The Apopka Blue Darters put their undefeated season and Class 8A, No. 3 state ranking on the line Friday night when it goes to Orlando’s Camping World Stadium to take on the Jones Fightin' Tigers, who is 4-1 and ranked No. 6 in 5A in this week’s Associated Press Florida high school football poll.
It is a memorable venue for Apopka, which won the 2014 Class 8A state championship 30-23 over Miami Columbus in 2014 at Camping World Stadium, then called the Citrus Bowl.
Apopka (4-0 on the season) is coming off a 35-0 homecoming win against Lake Brantley, while Jones routed Leesburg 53-0 last week.
The Wekiva Mustangs (5-1 on the season) will look to rebound from last week's 52-21 loss against Edgewater in which they led 21-7 in the first quarter. The loss knocked the Mustangs out of the AP Class 7A top ten poll, although they were listed as receiving votes. Wekiva returns home to face the 4-2 Dr. Phillips Panthers.
Both games (Apopka at Jones, and Dr. Phillips at Wekiva) kickoff at 7 PM tonight. And if you can't make the games, check The Apopka Voice Facebook page for live updates, and final score alerts throughout the evening.
Here are the complete Oct. 1 AP rankings as voted on by a panel of state newspaper sportswriters. Teams are listed with first-place votes in parentheses, records, rating points and their ranking from the previous week:
Class 8A Record Pts Prv
1. South Dade (11) 5-0 110 1
2. Sanford Seminole 5-0 99 2
3. Apopka 4-0 86 3
4. Bartram Trail 5-0 74 4
5. Vero Beach 4-0 65 5
6. Western 4-153 6
7. Miami Palmetto 5-1 43 7
8. Deerfield Beach 4-2 28 8
9. Christopher Columbus Catholic 3-2 20 9
10. Douglas 4-0 17 10
Others receiving votes: Flagler Palm Coast 5, Kissimmee Osceola 4, Oakleaf 1.
Class 7A Record Pts Prv
1. Lakeland (8) 6-0 107 1
2. St. Thomas Aquinas (3) 4-0 102 2
3. Edgewater 6-0 82 3
4. Armwood 4-1 64 5
5. Atlantic Community 3-1 61 4
6. Palm Beach Lakes 4-0 55 6
7. Tampa Bay Tech 5-0 47 9
8. Plantation 5-0 46 7
9. Venice 3-2 16 10
10. Niceville 6-0 11 NR
Others receiving votes: Wekiva 9, Lincoln 2, Fleming Island 2, Viera 1.
