton Meeks, who injured his hand and reinjured his right ankle during the game but continued to play. “We were pretty sure our defense was going to come up with plays in the second half.”
In addition to Meeks getting banged up, Dr. Phillips also lost kicker Ricky Buckner, who limped off the field in the second quarter. Reserve kicker Ethan Shafer kicked a 27-yard field goal in the third quarter.
JACKSONVILLE — Apopka used four touchdown passes from Zack Darlington and overwhelmed Neptune Beach Fletcher 52-19 in a Class 8A region final Friday night.
The Blue Darters (11-2) have won 10 games in a row and will host Dr. Phillips next week for a chance to play for the state championship Dec. 15 at the Florida Citrus Bowl.
Apopka is ranked third in the Super16.
“We throw the ball well. We just don’t throw it a lot — until tonight,” said Apopka coach Rick Darlington, Zack’s dad. “We’re a running team, but that sets up our play action. Tonight Zack delivered the ball when and where he needed to.”
After the teams battled to a 3-3 tie through the first quarter, Apopka erupted with a three-touchdown spree, all coming from the pinpoint passing of Darlington. His first was a floater to Jevric Blocker, who caught the ball in stride for a 71-yard scoring play.
After recovering a fumble by Fletcher (10-2) at the 10-yard line on the Senators’ next possession, it took Darlington three more plays to connect with Kevin Smith from 5 yards out.
The third score came just before intermission. Darlington first did it with his legs, running 42 yards into Fletcher territory. Six plays later, he again hooked up with Blocker from15 yards.
“To score that many points, you’ve got to have some defensive help, and we got that with the interceptions and the fumble recoveries,” Rick Darlington said. “The defense played a phenomenal game, giving us field position and the turnovers.”
Zack Darlington closed out the scoring with a 10-yard run in the fourth.