In 1981, Seminole principal Don Reynolds left to become Lake Mary’s first principal, sparking what is now one of the fiercest rivalries in Central Florida. However, it’s not very often we get a matchup as meaningful as the one this Friday in varsity football. Just how important is this game?

Record: Lake Mary is 7-0, Seminole is 7-1 (their only loss was to Chaminade-Madonna, which is 7th ranked in the state)

Standings: Lake Mary is 9th in the state, Seminole is 10th

Points per game: Lake Mary is averaging 37 points per game and allowing 10.1, Seminole is averaging 35.2 and allowing 9.

With a win: Lake Mary clinches the district title and a state playoff berth with a win. If Seminole wins this game and win the rest of their games (against much worse opponents), they make the playoffs.

Lake Mary is led by QB Gunnar Smith, who’s thrown 15 TD’s and only 5 INT’s. He also has a whopping 68% completion percentage. Their other star players include RB Manquez Lang (87 carries for 394 yards), WR Markel Jones (22.6 yards per reception), and kicker Colton Boomer.

Seminole is a team that heavily relies on running the ball. When Oviedo transfer QB Luke Rucker (7 TD, 125 yards per game) isn’t throwing the ball, they’ll likely hand it off to Donta Whack (32 carries for 370 yards), Trey Clark (27 carries for 275 yards), or Tyrone Williams Jr (21 carries for 182 yards).

The two programs have played 18 times since 2002 and have each won 9 games. However, Seminole has won the last four meetings, including a 28-20 thriller in their most recent game in August 2019.

A sellout crowd is expected at Seminole’s stadium of around 3,500 people. The game will be streamed at 7 PM on October 22nd on VarsitySportsNetwork.org.