No. 16 Wekiva Mustangs (5-3) at West Orange Warriors (2-5)

When: Thursday 7:00pm

Where: 1625 Beulah Rd, Winter Garden, FL 34787

TV: BHSN (Channel 47 and HD 1147)

Coaches: Wekiva - Rich Bedesem (1st season, 5-3); West Orange - Bob Head (4th season, 34-10)

About the matchup: A spot in the playoffs will be on the line when Wekiva and West Orange face off. The winner of this District 4 8A matchup earns district runner-up honors, the loser, will see their season close without a postseason berth.

First year head coach Rich Bedesem has Wekiva in the hunt for the second playoff appearance in school history. The Mustangs have won 3 of their last 4 games, outscoring opponents 114-56 during that time frame. The lone loss in those 4 games was a 38-31 defeat at the hands of district opponent and No. 3 Apopka, a game in which Wekiva led late in the 4th quarter. Running back Jaylon Fair leads the Mustangs offensive attack with 16 touchdowns, while quarterback Trey McGee is second on the team in carries and has thrown 8 touchdown passes. Sophomore safety Brandon Hill leads the team in tackles and pass breakups with 70 and 10 respectively. Tyler Davis has a team high 8 sacks.

West Orange has faced their fair share of adversity this season. Throughout the season the Warriors have lost their top 3 wide receivers and now start primarily sophomores. The lack of experience hurts a West Orange squad that lost in the 8A state semifinals last season. After losing only 2 regular season games over the past 3 years the Warriors are in strange territory with 5 losses already. UCLA commit Austin Burton is in his first season with West Orange. The quarterback moved to the area from Boston. The 6’3” 200 lb senior has thrown for 1,298 yards and 11 touchdowns. Kyveon Jones has 6 of those receiving touchdowns. Darrian WIlliams leads the Warriors ground attack with 4 touchdowns.

Three and out:

1. West Orange and Wekiva played each other last year after not playing the prior two seasons. The Warriors won 36-14.

2. Rich Bedesem led Edgewater to back-to-back playoff appearances in 2014 and 2015.

3. The Warriors returned only one defensive starter in defensive end Julian Pittman.