Everything you need to know about West, Southwest Orange spring high school football

West Orange and Southwest Orange County high school football fans rejoice! Our collective four-month drought of those Friday Night Lights is finally over. Spring football season is finally here.

Officially kicking off Monday, April 28, and running through the month of May, programs can hold a total of 20 practice sessions through the preparation period; along with practices, those 20 sessions also include any scrimmages, spring games and jamborees.

In honor of football’s glorious gridiron return, Sports Editor Sam Albuquerque gives you his top storylines to watch for, his biggest questions going into the spring football and three bold predictions for the 2025 season.

STORY LINES TO FOLLOW

The First Academy vs. FHSAA

One of the most hotly contested matchups of the 2024 football season didn’t happen on the gridiron but rather behind closed doors as The First Academy went back and forth with the state’s athletics governing body. 

Ultimately, the FHSAA brought down heavy sanctions on the Royals football program, banning TFA from postseason play in 2024 and 2025 and suspending coach Jeff Conaway for the entire 2025 season. 

Although the investigations into the allegations that led to these sanctions have closed, the repercussions of these violations — not having Conaway on the sidelines during games and the 2025 postseason ban — will have major impacts for a TFA program that seemingly overnight became the best team in Central Florida last season. 

Beyond the sanctions’ effects on the season, TFA’s continued influx of transfer talent will keep that same bull’s-eye on the program’s back moving forward and the insertion of a new athletics director — Winter Park High’s Andy Chiles, who will take over in the summer — could see a new vision for Royals Athletics that could drastically effect the football program’s modem operate since Conaway was hired.

Breakout stars, irreplaceable voids

At the start of every season, there’s a sense of hope that permeates from the field, to the sidelines and to the stands. Teams and fans alike hope a special talent emerges — an athlete that can carry the team to the promised land of wins, trophies and history-making moments. 

Spring football is where that story begins. Every team has at least one player who will step on the field this spring who will make someone say the phrase, ‘Hey, who’s that kid? He’s good; what grade is he in?’ 

On the flip side, every team has seniors who will graduate shortly and will need to be replaced on the field and in the locker room. But just like that talented newcomer that gets fans excited, there’s a void left behind by a player that might seem too big to overcome — both in production and leadership. Keep an eye at those spots, a team’s weaknesses show every spring.

Battle for QB1

Identifying who is a team’s starting quarterback is one of the top priorities of any coaching staff and fan base. This season in West Orange and Southwest Orange is no different, as a group of top-tier QB talents have moved on and left vacancies under center at big-time programs. 

This begs the question everyone who cares about Dr. Phillips High, TFA and Windermere High football is asking: “Who is going to be our new QB1?” The battles for these respective starting quarterback spots should be a major focus for these three fan bases.

Biggest questions of spring football

Who is going to be the biggest surprise transfer?

In a world where high school student-athletes use social media as a tool of self-promotion and expression, it’s hard to imagine a big-time athlete’s decision to transfer schools not finding its way onto the internet. However — whether it is about privacy or a last-minute decision — every season, there’s a football player suiting up for a new, unexpected school. 

A lot of those decisions happen before or during spring ball, but also what happens on the field during the spring can put those pesky transfer wheels in motion, such as losing out on an expected starting spot, a new scheme not being the right fit, or a supplemental teammate transfers that affect a player’s ability to be effective on the field.

Regardless of the reasons or timing, spring isn’t just the unofficial start to football season, it’s also the start of transfer season. 

What will last season’s special units look like this year?

This area is always going to be a hotbed for football talent and last season was no different. Among the sea of college-level players, a few teams managed to bring together a group of these special players into the same unit or position group and it produced some incredible moments on the field. 

For example the Dr. Phillips offense — from its QB, offensive line and weapons — last season was a high-flying machine. Other examples were West Orange High’s secondary, led by current Alabama safety Ivan Taylor, and both the Royals’ offensive and defensive lines. 

Can those groups still be the foundation of winning teams, or will coaches and players have to find different strengths to lead their teams to victory?

How do the area’s new coaches fair in their first spring?

With one new permanent head coach, Foundation Academy’s D.J. White, and two interim head coaches taking the reigns, Legacy Charter’s Jed Ebersole and the yet to be named TFA interim, spring football will be the first chance these programs’ fan bases will be able to see what their team could look like come the fall. 

Bold predictions

1. Dr. Phillips will reload not rebuild in 2025

Really? DP is just going to run it back next season? Didn’t the Panthers lose their D-I quarterback, multiple offensive linemen, multiple big-time wide receivers and their best defensive player to graduation? Yes, but these are called bold predictions for a reason; on the surface, they may seem unlikely but if you dig a little deeper, you’ll find sound logic in the foundation. 

Simply put, Rodney Wells is still the Panthers’ coach, and as long as the former linebacker — who still looks like he can knock a QB out cold — is roaming the sidelines of Bill Spoone Stadium, in the shadows of Universal Orlando’s rendition of Hogwarts Castle, then Dr. Phillips will be a good football team. Simple as that.

2. Windermere keeps momentum after undefeated run, repeats as Independent League champs

After a historic 10-0 season in 2024, not only will coach Riki Smith and his Wolverines return a heap of key player makers on both sides of the ball but also, the program that Smith and his staff have built over the past few seasons has started to gain serious momentum. 

Knowing the type of work this program as a whole has put into its development and the resources that have been poured into the program by the community and school, expect Windermere to be just as good as it was last season and end 2025 with another Orange County Independent League championship ring on its fingers.

3. West Orange to have area’s most dynamic offense

When you put it all together, factoring in the physical, mental and emotional development of young student-athletes, the West Orange Warriors offense has every element it needs to end up being the most electrifying offense group in the area — and maybe all of Central Florida. 

From do-it-all athlete Brian Dillard, who can impact the game as a passer, runner, receiver and returner, to one of the purest throwers of the football in the area in A.J. Chung, who can bring an incredibly dynamic element to the Warriors passing game, to versatile receivers Devonte Anderson and Edison Delgado and a one-two punch in the backfield with Jayden Ammons and Nehemiah Burgess, West Orange should be able to dissect defenses in any way it wants next season.