New pieces look good for Lake Nona; Oviedo rolls past Ocoee in spring football
Lake Nona got to show off some of its new pieces Thursday night against Boone and for the most part, things looked good - although fourth-year coach David Aubrey wouldn’t call what he saw efficient.
Lake Nona, with close to 10 transfer players this year, was flagged for more than 10 penalties in a 21-0 spring football victory over Boone.
“It wasn’t pretty, but we got it done,” Aubrey said. “I expected (the mistakes). Not the four touchdown passes thrown out of bounds, but the biggest thing we’ve got to work on is playing closer together as a team, as a family and being more disciplined. We had probably 15 penalties tonight that cost us, but on paper, we’re pretty good.”
Orlando-area 2026 spring football game schedules
As for Boone, the Braves have plenty of new pieces, as well. Boone graduated 18 seniors, including the quarterback, top running back, top receiver, the best offensive lineman and its two leading tacklers, so first-year coach Charles Sprenkel will have plenty of first-time starters in 2026. He expected to struggle a bit Thursday night, but perhaps not as much as what he saw.
“We got a lot of work to do. As an offensive line guy, I’m always gonna put it on them first so I definitely hold my self (responsible) for this loss,” Sprenkel said. “We under performed. I told them at halftime that we worked to damn hard to produce that, so we got a lot of work to do and we’re not gonna be afraid hit it in the summer.
“We kept fighting for four quarters, so as long as the kids are doing that, it’s all you can ask for.”
Lake Nona got to see new quarterback Elijah Nickerson, who came over with three other players from Winter Park, take the reins. Although he was inconsistent, he had some good moments, like a 31-yard pass to senior receiver Josiah Hall, who was at Tohopekaliga a year ago.
Nickerson, a senior, and freshman Nick Lora took turns at quarterback, but it will be Nickerson’s job this season. Both quarterbacks threw interceptions, and Nickerson lofted a couple of passes that could have been picked off, but he had some good balls, as well.
“We don’t have a quarterback battle. Eli is our starting quarterback,” Aubrey said. “Nick is in a very good situation where he wants to learn and continue to improve. He’s doing some exceptional things int he role he is in now. Eli has a big arm and some varsity experience, so that’s kinda why he is our guy now.”
Sebastian Aura Lora was the most exciting of the new parts for Lake Nona, and he showed off some of his speed on a 42-yard, would-be touchdown pass that was called back do to a penalty. In the first quarter, Lora also showed off some of his shifty moves on a 27-yard pass from Nickerson, during which he dodged several tacklers.
Senior receiver Jaylen Carr had a nice catch and run on a 20-yard pass from Nickerson.
Lake Nona’s other touchdown came on a 42-yard burst up the middle by senior running back Noah Green, who also showed some speed after getting into the second level.
Defensively for Lake Nona, senior tackle Darren White-Jackson had two tackles for loss and recovered a fumble, and senior defensive end Zyiere Olinger, a transfer from Winter Park, combined with senior Johnathan for a sack, and Olinger also had a solo sack. Senior cornerback Charles Woodson Jr. had an interception, as did senior linebacker Anthony Moreno, who also had a sack.
Boone did have some highlights. Senior edge rusher Mackenzi Aldeus had two sacks and was very active. Junior linebacker Laaden Hodge had an interception of a Nickerson pass. Junior defensive back Robert Garner had a late interception.
“We made some mental mistakes and didn’t have every good discipline at times, but I was really, really excited about the way we played in terms of us being in shape and the strength that we played with, the explosiveness that we played with,” Aubrey said. “We got the skill set, we just gotta make sure we marry everybody together.”
Oviedo 35, Ocoee 8
Oviedo senior quarterback Sebastian Galeano threw two touchdown passes and ran for another. Senior receiver Carmari Solomon caught two touchdown passes and had 120 yards receiving and another senior receiver Joran Donahoo had a touchdown catch and 75 yards receiving. Oviedo got three interceptions from its defense by junior safety Evan Sorkness, senior corner Jaiden McNeil and senior linebacker Hector Jorge. Junior linebacker Davin Scott had a sack.
Windermere Prep 21, Lake Highland Prep 13
Windermere Prep showed off its talented youth as sophomore quarterback Ty Tracey threw three touchdown passes for Windermere Prep and had over 200 yards passing. Sophomore Jay Evans caught two of the touchdown passes and had over 100 yards receiving. Sophomore Carter Pucci caught five passes and had an interception on defense. Sophomore Payton Myers had a touchdown catch. Junior running back Talan Henderson had a touchdown for Lake Highland Prep.
East Ridge 14, Springstead 6
East Ridge 38, Brooksville Central 12
East Ridge head coach Donnie Burchfield said his defense “was stout all night.” His Knights got touchdowns from senior quarterback Koran Palmer Jr., junior receiver Lamar Garrison, sophomore running back Kaleb Madera, senior receiver Jordan Butler and sophomore quarterback Liam Marks.
Geneva 10, Faith Christian 6
Geneva 9, Trinity Prep 0
Geneva 7, Master’s Academy 7
Trinity Prep 7, Master’s Academy 6
Faith Christian 14, Trinity Prep 8
Faith Christian 14, Master’s Academy 7
Geneva suffered a tough blow when senior quarterback Luke Gilmartin dislocated his shoulder on the third play of the night, but he should only be out about five weeks. Head coach Dave Langdon said senior defensive end Duke Carpenter, who has an official visit to Stanford coming up, “dominated.” Langdon also raved about the play of senior defensive back Baker Costar.
For Master’s Academy, freshman Gavin Saichareune had an interception and four catches for 40 yards, junior Tyler Grinch had five catches for 80 yards and a touchdown, sophomore running back Sammy Irigoyen ran for 75 yards and a touchdown, sophomore running back Josiah Vellon had 35 yards and a touchdown.
Legacy Charter 8, Halifax Academy 0
Junior running back Jason Conserve had the only touchdown on a 7-yard run.
Orlando Christian Prep 6, Victory Christian 6
OCP’s touchdown came on a 45-yard pass from junior quarterback Jake Eisele to senior receiver Jaden Bolton.
Chris Hays can be found on X.com@OS_ChrisHays.
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This story was originally published May 15, 2026 at 8:06 AM.