It’s Kickoff Classic time, where high school football’s preseason games don’t count but do matter.

Lake Mary, coming off its first state championship season, lost its home exhibition against Buchholz of Gainesville, 26-17, on Thursday night. Rams coach Scott Perry said there will be lessons learned from that game.

Winter Park fared better, winning on the road against Spruce Creek.

Tonight’s schedule showcases 14 of the Sentinel Super 16 ranked teams.

We’ll be posting live updates from selected games right here once games kick off. Check back often.

CHECK HERE FOR SCOREBOARD UPDATES ON ALL GAMES

The Sentinel’s 2026 football preview section will be in Sunday’s newspaper, with online posts to come.

Go to the Sentinel Varsity home page for news on all high school sports.

Games listed are scheduled for 7 p.m. kickoffs unless noted otherwise. Rankings in bold are from this week’s preseason Sentinel Super 16 coaches poll.

Here are tonight’s game with live coverage:

Armwood at No. 3 Edgewater

Coverage by Chris Hays

An Armwood 43-yard field goal attempt at the end of the half is no good. Hawks lead Edgewater 14-7 going into the locker room at halftime.

Armwood takes 14-7 lead with a score at 10:23 of the second quarter.

It’s 7-7 going into the second quarter. Two Edgewater players who were suspended sat out opening period before entering the game.

Edgewater quarterback Cruz James runs 20 yards for a touchdown and the Eagles tie the game 7–7.

Edgewater linebacker Brandon Thompson intercepts a pass. The Eagles take over at the Armwood 20 yard line

Tanner is back in the game.

Edgewater defensive end Jamarcus Tanner is injured on the third player of the game. His return is questionable.

Armwood scores first. The Hawks lead the Eagles 7-0 with 6:14 to go in the first quarter.

PRE-GAME NOTES:

Two prolific programs clash. The last time they met was in a 2019 Class 7A state semifinal. Edgewater pulled off a big upset at Armwood, 38-27.

Armwood has officially won two state championships (2003, 2004). The Hawks won another final in 2011 but were stripped of the title due to rules violations.

MaxPreps has Armwood at No. 28 and Edgewater No. 30 in its state rankings.

No. 14 Lake Brantley at No. 6 Bishop Moore

Coverage by Philip Rossman-Reich

Lake Brantley drove to the 15-yard line. But they can’t get it in without timeouts to stop the clock. Jackson Stecher’s throw to Noah de la Cruz in the back of the end zone is deflected out of bounds by Jamari Lewis on the final play of the half. Bishop Moore leads 21-14. Stecher has thrown for 193 yards with a touchdown and a pick and Bishop Moore’s Blake McCullough has 106 pass yards and two touchdown throws.

TOUCHDOWN: Bishop Moore marches down the field thanks to a facemask penalty and a 29-yard pass from Blake McCullough to Drew Follett. Donovan Ferrufino tallies his second rushing touchdown with an 8-yard score. Bishop Moore leads 21-14 with 8:13 left in the second quarter.

Lake Brantley appeared to have picked up the first down on third down but the ball was fumbled backwards to put the Patriots in fourth and long. Jackson Stecher goes for Noah de la Cruz but Bishop Moore’s Nyshaun Drye steps in for the interception.

Lake Brantley and Bishop Moore are tied at 14-14 at the end of the first quarter. Neither defense has gotten a stop. The Patriots will open the second quarter at the Bishop Moore 20 after opening their drive with a 31-yard completion from Jackson Stecher to Ezekiel French to get to midfield.

TOUCHDOWN: Donovan Ferrufino rumbles up the middle for a 51-yard touchdown run, breaking through two defenders at about the 20 on his way in. The score was set up by a third down 20-yard completion from Blake McCullough to Magnus Talma to get near midfield. Bishop Moore ties Lake Brantley 14-14 with 1:13 left in the first quarter.

TOUCHDOWN: Jackson Stecher again has to escape the pocket. He scrambles and finds Noah De La Cruz alone along the sideline. He walks in for a 61-yard touchdown. Lake Brantley leads 14-7 with 2:26 to play in the first quarter.

TOUCHDOWN: Blake McCullough throws a 39-yard touchdown pass to Magnus Talma after the duo’s first touchdown connection from 20 yards was called back for a procedure penalty. Bishop Moore further backed itself up with a personal foul. But the Hornets still score and tie the game at 7-7 with 4:22 to play in the first quarter.

Water break time. Bishop Moore is answering Lake Brantley’s opening drive. Aided by a pass interference call and a 12-yard run from Blake McCullough. The Hornets have moved to the Brantley 20-yard line.

TOUCHDOWN: Lake Brantley quarterback Jackson Stecher avoids the rush up the middle and scrambles to the right side to reach the end zone on a 12-yard run. The Patriots take the lead despite using all three first half timeouts on their opening drive. Lake Brantley leads 7-0 with 7:45 left in the first quarter.

PRE-GAME NOTES:

Checking in from Bishop Moore. Clear skies and ready to start the season!

Bishop Moore coming off a 12-2 state semifinal season is No. 48 in the MaxPreps state rankings. The Patriots (6-4) start at No. 165.

Spotlights two highly-rated junior quarterbacks, Lake Brantley’s Jackson Stecher and Bishop Moore’s Blake McCullough.

Mainland at No. 8 Osceola

Coverage by J. Daniel Pearson

Mainland’s Patrick Miller throws a 55-yard touchdown pass to Jadeb Parks on a 4th-and-5 play. Extra point kick ups Mainland’s lead to 20-2 with 10:03 remaining in the third quarter.

The teams have combined for 87 total yards, 6 turnovers, 6 penalties and under 2 yards per play.

Osceola rushed for 30 yards on the first play from scrimmage. Then 26 carries for minus-6 yards in the rest of the first half. Mainland has 10 carries for negative-4 yards.

Osceola loses 20 yards on three consecutive runs. That means fourth and 30 and Buehler punts 53 yards. Mainland takes the ball at its 35. Bucs lead remains 13-2.

A Mainland fumble is recovered by Osceola.

Another Osceola turnover fumble recovered by mainland at the 36.

Keith Simmons scores on a 30 yard TD pass from from Miller. Mainland leads 13-2.

Osceola makes a goal line stand, forcing a fumble at the 3-yard-line.

First quarter ends with Mainland leading 6-2.

Braylin Simmons scores on a 1-yard for Mainland at 1:18 in the first quarter. Mainland 6, Osceola 2. He gained 20 yards on a run that set up the TD.

An Osceola fumble is recovered by the Buccaneers at the Kowboys’ 48.

Mainland starts with two long snaps over their quarterback’s head. The second snap sailed through the end zone for a safety. Osceola leads 2-0 with 5:54 to go in the first quarter.

Javintay Burnett opens game with a 30-yard run for Osceola. But the drive stalls and the Kowboys punts to Mainland.

PRE-GAME NOTES:

Late afternoon thunderstorm cleared out. So there may be a slight delay but this game will start close to the scheduled 7 p.m.

Two tradition-rich programs square off. MaxPreps ranked Mainland (9-3) No. 34 in Florida, Osceola (7-5) No. 44.

Apopka at No. 9 West Orange

Coverage by Jean Racine

TOUCHDOWN: West Orange’s Jayden scores his second TD of the game on a 1-yard run. Extra point is good. Warriors leads 28-12 with 1:11 remaining in the first half.

Apopka’s punt is blocked and Warriors take over on the Blue Darters’ 1-yard line.

TOUCHDOWN: West Orange marches down the field and QB Andrew Chung connects on a 2-yard TD toss to WR Yuto Kawamura-Johnson. Extra point kick is blocked. Warriors lead 21-12 with 2:13 remaining in the first half.

West Orange defense makes stop. Warriors take over on their own 25-yard line with 6:18 remaining in the second quarter.

Warriors fumbles the ball away at their 47-yard line on kick return. Apopka takes over.

TOUCHDOWN: Another big play. …. A 98-yard kickoff return TD by Apopka’s Jaylen Laster. 2-point conversion run is no good. West Orange leads 15-12 with 8:10 remaining in the second quarter.

TOUCHDOWN: A 78-yard kickoff return by Warriors’ Yuto Kawamura-Johnson. Extra point is good. West Orange leads 15-6 with 8:25 remaining in the second quarter.

TOUCHDOWN: Apopka moves the ball through the air and QB Hunter McNenney punches it in with a 3-yard TD run. Extra point is no good. Warriors lead 8-6 with 8:36 remaining in the second quarter.

West Orange blocks a 37-yard field goal attempt by Apopka. Warriors lead 8-0 going into the second quarter.

TOUCHDOWN: After a 20-yard throw and catch, Andrew Chung to Yuto Kawamura-Johnson, Warriors RB Jayden Ammons punches it in for a 1-yard TD. After two offsides by Apopka, West Orange made the 2-point conversion on another run by Ammons. West Orange leads 8-0 with 10:37 remaining in the first quarter.

Apopka fumbles, Warriors recover at the Apopka 21-yard line.

After a touchback, the Blue Darters begin the 2026 season on their 20-yard line.

Apopka has won the toss and chooses to receive.

PRE-GAME NOTES:

Drizzling in the area before kickoff.

West Orange (10-2) is ranked No. 71 by MaxPreps. Apopka hopes to turn things around after a 2-7 season.

No. 11 Seminole at No. 13 Lake Nona

Coverage by Chris Martucci

Eli Nickerson bobbles the snap and Seminole recovers for its fifth takeaway of the evening. Seminole takes over at its 28. 7:51 3Q.

Austin Plebanski’s 27-yard field goal attempt for Seminole is blocked. Game is still deadlocked at zero. Lake Nona takes over at its own 16. 10:05 3Q.

Seminole opens the second half with a 48-yard kickoff return. They will start their possession at the Lake Nona 12.

Seminole to receive the second half kickoff.

It’s halftime. Seminole and Lake Nona are still locked in a 0-0 stalemate that has been a defensive slugfest with turnovers galore for both sides.

Bad snap dooms Austin Plebanski’s 40-yard field goal attempt and it ends in a turnover on downs for Seminole. Lake Nona takes over at the Seminole 28 after a sideline penalty. Eight seconds remain in the first half.

Taebor Williams nearly had an interception in the end zone but the pass is incomplete. Third down for Seminole with 18 seconds left.

Seminole defense forces a three-and-out. That’s the first Lake Nona possession that does not end in a turnover. Punt doesn’t go very far, so Seminole will set up shop at the Lake Nona 22 with 40 seconds left in the first half.

Austin Plebanski delivers a booming punt that took a Seminole bounce. A personal foul on Lake Nona backs the ball up further. Lake Nona will start at its own 15 rather than the 30.

The Lake Nona defense again holds strong and forces a three-and-out.

Seminole defense forces a turnover on downs. Offense will take over at its 5-yard line. Four turnovers for the Seminole defense and the Lake Nona offense again comes away empty handed after a promising drive.

Seminole punter given a bad snap and is brought down at his team’s 25. Lake Nona takes over, looking to finally punch the ball in. 6:39 2Q.

WATER BREAK Eli Nickerson rumbles 19 yards to set Lake Nona up with a 1st and goal at the Seminole 8.

Nickerson tries to take a deep shot to Jeremiah Allen but RJ Hampton is there to snag it away for the third turnover by this Seminole defense. ‘Noles offense takes over at their 23.

So two red zone trips translate into two turnovers for Lake Nona. It’s 0-0 at the end of the first quarter. Two Lake Nona turnovers and two unsuccessful drives for Seminole are the main highlights so far.

Lake Nona’s Eli Nickerson has the ball slip out of his hand and Seminole recovers the fumble. SHS takes over at its 18.

Lake Nona defense forces a turnover on downs. Offense takes over at the Seminole 25. It’s 5:27 to go in the first quarter.

First play from scrimmage is a 29-yard pass from Lake Nona quarterback Eli Nickerson to receiver Josiah Hall for a Lions first down.

Seminole’s Joseph Watson IV picks off Eli Nickerson’s pass to the end zone. ‘Noles take over at their own 4-yard line with 8:08 to go in the first.

PRE-GAME NOTES:

Weather looks good for this game.

Seminole (5-6) is No. 36 and Lake Nona (8-4) No. 149 in MaxPreps state rankings.

Orlando-area preseason high school football scoreboard

Other key games

With Sentinel Super 16 preseason rankings:

No. 1 DeLand at Sumner

DeLand, with almost everything back from a 12-1 season, treks to the Tampa area to face another 2025 playoff team. The Bulldogs are ranked No. 10 in the state by MaxPreps. The Stingrays (10-3) are No. 49.

No. 2 Jones at Miami Central

Jones (12-3) made the trip to Miami for state championship losses in the past two seasons. Here they go again to play one of South Florida’s best. The nine-time state champ Rockets (10-2), are ranked No. 6 for all classes by MaxPreps. Jones is No. 16 on that list.

No. 5 Evans at Wakulla

Evans, coming off an 8-3 year, is ranked No. 64 by MaxPreps — and is looking better than that. Wakulla was 6-5 last season.

No. 7 The First Academy at Kathleen

TFA (5-5) is back in the playoff picture after a two-year suspension and is ranked No. 11 in Florida. Kathleen was 2-8 last season.

University (Orange City) at No. 10 Oviedo

Oviedo (8-3) went 34-11 over the past four seasons — including three consecutive 8-win years. The Titans (1-9) are rebuilding.

Viera at No. 12 South Lake

South Lake made program history with its 11-2 season of 2025. This team could be better. The Hawks (7-5) were also a playoff team.

No. 16 Dr. Phillips at Boone

Metro Conference rivals both have new head coaches after big years. DP went 9-4 and Boone went 10-2.

DeLand starts No. 1 in Sentinel Super 16 football coaches poll; Jones second

Varsity content editor Buddy Collings can be contacted by email at bcollings@orlandosentinel.com.