- December 4, 2025
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As a freshman in 2024, West Orange quarterback A.J. Chung was able to learn a lot, display his talents and gain much-needed experience while playing on a rotational basis for the Warriors. However, one experience he wasn’t able to have in his first season of varsity football was playing the entirety of a game.
That didn’t happen until Week 1 of the 2025 season.
“Being able to play a full game for the first time ever in high school was an insane moment,” he said. “To go from starting the game all the way to the last snap and taking the knee in victory formation for the first time against Evans last week was a great moment — to actually get the experience of playing a full high school game.”
It wasn’t the season-opening snap he took as the Warriors’ QB1 nor the kneel down at the end of the game to confirm the first West Orange win of 2025 that stood out from the sophomore gunslinger’s first official start. No, the moment that it actually set in that he was the one leading this offense came in the third quarter.
“I was feeling good about how we were playing given we had already thrown two touchdowns in the first half,” Chung said. “The moment that really kind of made the whole experience of being the starting QB set in, though, happened after we came out of the half, when we were able to score our third touchdown as an offense and really put the game out of reach and let the defense seal the game for us. That definitely was a moment that has stuck in my head, because I thought to myself, ‘OK, this is your offense now. You have to go there and execute in every situation. You have to be the leader and deal with the expectation of being the starting quarterback.’ It was a surreal moment for me — not only because of how special it was but also because I really started to understand the huge responsibility I have now.”
This sort of realization is exactly the type of maturity and leadership West Orange coach Geno Thompson has come to expect out of his starting quarterback.
“A.J. Chung is probably the most advanced individual I’ve ever seen play the position and in terms of maturity; he’s years beyond his age,” Thompson said. “He takes ownership of everything. … That’s just his personality. He is the true definition of the term leader. He doesn’t deflect, he doesn’t blame anyone else if there’s something going wrong. He takes ownership of the mistakes he and everyone around him makes. … He’s always there to praise the people around him. He’s very humble. He’s a special kid.”
Chung is more than just a special leader. He’s a special talent, one that is a big part of building historic levels of expectation for this West Orange offense.
“In A.J. we have an amazing quarterback that is like another coach on the field for us,” West Orange offensive coordinator Narlin Clancy said. “We think this group overall can be one of the best offenses that the school’s ever had. … As a coaching staff, we’re aiming to lean on A.J. and the entire offense to help create a legacy here, that’s really what we want to do.”
To establish that legacy it takes more than just a special talent at quarterback, it takes special players and leaders at each position group, something Clancy knows he has in this 2025 group.
“We have a great up-and-coming running back in (junior) Jayden Ammons, who has been here since he was a freshman,” he said. “We have a stable of receivers, led by senior Edison Delgado, who are really dynamic and bring different skillsets to our passing game. And then up front, we have some really talented guys (who) can pass protect and create holes in the run game.”
One of the biggest hurdles in this group’s quest to become a generation-defining team for one of Central Florida’s most notable programs was just how quickly this array of talented players could gel to become a cohesive unit.
“Other than Edison, our entire receiving core is brand new this season,” Chung said. “Yuto (Kawamura-Johnson) came in two or three weeks before our first game. Dakiren (Glover) and Sean (Cannon) both joined the team in the spring, so we have to take some time to develop our chemistry. So, since the spring and in fall camp, we spent a lot of time after practices just throwing routes together, trying to develop an understanding of our timing. Every receiver runs routes differently; they catch the ball differently. So as a quarterback, I need to understand how they move and where they want the ball, because I need to trust them. In our offense, a lot of the time, I’m throwing blind. I have to know where they’re going to be and be able to put the ball in the right spot. Having Edison there to be able to teach them from the receiver side and just spending that time after practice together and really just building our relationships off the field by just hanging out together outside of football has us moving as one unit.”
With the receivers on the same page as their new starting quarterback and established returner in the backfield, the other question that remained was how quickly the big fellas up front would develop, considering the unit on returns two starters from last season’s group. Fortunately for the Warriors and especially its young QB, there’s another young leader making a name for himself on this West Orange offense — sophomore Fenway Cochrane.
“Fenway is another special leader we have on this offense,” Thompson said. “He’s a guy (who is) not afraid to be vocal and keep people accountable, especially in the weight room. I think, when you’re talking about the big guys in the trenches, the work they put in the weight room is a big part of their success and his leadership, his example in there is a big part of how this group is progressing this year. He’s always working hard in there and setting an example, but he’s also not afraid to hold older players accountable too, if he sees them not doing what they’re supposed to be doing.”
With leadership, talent and the belief of its coaching staff, this West Orange offense is buzzing with confidence for how it will play this season.
“We’re capable of doing some really special things as an offense this season,” Delgado said. “In the past, West Orange has been really known as a defensive team. Not to say that we don’t have a great defense this year, but I think this season, we’re going to step up on offense and really show people what we can do. People haven’t seen what I think we’re capable of quite yet, and I’m so excited to go out on the field this season and just ball.”
Chung agrees with his top target and is expecting to lean on the relationships, chemistry and talent of his team this season.
“The sky’s the limit,” he said. “We have the pieces, we have the coaches, and we have the bond to overcome any difficulties that are going to come along this season. A lot of people don’t believe in us because we’re a little undersized and we’re being under-recruited, but all that does is just help go into every practice, film session and game with a chip on our shoulders. … I think we’re in for a big season, and if we keep doing little things right, which we do every single day at this program, we’re going to prove a lot of people wrong.”
