Friday football has No. 1 DeLand, No. 2 Jones on the road and air | Week 1 Live Report
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High school football’s 2026 regular season kicked off Thursday with five games pitting Orlando area teams against out-of-state visitors. The locals went 3-2 against outsiders, with West Orange, No. 9 in the Sentinel Super Coaches Poll; No. 11 Sanford Seminole and University (Orlando) scoring the victories.
That sets the stage for a busy Friday night that includes challenging road trips for No. 1 DeLand and No. 2 Jones; rankings matchups with No. 5 Evans at No. 13 Lake Nona; No. 16 Dr. Phillips at No. 7 The First Academy; and No. 6 Bishop Moore hosting 2025 Rural Division state champ Hawthorne in a game that could give Matt Hedrick his 200th win in 25 years as head coach for the Hornets.
We’ll be posting live updates from selected games right here once games kick off. Check back often.
Also, the Sentinel’s 2026 football preview section will be in Sunday’s newspaper. All of those stories are posted online at orlandosentinel.com.
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. kickoffs unless noted otherwise. Rankings in bold are from this week’s preseason Sentinel Super 16 coaches poll.
No. 9 West Orange d. Archbishop Hoban (Ohio), 28-24 (final)
Coverage by Chris Hays
West Orange quarterback AJ Chung threw a 30-yard, 4th-down pass into the end zone to Yuto Kawamura-Johnson, who juggled the ball and then came down with the reception for the game-winning touchdown, as the Warriors rallied to beat Archbishop Hoban of Akron, Ohio.
The go-ahead score came with 1:57 left in the game. Hoban threatened to answer, driving all the way to the West Orange 16-yard line, before Deandre Meredith intercepted a pass inside the 10 to seal the victory with 19 seconds to go.
Small-but-gifted running back Jayden Ammons (5-foot-8, 170 pounds) was the star of the game for West Orange, running and catching the ball for a total of 157 yards (48 rushing, 109 receiving) and scoring two touchdowns.
They weren’t guarding the flats and I knew every time they blitzed they weren’t picking up on the RB, so I told coach and we adjusted and we just succeeded from there,” said Ammons, who caught 7 passes.
Chung was poised under pressure on the final drive. He finished the game completing 21-of-33 passes for 310 yards and three touchdowns.
“It was really just having confidence in my teammates. The whole game we were playing from behind,” Chung said of the Warriors, who trailed 24-14 to start the fourth quarter. “Just being able to continue out there and trusting everybody and knowing and believing we were gonna go to score.”
Meredith was in the right place at the right time to end the Hoban threat.
“I seen him run the wheel so I jumped it and caught the pick and tried to take it to the crib and that’s history,” Meredith said. “I was never worried. I believed in me and my brothers and we were gonna make the play to end the game.”
Ammons capped a 97-yard scoring drive with a 43-yard touchdown catch with 5:20 left in the game to pull West Orange within 24-21.
West Orange coach Geno Thompson said his team probably never should’ve been in the hole it found itself looking at in the fourth. The Warriors, usually a disciplined team, were flagged for 14 penalties for 85 yards. The yards could’ve been worse, but a number of penalties were offsetting or declined.
“Let’s be honest. I’m a perfectionist. I’m excited for the win, but I focus on the fact that the game could’ve been out of hand in our favor very quickly,” Thompson said. “The mistakes that we made kept them in the game and we almost lost it because of it.
“I don’t wanna take away from the joy of what a gutsy win that was, being able to come back and deliver and execute and end with a pick. That was phenomenal team football, but we expect to be so much better.”
The defense was solid most of the night but at times the Warriors lost containment of Hoban quarterback Major Cribbs. He ran for 176 yards and a touchdown on 7 carries. His 56-yard burst gave the Knights their 10-point lead.
“We had a couple of blown calls where we had guys who were supposed to spy the quarterback, but we just didn’t do our job,“ Thompson said. “But that’s gonna happen, especially week one.”
IN-GAME UPDATES:
West Orange DB Deadre Meredith intercepts a pass and this Thursday victory is in the books for the Warriors (1-0).
Hoban is driving. Has a first down at the West Orange 16 yard line with 32 seconds left.
TOUCHDOWN: Yuto Kawamura-Johnson makes a juggling catch in the end zone on a pretty 30-yard pass from AJ Chung and West Orange ties game, 28-24, with the Rodrigo Biggio extra point kick. We have 1:57 left on the clock.
West Orange is facing fourth and 10 with 2:07 left. Decision time. Offense is back on the field.
Hoban sacks West Orange quarterback AJ Chung for a 10 yard loss.
Yuto Kawamura-Johnson goes 30 yards on the punt return and West Orange is in business at the 30 yard line with 3:18 left.
Another break for West Orange. A bad snap loses 12 yards and Hoban is punting from its 15 yard line. Warriors cling to 24-21 with 3:36 left.
West Orange dodges a huge bullet as Hoban’s John Johnson drops a wide open pass that would’ve been an 80 yard touchdown.
TOUCHDOWN: AJ Chung throws to Jayden Ammons, who shakes off a tackler on the way to a 43-yard touchdown and West Orange pulls within 24-21 with 5:20 left in the game.
Hoban quarterback, Major Cribbs, is banged up on the second play of the fourth quarter. Cribbs has 7 carries for 174 yards and a touchdown tonight.
Headed to the fourth quarter. Hoban 24, West Orange 14.
This game is getting pretty chippy. There have been five personal foul or unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in the third quarter.
TOUCHDOWN: On a third down and 2 play, Hoban quarterback Major Cribbs goes 56 yards for a touchdown. West Orange defense has been fairly stout all night, but the Warriors cannot contain the quarterback. Hoban now leads 24-14, 3:02 left in the third quarter
TOUCHDOWN: After a penalty, Hoban’s Jaiden Daniels goes 6 yards for a touchdown and the Knights take a 17-14 lead over West Orange. 6:08 to go in the third quarter.
Hoban quarterback Major Cribbs goes 89 yards on a run and he’s tackled at the 1 yard line.
TOUCHDOWN: Jayden Ammons scores from 3 yards out and West Orange takes a 14-10 lead over Hoban. Ammons did most of the damage on the drive with two receptions from quarterback AJ Chung for 39 total yards. Taj Anderson caught another ball for 13 yards. West Orange went 76 yards on the drive. 7:12 left in the third quarter.
AJ Chung appeared to have connected with Taj Anderson for a touchdown with 8 seconds left in the first half. But the ball was knocked away on a great play by the Hoban defender, Khalil Diming. West Orange kicker Rodrigo Biggio’s 43-yard field goal was wide right and we go to halftime with Hoban leading 10-7.
Bad snap and a blocked punt by West Orange’s Namir Coleman. The Warriors take over the ball with 18 seconds left in the half at the 21 yard line.
West Orange tackle Jordan Aiken limps off the field. 3:04 left before halftime. Warriors punting the ball to Hoban.
TOUCHDOWN: Hoban scores on a 5 yard touchdown run by Khalil Diming and the Knights take a 10-7 lead. 5:40 left second quarter
Headed to the second quarter at West Orange, Warriors lead 7-3.
West Orange receiver Sean Tulloch limped off the field during the second offensive series, 2:20 left first quarter.
TOUCHDOWN: West Orange on the board, AJ Chung hits Mikel Victor with a 15-yard touchdown pass. Warriors lead 7-3, with 3:54 left in the first quarter. The ball bounced off the crossbar and over for the PAT.
FIELD GOAL: Hoban kicker Jeremy Hammel boots a 55-yard field goal to put the Ohio team on top 3-0 early in the first quarter.
West Orange pulls off onside kick on the opening kickoff, but officials say it was an illegal touch so Hoban starts things off on offense.
PRE-GAME NOTES:
Tim Tyrrell, formerly head coach at South Florida power Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood), is 151-27 in 14 years at Hoban in Akron, including five state championships since 2015.
Both of these teams went 10-2 last season.
No. 11 Seminole d. Mountain Vista (Colorado), 26-17 (final)
Coverage by Chris Martucci
After a rocky first half that started great but ended with Mountain Vista leading 17-13 at halftime, Seminole came back strong in the second half to deal the Colorado Division 5A finalists a season-opening defeat.
Running back Tyree Howard scored two touchdowns and the defense forced three turnovers to give the Seminoles a short field on most of their possessions. Quarterback Daniel Proenza scored a rushing touchdown of his own, as did running back Jamarion Coleman.
The game started off with a bang as the Seminoles’ Jaylen Lowman forced a fumble on the opening kickoff, which set the offense up with a short field. Proenza and the offense took advantage by running it in for the touchdown.
“The momentum was shifted from the start. You steal the possession, the guys got downhill to the kickoff team, told them to set the tone,” said Seminole head coach Karl Calhoun Jr. “Jaylen Lowman, a heck of a player, came out, made a big play and set the tone for the rest of the game.”
The Seminoles opened the second half with a 13-play 79-yard drive that Tyree Howard capped off with a 7-yard touchdown run. The defense fed off of that and kept the usually high-flying Golden Eagles offense silent the whole second half, forcing two turnovers on down.
Seminole next goes down 17-92 to take on Lake Howell on Aug. 28.
IN-GAME UPDATES:
The Seminole defense forces a turnover on downs one play after Jamarion Coleman made a big time sack to put Mountain Vista out of field goal range. First down Seminole at its 18 yard line, lead 26-17 with 5:05 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Daniel Proenza in at quarterback for Seminole to potentially ice the game.
Seminole’s Ethan Varnadore helped off the field after going down injured.
TOUCHDOWN Jamar Buckner takes it in from the 1 for the Seminole touchdown. Extra point fails. Seminoles lead 26-17 with 9:06 remaining.
Daniel Proenza back in at QB or this first and goal situation at the Mountain Vista 1.
Seminole leads 20-17 at the end of the third quarter.
Isaiah Taylor in at quarterback on this drive for Seminole.
TOUCHDOWN: Tyree Howard scores his second touchdown of the night, a 7-yard run after picking up 8 yards. Extra point good. 20-17 Seminole. 5:50 3Q.
Daniel Proenza starts second half at quarterback for Seminole.
Seminole to receive the second half kickoff.
Mountain Vista’s Marquise Reese with 234 passing yards and a touchdown in that first half. Brooklyn Bailey has been the beneficiary of 155 of those yards. Luke Bentley with one catch for 67 yards and a touchdown.
FIELD GOAL: Grayson Rooney nails the 37-yard field goal at the halftime buzzer for Mountain Vista. Upped the Golden Eagles lead to 17-13 going into the break.
Daniel Proenza back in the game at quarterback for the Seminoles.
TOUCHDOWN: Mountain View quarterback Marquise Reese keeps it himself on the read option and takes it in for the touchdown. Extra point good. 14-13 Mountain Vista on top. 2:38 2Q.
Mountain Vista QB Marquise Reese finds Brooklyn Bailey for 37 yards on 3rd-and-15 before Bailey steps out at the Seminole 1-yard line. Time out Mountain Vista. 2:50 left in the first half.
Seminole forces a fumble but the Golden Eagles recover. Loss of 16 on the play for Mountain Vista.
Seminoles bat down a pass for fourth down. … but a pass interference penalty erases the incompletion and keeps the drive alive for Mountain Vista.
Andrew Schramski returns the short kick 39 yards to the Mountain Vista 46 for Seminole.
TOUCHDOWN: Marquise Reese hits Luke Bentley on a slant route and he takes it 67 yards for a Mountain Vista touchdown. Extra point good. 13-7 Seminole. 8:49 2Q.
Low snap gets past Seminole’s Isaiah Taylor and he is brought down for a loss of 16. That, plus a false start on 3rd-and-1, killed what was setting up to be another scoring drive for SHS. Austin Plebanski’s field goal attempt is no good. Mountain Vista takes over at its 20.
Seminole leads Mountain Vista 13-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Isaiah Taylor in at quarterback for Seminole this series.
Mountain Vista goes for it on fourth down but the Seminole defense sacks Marquise Reese to force a turnover on downs. Seminole takes over at the Golden Eagles’ 40. 1:44 1Q.
TOUCHDOWN: Tyree Howard busts through the line and rumbles 15 yards for the touchdown to increase the Seminole lead. Extra point good. 13-0 Seminole. 4:55 1Q.
Daniel Proenza throws deep to Cam Roberts for 43 yards. First-and-10 at the Mountain Vista 28.
TOUCHDOWN: Seminole quarterback Daniel Proenza rumbles 11 yards for the opening touchdown. The ‘Noles offense was able to take advantage of the short field after the Mountain Vista turnover. Extra point no good. 6-0 Seminole at 9:08 1Q.
Seminole forces a fumble on the opening kickoff and recovers. ‘Noles to start at the Mountain Vista 27.
Seminole wins the toss and defers to the second half. Mountain Vista to receive the opening kickoff.
Game time is pushed back from 7 to 7:30 p.m. with the junior varsity game ending at 7:02.
PRE-GAME NOTES:
The Golden Eagles, 12-1 last season in Colorado’s large-school classification, are ranked No. 3 in 5A. They are led by senior quarterback Marquise Reese, a Colorado State commit who passed for 3,314 passing yards and 44 touchdowns last year.
Seminole counters with a rugged defense.
Orlando-area high school football preview for 2026
Friday games
No. 5 Evans at No. 13 Lake Nona
Coverage by Chris Hays
Two 2025 playoff teams go at it. Will Evans go wide-open on offense with its new transfer tandem of quarterback Will Jackson and receiver Brian Dillard?
Hawthorne at No. 6 Bishop Moore
Coverage by Philip Rossman-Reich
Bishop Moore vies for head coach Matt Hedrick’s 200th career win against last year’s Rural Division state champ from the Gainesville area. Hawthorne is a very small school, but has talent.
No. 3 Edgewater at Ocoee
Coverage by Jean Racine
Edgewater is 46-1 in regular season games since 2021 — losing only to TFA in a 2024 season opener. First matchup since the Eagles blanked Ocoee 46-0 in 2023.
No. 16 Dr. Phillips at No. 7 The First Academy
Coverage by Chris Martucci
This is the first official game for new DP head coach Caleb Walls, and the first football meeting for Orlando schools that sit five miles apart.
No. 8 Osceola at St. Cloud
Coverage by J. Daniel Pearson
This is the 103rd game in one of the longest standing rivalries in Florida high school football. Osceola has dominated, including 15 wins in a row. That streak is 20 in a row on the field, but the Kowboys forfeited their 2010 win due to an ineligible player.
Other big games
No. 1 DeLand at Lake Wales
DeLand outscored Sumner 52-46 in a wild preseason game and might be in for another track meet. Lake Wales was a 15-0 state title team in 2022 and finished 10-3 with a playoff loss to Jones last season.
No. 2 Jones vs. .Santa Margarita (California)
Jones coach Elijah Williams has an “anytime, anywhere” attitude about scheduling and the Tigers have started with two giant challenges. He took his team to Dade County to play Miami Central (a preseason loss) and fly this week to take on the team that was No. 1 in California last season at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo. The Eagles are No. 6 in MaxPreps’ national rankings.
Both teams have former NFL players as head coaches. Williams was an NFL defensive back. Santa Margarita’s Carson Palmer was longtime pro quarterback.
No. 10 Oviedo at Titusville
Oviedo, 40-15 under coach Greg Odierno, looks to get off to another strong start.
No. 12 South Lake at East Ridge
East Ridge leads Lake County rivalry 10-8, but Eagles won the past two — including a come-from-behind 49-35 victory last season at home.
No. 14 Winter Park at Windermere
First meeting with the Wildcats is a big test for the host Wolverines, who went 10-0 as an independent in the past two years and are riding a 21-game winning streak.
Hernando at No. 15 Lake Brantley
Visiting Leopards were 7-4 district champs last season, but seven players are suspended for their part in an on-the-field fight with players from Sunlake High last week.
Varsity content editor Buddy Collings can be contacted by email at bcollings@orlandosentinel.com.
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