Dunedin football defeats rival Countryside for the first time since 2007

The Falcons are off to their first 1-0 start since the 2019 season

Dunedin High School's football team celebrating win over Countryside in Week 1 / Dunedin High School Football

It's been quite awhile since the Dunedin Falcons had last defeated their rival Countryside Cougars.

Nearly 17 years to be exact.

September 20th, 2007, the Falcons defeated the Cougars 39-21 that night and since then, Dunedin just couldn't figure out their rivals. That was up until this past Friday night's contest between the two teams

Dunedin knocked off Countryside 21-17 on the road, notching the program's first win against the Cougars in nearly two decades. For Dunedin head coach Mitch Disney, this has been a long time coming for the program, players, coaches and school.

That 1-0 feeling! First win over Countryside since 2008! #GoFalcons #GoBigD #TakeFlight pic.twitter.com/StAvukOD9D

— Dunedin Football (@DunedinFalconFB) August 24, 2024

"I'm pumped for our players to finally win a game that hasn’t happened in so long," Disney said about the win. "I believe it’s eight times in a row and most weren’t close most years. We have wanted to make this into a rivalry again for a while but it takes us to get that going."

It might not have been the Falcons' cleanest game, but they were able to get it done in starting off 1-0 for the first time since 2019, when Dunedin finished 5-5.

The Falcons' defense shined behind the play of junior linebacker Garry Woessner, who finished with a game-high 21 tackles. On offense, Dunedin was led by the steady hand of sophomore quarterback Noah Walstad, who finished throwing for 153 yards and a touchdown.

"We played uncharacteristic sloppy football, and we will correct that but I am incredibly proud of how we weathered the storm when we were down and pulled it out," Disney added. "We have a group of tough kids who also happen to be great people. Love this group. Our defense was sound and our offense was opportunistic."

Disney is entering his eighth season at the helm for the Falcons and Dunedin has been in search of some good things to come to the program. Surrounded by perennial playoff teams like Clearwater, Calvary Christian and Clearwater Central Catholic, trying to turn things around has not been easy.

The Falcons have won four games in the last three seasons, but the turning point has been coming for the team. Playing in a new district of Class 3A, District 9, Dunedin is now paired up with Anclote, Hudson and Nature Coast. All three teams are new for Dunedin when it comes to being in a district.

School pride was on full display at Dunedin's victory over Countryside and Disney hopes the success is something the team can build off of moving forward.

"It was great to see so much school support at the game too," Disney said. "This program has gone through so much and I’m proud of these kids for sticking it out. We also are still so young as a team so we hope this will build for the future."

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-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @sblivefl