- December 4, 2025
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Week 10 of the West Orange and Southwest Orange County high school football season was once again full of storylines, notes and news for Observer Sports Editor Sam Albuquerque to pick from in his weekly Monday morning column, Friday Night Five, where he serves up his five most interesting observations from the week's gridiron action.
This week's top observation? The West Orange Warriors just keep finding a way to win ball games.
Let's get into it.
No. 1: West Orange finds a way to win again
In the 20th edition of the Battle for the Shield rivalry game against the Ocoee Knights, West Orange football once again did what it has been doing all season: Finding a way to win ball games.
I've always said that one of the characteristics of a championship-level team is winning games in various manners — whether it's by running the ball, with defense, coming from behind, playing with a lead, playing against a lesser team, etc. — and the Warriors showed another way they could win against Ocoee this past Friday: The quarterback-run game.
Sophomore QB Brian Dillard showed again just how good of an athlete he is by running for two touchdowns and converting a two-pointer. Beyond the scoring plays, Dillard made back-breaking plays with legs that felt demoralizing for an Ocoee defense that did a really good job of making it difficult for the Warriors' attack.
No. 2: Windermere one win away from undefeated season
This season has not only been storybook for the Wolverines, it also has rewritten the Windermere football history books. After topping the Innovation Bulls in Week 10, Windermere has two more historic feats left to accomplish to end the regular season: Complete the first undefeated season in program history and beat its rivals Horizon High for the first time in program history.
No. 3: Olympia's Ja'Cari Jackson continues to fulfill star potential
If you've seen Olympia's two-way junior Ja'Cari Jackson play, it's pretty obvious the kid is a talented player. But in the Titans' Week 10 win over East Ridge, he finally showed why so many hold him in such high regard by providing game-changing play after game-changing play as a receiver and cornerback — this included a 90-yard interception return that flipped the game's momentum going into the half. Jackson has the chance to be a really special player.
No. 4: Dr. Phillips vs. West Orange in Week 11 should be best area matchup of the season
With both teams winning in Week 10, bringing only one loss into this Week 11 game and having some of the most impressive resumes in the area, it's clear to me that this year's "Ole" Orange Crate game at Bill Spoone Stadium between the Panthers (7-1) and Warriors (8-1) will be the best matchup between two area teams this season.
No. 5: Foundation wins three of last four to close regular season
Just as coach Andre Walker told me at the beginning of the season, this young Lions of Foundation Academy team would look a lot better toward the end of the season as his players grew and learned the standards of the program.
He was right.
Foundation has rattled off three wins in the last four games, with its only loss in the span coming on a last-second touchdown to Eustis High by three points. This run not only helped the Lions finish the regular season with a .500 record, but it also earned them the No. 1 seed in its SSAC playoff bracket.
