Long before Hurricane Isaias hovered over the game plans for schools near the Gulf of Mexico’s panhandle beaches, state-ranked Orlando rivals Edgewater and Jones had to revamp their schedules to make room for their non-district downtown Orlando showdown. That game, originally scheduled for Sept. 18, was postponed due to stormy weather and is now set for Monday at Jones, starting at 6 p.m.
Jones, ranked No. 3 in the Sentinel Super 16 Coaches Poll, shifted its crucial Class 4A District 6 home game against Lake Wales from Friday to Thursday to give the Tigers three days before facing Edgewater, No. 6 in the Super 16.
The Eagles moved their Class 6A District 6 home game against Olympia to Wednesday night and won 34-0 in what Edgewater head coach Patrick Browning said “was a monsoon all game.”
It was pretty much the same for the Thursday night game matching Jones against Lake Wales, the No. 5 and 8 teams in the MaxPreps 4A state rankings. Edgewater is No. 7 in 6A.
Foundation Academy’s road game against Providence School of Jacksonville was shifted from Friday to tonight for fear of heavy rains and winds. A number of Jacksonville area games were moved up.
And Friday’s Lake Highland Prep at Father Lopez (Daytona Beach) game was rescheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 4, at Daytona Stadium.
Hurricane Isaias is forecast to hammer the Pensacola area this weekend, forcing schools in north Florida (and Alabama and Mississippi) to scramble football schedules.
We’ll be posting live updates from games right here. Check back often once games kick off.
CHECK HERE FOR SCOREBOARD UPDATES ON ALL GAMES
Go to the Sentinel Varsity home page for news on all high school sports. Games listed are scheduled for 7 p.m. unless noted otherwise.
Rankings in bold are from this week’s Sentinel Super 16 coaches poll. Teams are listed with win-loss records in parentheses. Asterisks denote district games. District records are included for teams that have played previous district games
Week 8 matchups
Lake Wales defeated No. 3 Jones, 28-6 (Thursday)
Coverage by Chris Hays
A constant downpour of rain that hit the downtown Orlando area in late afternoon, met these two state-ranked teams upon arrival at Jones High on Thursday night. It did not let up until midway through the final quarter. By that time, Lake Wales had already built a 28-6 lead on the homesteading Tigers and it was too late to make much of a comeback attempt.
Jones, 4-2 overall and 1-1 in Class 4A District 7, did not handle the treacherous field conditions and slippery ball, as the Tigers put the ball on the ground eight times, with Lake Wales (6-1, 3-0) coming up with it on six different occasions.
The Highlanders took full advantage of those turnovers, scoring four touchdowns on its way to clinching the district title.
Lake Wales receiver Kaneilius Purdy, who is committed to UCF, found his footing early in the game and made the Tigers pay. He scored three touchdowns, the final one a screen pass from quarterback Kingston Loydd that he took 38 yards to the end zone. That slammed the door on Jones.
Jones came into the contest ranked No. 5 in 4A, with Lake Wales sitting at No. 8. The Tigers will now be looking for an at-large berth to the postseason party.
The Tigers never got on track and managed less than 20 total yards on offense, thanks to a number of negative-yardage plays. A bad snap in the second quarter that sent the ball into the end, resulting in a safety. Lake Wales led 14-6 at halftime.
Jones got on the board just before halftime when defensive back Sharad Haire stepped in front of a Loydd pass at the 50-yard line and nearly returned it for a touchdown, getting dragged down at the 4-yard line. Damir Williams, who had 116 yards against Ocoee last week, punched in the touchdown from five yards out, thanks to some big-time blocking by defensive tackle Dajur Webb, inserted into the game at fullback.
Webb was one the few Jones players who seemed to acclimate himself to the weather conditions. He said the sloppy elements were perfect for his playing style.
“I’m from Pittsburgh, so we always got rain, snow, so I’m pretty used to this,” Webb said. “I’m playing for my brothers out here, so that was my main goal.”
PRE-GAME NOTES:
The winner of this game has a lock on the Class 4A District 6 title.
Lake Wales, a 15-0 state champ in 2022 and final four team in 2019 and 2023, lost to Jones twice last year — 48-22 in the regular season and 24-10 in a playoff rematch.
Friday games
No. 7 West Orange (5-1, 0-1) at No. 13 Dr Phillips (4-2, 1-0)
Coverage by Chris Hays
Edgewater is in the 6A District 6 driver’s season after spanking West Orange last week — but both of those teams are on track to reach the eight-team 6A Region 2 playoff bracket, and Dr. Phillips would also make it stands now.
West Orange won 28-19 last year and is 3-2 in the “Battle for the Ole Orange Crate” rivalry since they didn’t play during the 2020 Covid-shortened season.
Lake Mary (1-5, 0-1) at No. 4 Seminole (6-0, 1-0)
Coverage by Chris Martucci
Seminole is tied with Lake Brantley (3-3, 1-0) for first in 6A District 3 but won’t look past struggling rival Lake Mary in this fierce rivalry game.
The series is tied 4-4 since the teams were placed back into the same district in 2021. But the Rams have won the past three meetings, including two wins in 2024.
South Lake (2-4, 1-0) at No. 10 Evans (3-3, 1-0)
Coverage by Jean Racine
Teams tied for the Class 5A District 4 lead meet for the first time since 2012. Evans is 2-0 vs. the Eagles.
The Trojans have alternated wins and losses and want to finally have a winning streak after crushing Lake Minneola in their district debut, 46-0.
South Lake has won twice since an 0-4 start.
The Evans duo of senior quarterback Will Jackson (1,752 yards and 12 TDs on 70% passing) and junior wideout Brian Dillard (32 catches for 731 yards) is lethal. Jackson committed to Maryland.
Trinity Prep (4-2) at Geneva School (4-2), 6:30 p.m.
Coverage by Philip Rossman-Reich
Big game for small-school teams seeking playoff berths in the new FHSAA Independent League.
Trinity Prep sophomore Kyle He has run for 726 yards and 14 touchdowns while also playing linebacker.
The Saints hosted last year’s game and won 41-20 in Geneva’s first year of 11-man football.
Knights head coach Dave Langdon was Trinity Prep’s athletic director for 11 years (2012-2023) before taking the Geneva football job.
Other Super 16 games
University (Orange City) (1-5, 0-1) at No. 1 DeLand (5-1, 1-0)
Area No. 1 Bulldogs are averaging 42.5 points.
Archbishop McCarthy (3-3) at No. 2 The First Academy (5-1)
MaxPreps ranks Class 2A TFA is ranked No. 6 for all classifications.
Winter Springs (3-3, 0-1) at No. 5 Bishop Moore (4-2, 2-0)
Hornets, with four wins in a row, is all alone atop Class 4A District 6.
No. 6 Edgewater defeated Olympia, 34-0 (Wednesday)
The two coaches decided in the third quarter, after Edgewater had taken a 21-0 halftime lead with weather conditions not getting any better, to play the game with a running clock the rest of the way.
Sophomores Bryce Jackson and Luke Ferenac each scored two touchdowns, and senior Jaelyn Powell added another.
The Eagles went without talented sophomore running back Jahmari Hammonds for the fourth straight game due to a high-ankle sprain.
No. 7 West Orange (5-1, 0-1) at No. 13 Dr. Phillips (4-2, 1-0)
Two Class 6A playoff contenders in District 6 matchup.
DP leads Battle for the Ole Orange Crate rivalry 19-15. Warriors won 28-19 last season.
No. 8 Lake Nona (5-1, 1-0) at Harmony (1-5, 0-2)
Lake Nona shares Class 6A District 5 lead with Tohopekaliga.
No. 9 Oviedo (4-2, 2-0) at Viera (3-3, 1-1)
Lions share Class 5A District 5 lead with Lake Howell (4-2, 2-0).
Celebration (1-5, 0-1) at No. 11 Ocoee (3-3, 1-0)
Ocoee is tied with East Ridge for the lead in Class 6A District 7.
Horizon (2-5, 0-1) at No. 12 East Ridge (5-2, 1-0)
East Ridge looks to set up its Oct. 23 trip to Ocoee as the district title game.
Boone (3-3, 0-1) at No. 13 Hagerty (4-1, 1-0)
Hagerty shares the Class 6A District 4 lead with Timber Creek (4-2, 1-0), which plays at home vs. Winter Park (2-4, 0-1) in another key game.
No. 15 Lake Howell (4-2, 2-0) at Melbourne (4-2, 1-1)
If the Silverhawks win on the road it sets up 5A District 5 showdown with Oviedo, Oct. 23, at home.
No. 16 (tie) Lake Brantley (3-3, 1-0) at Apopka (2-4, 0-1)
Patriots are 0-8 against Apopka since winning in 2011.
This is a Class 6A District 3 game, where Brantley and Seminole are the 1-0 teams
No. 16 (tie) Innovation (6-0) at Colonial (3-3)
Innovation has the second-best MaxPreps ranking among teams in the new FHSAA Independent League.
More games of note
Tohopekaliga (4-2, 1-0) at Gateway (5-1, 1-1)
This is the first regular-season meeting between the schools, who are less than 15 minutes apart. They’ve met in two spring games and a 2025 bowl game, all won by the Tigers.
Winter Park (2-4) at Timber Creek (4-2)
Wolves look to snap a four-game losing streak against Winter Park to stay
Windermere (4-2) at St. Cloud (4-2)
These teams went 1-1 against each other in 2017-18 games.
Varsity content editor Buddy Collings can be contacted by email at bcollings@orlandosentinel.com.