Unexpected Powerhouses Emerge: Seminole, West Orange, and Olympia Shock Fans with Spring Football Triumphs

When life hands you a curveball, some teams stumble — but Seminole High? They just swing harder. This offseason threw its share of challenges at Coach Karl Calhoun and his crew, starting with the surprise departure of seasoned QB Michael Clayton to Miami Edison. Yet, rather than crumble, Seminole turned to their rising junior signal-caller, Jeysen Williams, who didn’t just fill the gap — he nearly rewrote the script. Taking the field at Bartram Trail Friday night, this Sanford squad pulled off a solid 28-14 win, proving resilience runs deep in their veins. As spring football heats up across the region, with The First Academy, Dr. Phillips, and Oviedo making waves just the night before, Seminole’s grit shines bright amid a sea of emerging talents and fresh rivalries. Coach Calhoun put it best himself, praising how his young lineup rose to the occasion in every phase. The hard work is paying off, and the outlook? Pretty darn exciting. Ready to dive into all the highlights and standout performances? LEARN MOREOriginally Published: May 17, 2025 at 1:13 AM EDTCoach Travis Gabriel said his team “still has a lot of work to do,” but he was pleased with what Olympia accomplished. Quarterback Noble Davis threw for 250 yards and 2 touchdowns to UCF commit Ja’Cari Jackson and Keadon Edwards. Eric Weems, Khristian Gustave and Matthew Haynes had rushing touchdowns.
Rising senior linebacker Brandon Sims scored on a 60-yard pick-6.
Williston 14, Gateway 0 (2 qtrs)

Lake Howell 12, Timber Creek 6 (2 qtrs)
Coach Mike Short was very pleased, calling his team’s performance “awesome,” after the jamboree sweep. The Bulldogs broke in a new quarterback, and what a debut it was for rising sophomore Jeremiah Lattier.
“Excited to work on the little things that will keep us going in the right direction.”
Seminole High has faced a bit of adversity during this football offseason but that hasn’t thwarted coach Karl Calhoun’s bunch.

South Lake 40, South Sumter 19

The defense stepped up big with Chakai Scott, Devonte Anderson and Eric Alsina snagging interceptions. Matheus Kaminski, Namir Coleman and Phyon Taylor had sacks.
On defense, rising junior Chase Gilbert had 13 tackles and a sack, rising junior Zeus Howard had a pick-6 and rising sophomore Jaden Taylor had an interception.
Tavares 26, Timber Creek 3 (2 qtrs)
Chris Hays can be found on X.com @OS_ChrisHays.

West Orange 35, Oak Leaf 29

“We played a lot of kids and got some really great evaluations. I was happy with our rushing game and our passing game,” Lord said. “We controlled the line of scrimmage for most of the night. It was a team effort on both sides of the ball. I was happy with our physicality.”
Running back Malik Holman ran for 147 yards and 4 touchdowns, including a 56-yard TD run on the first play of the game. Quarterback Tre Kelly threw for 145 yards and a touchdown pass to Keydrick Powell, who had 7 catches.
Geno Thompson said Friday’s contest was “a great spring game, but we pulled it off,” after West Orange edged out the victory.

Olympia 33, Lake Minneola 7

Lamar Garrison scored three touchdowns for East Ridge while Ethan Smith had two and Tony Brown also scored.

St. Cloud 21, Viera 0; St. Cloud 20, Leesburg 7

Rising junior quarterback Jason Stephens threw for 270 yards and 3 touchdowns for Lake Nona. Jordan Stokes had a 65-yard TD catch, Nollan Vasconcelos caught a 40-yard TD pass and Jacob Suit-Collazo caught a 14-yard TD pass.
The two teams played to a 21-21 tie through three varsity quarters, and then gave way to the JV players.
Coach Luke Hutchinson said the night “went well” for his Hurricanes as Mount Dora was victorious at The Rock. Rising senior running back Tymir Gaines is back to prove last year was no fluke, and he rushed for 4 touchdowns and more than 200 yards. Quarterback Nick Kerr threw for more than 200 yards and a touchdown. Willie Dixon had a touchdown catch.

Mount Dora 35, Rockledge 26

Calhoun vowed last week that Seminole will establish things on the ground this season and he held true to his words. Seminole scored 3 rushing touchdowns Friday, with rising senior Deshawn Watkins running for 110 yards and a TD. Rising junior Jamar Buckner scored a TD and Williams punched in a score on a QB sneak.

East Ridge 41, Harmony 17

Gateway 14, Oak Ridge 0 (2 qtrs)

Elsewhere

The First Academy, Dr. Phillips and Oviedo all had big wins on Thursday night. There are several more spring games on tap next week.
“Loved how our guys came together and made plays in all three phases,” Calhoun said. “A lot of new faces got to show their talents tonight. Bartram Trail is a very good and well-coached team, and it felt good to play a quality team and come out with a victory for the spring.
West Orange got rushing touchdowns from Jayden Ammons and Brian Dillard and quarterback AJ Chung threw touchdown passes to Dakiren Glover and Edison Delgado.
The 6-foot-3, 215-pound Lattier threw for a total of 4 TDs and “well over” 300 yards, Short said. Rising senior receiver/safety Bryce Williams played both ways and had 2 touchdown catches as well as 8 tackles and 3 pass break-ups. Rising junior Owen Sullivan also had 2 TD catches and rising senior Cameron Dalton ran for 109 yards and a TD.

Thursday

Lake Nona 28, Boone 21

Coach Brad Lord has been saying since last season to watch out for this year’s South Lake team. If the spring game is any indication, he looks to be right.
Lord also pointed out the defensive play of Rome McKinnond, Jesse Barker and Tyson Williams.
The crew from Sanford, which saw experienced quarterback Michael Clayton transfer to Miami Edison earlier this year, put its trust in the hands of rising junior Jeysen Williams and things turned out just fine. Seminole traveled to Bartram Trail on Friday night and came back victorious with a 28-14 victory.
Rising junior running back Garrison Woods scored 3 touchdowns for Boone and rising junior Darren Mathis also scored.

Also earning victories Friday night were West Orange, a 35-29 winner over Oakleaf; Olympia, 33-7 over Lake Minneola; East Ridge, 41-17 over Harmony; South Lake, 40-19 over South Sumter; Mount Dora, 35-26 over Rockledge; and St. Cloud rolled through its jamboree with a 21-0 win over Viera and a 20-7 victory over Leesburg.