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Umatilla Moves To 3-0 With Shutout Win Against Eustis

    It was standing room only on Friday night when Eustis travelled north to face Umatilla for a high school football rivalry showdown.  Eustis, the dominant program over the long history of the rivalry and the winner of the last game in the series in 2023 by a score of 57-0, this year found itself on the opposite side of a lopsided contest, falling to the Bulldogs by a score of 37-0.
    Umatilla, now 3-0 on the season, controlled the contest from the outset, even as the game quickly became a contest of miscues. In the first quarter alone, there were seven total points scored and five total turnovers, with Umatilla throwing two interceptions and Eustis fumbling three times. In the frame, Bulldog players Isaiah Brown, Payne Brunson, and Nate Hawkins all collected fumble recoveries, and John Brake collected a touchdown reception from quarterback Ray Jenkins.
    Scoring in the second quarter was confined to a Tyler Pounders field goal of 27 yards, but the story of the night, beyond Umatilla’s dominance, was the amount of penalties.  Total flags thrown during the first half quickly rose into the double digits, and it took over one and a half hours to play 24 minutes of football.
    In the second half, Umatilla stretched its lead to 17-0 on a Bryce Norflee one-yard run.  The touchdown came after a sequence that saw Umatilla’s Jenkins throw an interception in the end zone, which the Eustis player ran out to the two-yard line.On the next play, Eustis fumbled, with Brown recovering.
    Umatilla stretched the lead to 23-0 on a Grant Kirkland fumble recovery for a touchdown, and to 30-0 on another Norflee touchdown reception.  With 6:14 left in the game, Umatilla stretched the lead to 37-0, triggering a running clock and a quick end to the game.
    “It feels great,” said Umatilla head Coach Eric Samuels of the win.“Two years ago they beat us pretty bad.  Tonight the guys came out and played a heck of a game.”
    Samuels voiced pleasure with how the team played, particularly on the defensive side of the ball, where he played a decade ago for Umatilla.
    “Defensively, we were lights out.  Offensively, we started a little slow.  But in the second half we did what we were supposed to do.”
    Looking ahead, Samuels said his team is ‘right on schedule’ to compete for its season goals.
    Umatilla will return to the field this Thursday night, welcoming Interlachen to Umatilla for a 7 p.m. kickoff.  Interlachen enters the contest with a 1-2 record, most recently losing to Crescent City by a score of 14-7.
    Eustis, now 1-2 on the season, will play Friday night at Wekiva.  Wekiva enters the game with a 0-3 record and is coming off a 52-0 loss to Horizon.  Kickoff is at 7 p.m.