Eagles soar, Wildcats lick wounds after kickoff

Football season officially starts this week after teams tested themselves in a preseason kickoff last Friday. Will the results predict seasons to come? Time will tell.

Winter Park and Edgewater

For the first time in two years the Winter Park Wildcats lost to the Edgewater Eagles on the gridiron. And they did it in odd fashion – a defensive stalemate that ended with only six points on the board.

Last season it was an offensive struggle that ended in a 26-13 win for the Wildcats.

This season for the kickoff classic it was a defensive struggle reminiscent of Wildcats teams from half a decade ago. Promising wide receiver Gabriel McClary didn’t have a chance to show off his hands in the end zone, as the Eagles shut down the Wildcat offense in the 6-0 win.

For the Wildcats, who return home this week, their recovery will have to come against a rapidly improving Lake Nona team that went 8-3 last season. The Lions stomped Minneola 27-13 last week in their kickoff game. They’ll play host at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Edgewater will enjoy home field advantage for the second week in a row to start the official season, hosting Evans at 7 p.m. Friday. The Trojans went 9-2 last season, but lost 45-0 to Seminole in their kickoff last week.

Lake Howell

Lake Howell buried St. Cloud in a 28-0 shutout, courtesy of some on-again, off-again offense that pulled off some dynamic plays to find the end zone. Quarterback Garrett Kruczek, son of Super Bowl winner and Trinity Prep coach Mike Kruczek, threw a belief-defying touchdown pass into the end of the end zone early in the game to bamboozle St. Cloud.

After dominating St. Cloud, the Silver Hawks will have to switch gears for a road game against a Lake Mary team that they lost to 30-0 last season – a season low point. But the Silver Hawks have a big thing going for them since 2012. After that blowout loss, they went on a 4-1 run to close out the season – their best streak in a decade.

Lake Mary didn’t play a kickoff game last week. The pair will meet at 7 p.m. Friday in Lake Mary.