PHOTOS: West Orange emerges victorious in its first playoff game

West Orange football team’s season has been riddled with success. The team went 9-1 in the regular season, gathered the Crate, the Shield and the Fence for the third time in school history. 

The Warriors finished as the district champions and earned itself a home-field advantage playoff game. Now, the team won the Regional Quarterfinals and propel itself to the Semifinals. 

West Orange hosted Plant City at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 14 for the Regional Quarterfinal game and emerged victorious 45-30. Last year the teams met in the Semifinals and West Orange defeated Plant City by one.

Running back Jayden Ammons quickly set the tone of the game by his 7-yard rushing touchdown on the Warriors first drive. He tallied in a second during the second quarter. The junior has had his most successfully season in his three years as a Warrior. He’s leading the team with 12 total touchdowns and averaging 57.9 rushing yards per game. 

Naturally a playoff level game brings out the fire in both competitors. 

Plant City capitalized on West Orange’s three turnovers and scored a touchdown of each. The Warriors’ defense had a fire ignited underneath themselves too. West Orange’s outside linebacker Nolan Turner earned himself a pick six followed by Nolan Herman causing a strip-sack that led to a second defensive touchdown. 

The team showcased against Plant City that it knows how to successfully apply defensive pressure and run the ball. As West Orange trudges deeper into the bracket and down to Venice High School, the No. 1 team, the team must clean up its game. Against Venice, the Warriors won’t have the wiggle room to turnover a punt return, throw interceptions and draw an abundance of flags. 

West Orange has lost to Venice in the playoffs for the last two years and now is the team’s chance to prove that the infamous saying, “Third times the charm” is true.