Lakeland High School Football Dreadnaughts 5A State Champions

Lakeland Slides Past Hornets
By Jordan Thurn

The Dreadnaughts travelled to a damp Joe Strangely Stadium in Haines City to play the Hornets winning 29-6 after a close game at half. “This game was good, we highly underestimated them, but we came out and finished,” senior Evan Goodman said.

To start the game, Haines City was the first to put points up on the board after a field goal attempt from the 36 with 5:48 left in the first quarter, putting the Naughts behind 0-3. The Naughts got on the board early in the second quarter when Riquan Southward scored with 9:23 left in the half, bringing the score to 7-3. After numerous changes of possession, Haines City got the ball on the LHS 4-yard line. Defense held the Hornets to a 16-yard field goal with 1:54 left in the half, bringing the score to 7-6.

Lakeland opened the second half with a kickoff return by Southward for 65 yards, setting the Naughts up for the following touchdown. Forrest Cunningham capped the drive off with a 1-yard rush bring the score to 14-6. Lakelands offense drove the ball down to the HCHS 10-yard line, but a fumble gave Haines City the ball. On their first play of that possession, Haines City fumbled, which Randy Hampton recovered and returned from the 7 for a touchdown, Cunningham complete the 2-point conversion, moving the Naughts up to 22-6 with 10:36 remaining in the game. “It was a dream come true, I saw it and it happened. It was my first touchdown for the season,” Hampton said. Lakeland’s final drive was finished on a quarterback keeper by Raheeme Dumas to bring the final score to 29-6 with 1:47 left in the game. The play was set up by a long run from Isaiah Walker. “It started out slow on offense, but we picked it up in the fourth quarter. Defense held it down,” Walker said.

Lakeland finished the game with 331 total yard of offense. Defense held the Hornets to 77 total yards for the night. Southward caught 4 passes for 107 yards and scored one touchdown. Cunningham rushed for 59 and put 8 points on the board for the Naughts. Dumas went 6 for 8, passing for 130 yards. Lakeland (4-0) travels to Bartow next week to face the Yellow Jackets (2-2).

Conversations with Coach Bill Castle – Haines City Week

In this edition of Conversations with Coach Castle, you’ll hear from the Dreadnaught head coach and Defensive Line Coach Dan Talbot. Both will share thoughts on the victory against Flanagan, comments about this Friday night’s road test against Haines City and why preparation is vital to the success of this football program.

Conversations with Coach Bill Castle is shot and edited by Barrett Creative, a Lakeland, Florida based video production, web design and graphic design company.