Lakeland High School Football Dreadnaughts 5A State Champions

LAKELAND ROUTS LAKE GIBSON IN KICKOFF CLASSIC, 35-0

On a night of uncertainties for Lakeland, Ricquan Southward dazzled for the Dreadnaughts, scoring on two huge plays to put a hurting on an already injury-riddled Lake Gibson squad 35-0 on Friday night at Bryant Stadium.

Lakeland didn’t dress starters Jadrian Clark, Jacobe Stafford and Chandler Brunson, along with two other players, for precautionary reasons after the school received notice Friday afternoon from the Florida High School Athletic Association that all five could potentially be ineligible for the season for falsifying addresses to play for the program.

Their absence certainly put pressure on the Dreadnaughts, particularly Raheeme Dumas, who replaced Clark but didn’t get many snaps at quarterback in practices leading up to the preseason game.

Dumas, who also played at defensive back, performed well under the circumstances, though, throwing for 141 yards and a touchdown against the Braves.

But it was Southward who really starred. He turned a short pass from Dumas into a 45-yard score late in the first to make it 14-0, and later in the third returned a punt 56 yards for a touchdown to put the Dreadnaughts ahead 21-0.

“He stepped it up and made a lot of big plays for us,” Lakeland coach Bill Castle said. “I’m proud of our kids. I thought we got a good effort tonight out of everyone.”

Gibson, which played without injured starters Trey Congdon (quarterback) and Anthony Grant (tailback), had trouble moving the ball all night.

The Braves only mustered 82 yards of total offense and had issues running the ball against Lakeland’s solid defensive front.

The defense didn’t fare much better and Lakeland had success despite having to fill holes so late in the game.

“It’s not consistent enough – but that’s what you’re going to get when you have to play ninth graders,” Gibson coach Keith DeMyer said. “You have to live through some of those growing pains.”

And there were plenty: Ninety yards in penalties, a fumble lost and the botched assignments when Southward got off and running.

“I think some of the new kids that didn’t have experience didn’t understand what it was like to be on a game field,” Gibson offensive lineman Glenn Nichols said. “But they got the experience now. It was a wake up call for some of those guys. We can be disappointed, but in signs of injury we need to have some backup.”

Lakeland showed it certainly had depth, pushing forward under a cloud of scrutiny.

“I’m just glad the team came together and overcame the adversity,” Lakeland linebacker John Madden said.

The Dreadnaughts will try to address the eligibility issues this weekend when the school meets with all parties involved to discuss how to move forward, athletic director Dan Talbot said.
 

LAKELAND VS. LAKE GIBSON GAME STATS