Lakeland High School Football Dreadnaughts 5A State Champions

 
Burning the Devils
By Jordan Thurn

Coach Bill Castle has played the Kathleen Red Devils 35 times since he’s begun coaching; of those 35, he has won 31. The Naughts’ continued the tradition, beating out the Red Devils 31-21, breaking team records, and finishing a perfect regular season for the 13th time. The game was “very intense” said Randy Hampton.

With 7:26 remaining in the first quarter, Raheeme Dumas went 11-yards to score on a quarterback keeper, bringing the score to 6-0. On their next possession, Dumas would connect with Ricquan Southward for a 60-yard pass to score. Dumas ran for a two-point conversion to bring the score to 14-0. Later in the quarter, Kathleen would finish off their drive with a 1-yard carry to bring the score to 14-7 on the last play of the first quarter. Kathleen would score on their next possession to tie the game 14-14 on a 66-yard carry with 10:13 remaining in the half. Forrest Cunningham them carried the ball 14-yards, bringing the score to 21-14 to end the half.

On their first possession of the half Kathleen would show that they were still in the game, scoring on a 46-yard carry to tie up the game 21-21 with 9:49 remaining in the third quarter. Kicker Caleb Hough was good for a 33-yard field goal with 11:49 left in the game to bring the score to 24-21. “It was a good effort by the offense,” Hough said. Later in the game, Braxton Huggins carried the ball 2 yards to finish the drive with 6:11 standing in the game, bringing up the final score of 31-21.

Jalen Stevenson had 3 sacks breaking the season sack record set by Chauncey Clark from 1999, with 18 for the season. “Our defense is fast; I would like to thank the crowd for coming out to support us,” Stevenson said. Dumas had 116 rushing yards and 117 passing yards, for a total of 233 yards. Southward rushed for 72 yards and received 2 catches for 69 yards. Lakeland had 414 total yards offense, the defense held Kathleen to 196-yards and 6 first downs.

Next week kicks off the playoffs with a rematch against the St. Cloud Bulldogs at Bryant Stadium.

In this edition of Conversations with Coach Castle, you’ll hear from the Dreadnaught head coach Bill Castle and Defensive Safeties Coach David Mangurm along with Defensive Cornerbacks Coach George Williams Jr. Coach Castle shares thoughts on the victory against Ridge Community and about this Friday night’s Rivalry game against Kathleen. Coach Mangurm and Williams talk about what it means to them to be a coach.

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