Lakeland High School Football Dreadnaughts 5A State Champions

Titan take down
by Jordan Thurn 

Starting out fast, the Naughts’ defeated the Tenoroc Titans 42-0 Friday night at home. “The game went like we expected it to, Tenoroc is an upcoming program, we had a pretty dominant performance,” Coach George Williams said.

The Naughts’ put their first touchdown in the books with 2:05 left in the first quarter when Isaiah Walker ran a quarterback keeper 47-yards to bring the score to 7-0, ending the first quarter with the lead.

The second quarter started out with Braxton Huggins running the ball 35-yards to score with 9:47 on the clock, bringing the tally to 14-0. Ra’Don Dwight ended scoring for the half, running 9-yards with 4:07 remaining, furthering the Naughts lead, 21-0. “We’re all working hard, and doing our best,” Dwight, a sophomore, said after his touchdown.

The second half started with Walker running 16-yards on a quarterback keeper to score with 9:38 left in the quarter, making it 28-0.  Later in the third, Isaiah Walker gave the ball to his brother, Gabriel Walker, who ran it down the field 76-yards, putting the Naughts well in place for a scoring drive. With 1:04 left in the third, Timothy Simmons finished the possession with a 4-yard run, bringing the score to 35-0.  In the fourth, Gabriel Walker ran the ball 2-yards with 9:36 remaining in the game, bringing up the final score, 42-0.

Devin Denson, a senior, broke through Tenoroc’s line to make two quarterback sacks, losing as much as 10-yards. Denson plays both offensive and defensive line for the team, “It’s not hard [playing both sides], it’s about being mentally yourself, playing both sides of the ball, you have to condition yourself on both sides so you’ll be ready. They really put it up to me whether I play both sides or not, “ Denson said.

Together, the Walker Brothers scored three out of the Naughts six touchdown in the game, as well as putting up a majority of the Naughts 321-yards. “It’s difficult [working with Isaiah,] because he gets on me a lot if I mess up,” Gabriel, a freshman, said.

Lakeland will take on the Flanagan Falcon’s next week at home.