West Orange retakes Shield from Ocoee in shortened game -- Observer Preps

In their quest to regain "the Shield," the West Orange Warriors won handily against the Ocoee Knights, 42-7, in a game where its unusual ending ultimately may eclipse what happened on the field.

Ocoee High officials called the game with 11:15 remaining in the fourth quarter due to safety concerns.

Reported violent fights that took place outside of the stadium — but still on campus in the parking lot near the gate — led to the unusual decision. Attendees were asked to leave while the athletes and band members from both schools hung back, before leaving once things had settled down.

Though the final outcome of the game was not in jeopardy at the time when the game was called, both coaches were disappointed over the fact that their seniors didn’t get a chance to completely play out the final quarter of their high school careers.

“I’m shocked,” West Orange coach Bob Head said. “It’s the first time I’ve ever seen that. There were some seniors that I really wished could have gotten in the game, and they didn’t get that opportunity, so I’m upset for them.”

“It’s disappointing,” Ocoee coach Jason Boltus echoed. “No matter what our record was, these seniors didn’t quit — for three years they haven’t quit. ... To take that 11 minutes and 15 seconds away isn’t fair to them, because it’s something that is not in the control of the coaches, not in the control of the players on both teams.”

West Orange had led Ocoee by just a touchdown — 14-7 — at halftime. Sophomore Nemea Hall took the first play from scrimmage in the second half 70 yards to put the Warriors up 22-7, after a two-point conversion was successful.

Following an interception by Tyler Jones, the Warriors scored again on another touchdown run from Hall with 10:51 remaining in the third quarter. West Orange scored once more in the third quarter on a touchdown pass from Elijah Stimmell to Jason Athay.

The Warriors (6-4) went into the fourth quarter up 36-7.

Following a muffed punt by Ocoee (1-9) deep in their own territory, the Warriors scored once more on Hall’s fourth touchdown of the night — a play which wound up being the final play of the game.

“Instead of trying to trick them, we just said we’re gonna run right at them,” Head said, referencing the adjustments his team made at halftime. “Nemea Hall went for 1,000 yards (on the season) — we're really proud of him — and our team just settled down.”

For Ocoee, its season ended with just one win, but the future appears bright with most of their key contributors set to come back for next season.

“They’re a very talented group,” Boltus said on program's underclassmen. “They're a very talented bunch of players, but they need to come together as a team. Team beats talent. I know we’re talented, but talent only goes so far. The next step for us is becoming a team, believing in each other, loving each other and taking this program back to where we were last year.”

With the win, West Orange wraps up their season on a four-game winning-streak.