- December 26, 2024
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The Thunder takes the field.
Senior J.J. Easto hugs his father, Captain Joshua Easto, who surprised him and sophomore brother Jackson Easto with a return home from duty.
ODA freshman wideout Matt DePalma kicks off the game with a reverse.
ODA senior Colin Castro celebrates as he crosses the goal line.
ODA junior cornerback Nolan Lewellen chases down a Gateway Charter wideout.
ODA junior cornerback Brayden Nelson corrals Gateway Charter's Ja'daniel Leaphart.
ODA freshman Matt DePalma (4) makes an extra point.
ODA junior corner Nolan Lewellen snags an interception in the end zone.
ODA junior Patrick O'Keefe leaps on junior Nolan Lewellen after Lewellen's end zone interception.
ODA senior running back Jarred Flahive flies in the air after a collision.
ODA senior running back Colin Castro (81) bursts through a hole.
ODA senior defensive tackle Sebastian Frias-Imbert stuffs a Gateway Charter runner.
ODA coach Chris Kempton gives instructions from the sideline.
The Out-of-Door Academy (6-3) entered its first-round Sunshine State Athletic Conference playoff game with a better record than Gateway Charter (5-4), but it was the Thunder that made mistakes it couldn't afford to make.
Those mistakes led to a 35-19 loss to the Griffins, ending ODA's season.
It started promising. ODA senior running back Colin Castro capped a quick opening drive with a goal line touchdown run, but the Thunder opted to go for two on a fake instead of kick an extra point, and failed. It was that kind of night for ODA: every step closer to a win led to a step backward.
ODA coach Chris Kempton said the loss could be chalked up to the Thunder's turnovers — there were five, including four interceptions — and the Griffins' big plays, some of which happened on special teams, like a second-half-opening, 90-yard kickoff return touchdown from junior Ja’Daniel Leaphart.
Castro finished with 128 rushing yards and all three of the team's touchdowns. Defensively, junior cornerback Nolan Lewellen had two interceptions, one in the end zone, helping to keep the Thunder in the game.
Gateway Charter will now play Master's Academy (6-2) in Oviedo.
