This week, the Oviedo Lions faced off against district foe Wekiva, winning the highly anticipated matchup 52-27. While many expected this to be a hotly contested matchup, the Lions had the game wrapped up at halftime after linebacker Joey Gioa returned a fumble to the endzone with zeros on the clock to put the Lions ahead 35-7. While Gioa found himself in a foreign position, running with the ball in his hands, he only had one thing on his mind.
“I knew I was gonna score right when I scooped the ball up… everyone questioned my open field speed, I wonder what they’ll say now,” Gioia said.
The final tally of 27 for the Wekiva Mustangs is misleading since the Lion’s defense took their foot off the gas as the game progressed, allowing Wekiva to take advantage of some inexperienced younger players.
However, the defense showed a lot in the pass rush against the Mustangs, sacking the Wekiva Quarterback five times and forcing two turnovers.
While the Lion’s defense has continued to improve week to week, it’s been more of the same from the offense as the combination of speed and power continues to overwhelm defenses all over the state. The speed embodied by running back Chance Nixon, who has continued his stretch of excellent form, rushing for 104 yards and scoring his seventh touchdown of the season.
Nixon can’t take all the credit for himself, however. “The O-line execution has really allowed me to produce and execute at my best,” Nixon said.
While Nixon has had a great season, he’s only one-half of the backfield. The power, represented by captain Brock Joyce, was able to find the endzone for his eighth and ninth touchdowns of the season and totaled 63 yards that game in just nine carries.
The dynamic duo has totaled 1100 yards for the season and could become the first pair of Lions to each rush for 1000 yards this century. Joyce has enjoyed sharing the backfield with Nixon and knows that they’re both integral to each other’s success.
“Sharing a backfield with Chance is great… when one of us has the ball in our hands we make sure we block to set each other up for success,” Joyce said.
Although the Lions were able to handle business at home, many fans speculated before the game whether scheduling a quality district opponent like Wekiva for the school’s homecoming game was a good decision. But the Lions fought through adversity and started homecoming weekend right with a victory over the Mustangs.
The Lion’s dominant performance over Wekiva was enough to bump them up over twenty spots in the MaxPreps state rankings, slotting them in at number 79 in the state and giving them a very realistic chance at a high seed come playoffs.
This week the Lions will put their four-game winning streak on the line against cross-town rival Hagerty as the Lions push for their ninth straight win in the rivalry.
Read more about this rivalry in another story by Merrick Dicarolis, Three Guarantees in life: Death, Taxes, and a Lion’s Mayor Cup Victory.