Cats win, Eagles playoff bound

A goal line fumble may have spelled the difference between Winter Park going out on a low note, and the high note they found in their final game this season. The Wildcats emerged from a scuffle with Ocoee victors 14-10.

And in doing that, the ’Cats (4-6, 2-2) found some vindication in a season that quickly went south before righting itself in the final weeks.

The Wildcats’ quarterbacks did a lot of running Friday night to score their team’s two touchdowns. And they collected both of them early, scoring on back-to-back rushing TDs by quarterbacks Asiantii Woulard and Jeff Whitted.

And once that offensive blitzkrieg had put the score to 14-0, the ’Cats coasted on fumes while the defense fought to hold Ocoee out of the end zone for the remaining three quarters. They only allowed one touchdown in the game, but a late field goal from 37 yards out of the uprights brought the scoring gap into the danger zone. Thankfully for Winter Park, Ocoee never scored again.

The win gave the resurgent Wildcats their third win in four games to end the season, shy of the playoffs, but with a strong final month to remember.

Edgewater

The Eagles (3-7, 3-1) watched experience trump youth in the Battle For the Barrel against Boone on Nov. 9.

And for Braves coach Phil Ziglar, it was a chance to go out on top after 23 seasons as the team’s head coach. The Braves (6-4, 1-2) watched a 34-yard Austin Jones field goal split the uprights with only seconds remaining in the game to make it 13-12. And that’s where it stayed as they hoisted the barrel, champions again.

Not that the Eagles didn’t make a game of it. Quarterback J.B. Woodman again was in top form, throwing for 209 yards in the game on 28 attempts, finding the end zone once on the way. And the Eagles had new life in their ground game thanks to the injection of Kobie Grace, rushing for 121 yards on 19 carries. But absent speed demon Jonathan Altman, the Eagles could only compile so much offense on the ground.

The Eagles, who won all but one district game but lost every non-district game they played, are headed to the postseason this week. They’ll face Evans (8-2), which just trounced Wekiva 35-0.

That game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 16, on Edgewater’s home field.