UCF football kicks off next week, 'Cats starts strong

Winter Park started football off with a bang Friday, demolishing Edgewater 35-6 in their preseason kickoff game.

The Wildcats were forced to play on the road with their home stadium at Showalter Field being renovated with new artificial turf. That didn’t seem to hurt the ’Cats against their longtime rivals, as they opened up a lead early and didn’t look back.

The Eagles paid tribute to a former player killed in the Pulse nightclub shooting at the 50-yard line that night, giving a framed jersey for Cory Connell to his family at halftime. The Eagles would find the end zone once on a play that spanned half the field, but that was all they’d score in the game. The Wildcats would cross the goal line five times in the game, which was a one-night-only preview for the season, which officially starts Friday night.

The Wildcats will face the Lake Nona Lions on their long trip to Narcoossee Road Friday night. The last time Winter Park played the Lions, at Showalter Field last season, they won 21-9. That same season Lake Nona finished the season 3-7.

Lake Nona has struggled on the gridiron since first fielding a varsity team in 2009, putting together only three winning seasons in seven years.

Winter Park, which had only managed three touchdowns against Lake Nona last time they met, showed improved ability to score in their kickoff game. Last season haphazard offensive performances were interspersed by four games where they scored 40 points or more.

That offense looks like it’s back for the Wildcats, who started 2016 without standout quarterback Nick Sproles, who graduated in the spring.

Last season Sproles led a surprisingly potent offense after years of languishing scoring ability by the Wildcats. With an ability to pull off option plays and create first downs with his legs, Sproles helped the Wildcats to a 55-10 trouncing of district rival University two weeks before Halloween last year.

Starting this Friday, the wins count, though district play remains four weeks away. The Wildcats play at Lake Nona starting at 7 p.m. Friday.

Edgewater football

In an annual tradition the Eagles will watch Bishop Moore walk across the street to face them at 7 p.m. Friday. The two teams face each other annually in their non-district rivalry game. Last season the Hornets destroyed the Eagles 35-7 on Bishop Moore’s field. In the three years the teams have faced off in the regular season, the Eagles are 0-3.

UCF football

The Knights held their annual Football FanFest on Saturday, with thousands of UCF football fans showing up to have autographs signed by players and to meet new coach Scott Frost.

Fans also had a chance to meet UCF’s quarterbacks, all five of them. The position still wasn’t solidified as of mid-week as senior Justin Holman; former quarterbacks turned receivers turned quarterbacks Pete DiNovo and Nick Patti; Garrett Kruczek, son of former head coach Mike Kruczek; and new recruit McKenzie Milton continue to take snaps to prove who will be under center come Sept. 3. That night the Knights face South Carolina State.

Holman, who has gotten the nod for the majority of his sophomore and junior seasons, broke his index finger in the first play of the second game of the 2015 season, sidelining him for four games. The Knights’ 2015 season was heavily injury prone, eventually resulting in a 0-12 record that ended in head coach George O’Leary’s resignation, bookending his career with losing seasons. In between, O’Leary had propelled the Knights to their first ever BCS bowl win in 2013. Officials at the school announced Tuesday that a statue of O’Leary would be built and installed on campus sometime in 2017.

In O’Leary’s wake, Frost has introduced a new, fast-paced offense that Holman has had to adapt to while competing for his longtime job.

Editor's note: A previous version of this story misidentified Winter Park football's quarterback.