Sam’s 2025 spring football stops: Dr. Phillips High Panthers

Sports Editor Sam Albuquerque takes you behind the scenes of spring high school football in West, Southwest Orange, bringing you the top tidbits and notes he picked up.


Dr. Phillips defensive back Mchenry Fortilien (No. 6) made a tackle in the Panthers’ spring game win over Winter Park High.
Dr. Phillips defensive back Mchenry Fortilien (No. 6) made a tackle in the Panthers’ spring game win over Winter Park High.
Photo by Sam Albuquerque
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The fourth and final week of the 2025 spring high school football session is here, and West Orange and Southwest Orange teams have squeezed every ounce they could out of their allotted spring practices, scrimmages and exhibition games as they now await the start of fall camp.

This week, we dive into the area’s top 2024 team, the Dr. Phillips Panthers; update readers on the massive changes at the area’s only postseason trophy-winning team, the Legacy Eagles; and discuss one of the top candidates for this season’s breakout team, the Central Florida Christian Academy Eagles.


Dr. Phillips Panthers

2024 record: 12-2

Spring game: Won, 21-10, at Winter Park High

Coach: Rodney Wells, 14th season

Key returners, additions: DB Xayvion Mincey, OL R.J. Stamm, RB Zion Matthews, ATH Rashaud Taylor, DB Torrey Scott Jr., DB Mchenry Fortilien, DL Maurice Jones Jr. and DL Demarco Henderson III

After a senior-heavy offense led the Panthers to a Class 7A Regional Championship game appearance last season — the furthest of any area public school program — one would think this program would be in rebuilding mode going into 2025. The Panthers are losing 11 college football players to graduation; of those, four will play at the Division I level.

But Dr. Phillips doesn’t rebuild under Rodney Wells, the area’s longest-tenured and winningest coach; the Panthers reload. After watching the talent DP’s trotted out onto Showalter Field against Winter Park, especially on the defensive line and secondary, expect the Panthers to be among not only the area’s best teams but also the state’s. 


No. 1: Defense’s time to lead
With eight seniors leading the high-scoring Dr. Phillips offense last season, the Panthers’ young-but-talented defense was afforded the time to develop on the field. Despite losing some key leaders on that side of the ball, this DP defense has the talent and experience along its front and secondary to be the area’s best in 2025. The only position group that doesn’t return most of its starters on defense is the linebackers, but if you know anything about Wells, the former DP and Syracuse backer, you know he’ll get that position sorted out.

Speaking to Wells after the Panthers’ road spring game win over the Wildcats, he liked what he saw from his defense. 

“The defensive line was pretty dominant tonight, which is what they’ve been doing all spring,” Wells said. “They’ve given our offensive line hell and made them better because of it. With Maurice, who was out tonight but will be healthy soon, we have a really strong group up front. We have to keep them healthy over the summer. On the second level, we still have to get our linebackers right. We lost four linebackers and about 350 tackles from those guys, so that’s something we have to get right, but we will. The secondary is really good; we lost our leader from last season in Maliki Wright, but we got a lot of guys back and added some young guys, too. Right now, I feel good about that group. We have six, maybe seven guys that can play on Fridays in the secondary.”


No. 2: Replacing QB1
One of the biggest questions for this Dr. Phillips team coming into the spring was at the quarterback position. Stanley Anderson-Lofton, the team’s starter the past three seasons, is now at Middle Tennessee, and there will be a new Panthers QB1 in 2025. 

As of the spring game, Wells felt comfortable saying that rising junior Jake Belcher, a transfer from West Virginia, is DP’s starter. 

“Right now, yes, Jake is the starter,” he said. “At Dr. Phillips, though, there’s always a competition at every position, and the way that the young guy (Tien Williams) came in and made plays, he’ll have the chance to fight for the spot. We’re going to have a good summer and see where we land come the fall.”


No. 3: Zion Matthews is the real deal
With a pair of seniors leading the running back room in 2024, the junior transfer from Osceola High didn’t see much action for the Panthers, carrying the ball just 47 times for 375 yards. Based on his physical development, growth as a leader and the roster turnover on the offense, the 5-foot-11, 200-pound rising senior will be the feature playmaker on offense.

“Oh yeah, Zion’s awesome,” Wells said. “He runs so hard and is a load to take down. Over the offseason, he did everything to get better. He did all the track workouts and got a little slimmer and much faster. He’s our workhorse back this season.”

 

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Sam Albuquerque

A native of João Pessoa, Brazil, Sam Albuquerque moved in 1997 to Central Florida as a kid. After earning a communications degree in 2016 from the University of Central Florida, he started his career covering sports as a producer for a local radio station, ESPN 580 Orlando. He went on to earn a master’s degree in editorial journalism from Northwestern University, before moving to South Carolina to cover local sports for the USA Today Network’s Spartanburg Herald-Journal. When he’s not working, you can find him spending time with his lovely wife, Sarah, newborn son, Noah, and dog named Skulí.

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