Apopka's Biggest Stories of 2018: Darlington leaves Blue Darters

Editor’s Note: This is the 15th in a series of articles published by The Apopka Voice in 2018 that were the most noteworthy events of the year. The Apopka Voice will publish them starting today and running until Sunday, December 30th. On December 31st and January 1st, we will publish a poll and let the readers decide on which story is the most impactful of the year.

First published on December 6th, 2018

He won district championships. He won playoff games. He won state championships, and now he will take all that winning to a high school in Alabama.

Rick Darlington, the head football coach at Apopka High School, is expected to be named the new head coach at Enterprise High School in Alabama, according to multiple reports.

Darlington was a three-time state champion with a 167-47 record in 17 seasons for the Blue Darters, including a 31-13 record in the playoffs. He has a career head coaching record of 214-73.

Rick Darlington

The Blue Darters finished 8-4 this season and reached the Class 8A region semifinals for the second straight year. Apopka qualified for the playoffs every season under Darlington.

Enterprise has a 644-320-34 all-time record with state championship wins in 1979 and 1982, according to MaxPreps. However, they finished 4-16 the past two seasons.

Darlington’s unique single-wing offense, which many times doesn’t even feature a quarterback, has been nearly unstoppable in the past 17 seasons. It set numerous high school records in Florida. The 2013 Blue Darters set the state record, averaging 50.1 points per game and also broke the state record for team rushing yards with 6,000 yards.