LAKELAND — Lakeland’s focus is on a deep playoff run, all the way to the state championship game, so the players are setting a high bar in evaluating their play. Despite beating rival Kathleen by a one-sided score of 44-6 on Thursday night at Bryant Stadium, players on both the offense and defense admitted there is room for improvement as the playoffs approach.
“We had a decent night,” said defensive lineman Andrew Sapp, who went into the game tied for the team lead in tackles for loss. “It wasn’t a great night.”
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It certainly was good enough to keep Kathleen out of the end zone until the fourth quarter while the offense was piling up 37 points by early in the third quarter to give the game a running clock.
Lakeland running back Kevin Hendrix runs for a 43-yard gain in the first quarter as Kathleen’s Marcus Holloway gives chase on Thursday at Bryant Stadium.
“We did pretty good,” quarterback Kelin Hendrix said. “Of course, we could have done better, but hey, we came out with a win, and we executed our game plan.”
The Dreadnaught (8-1) close out the regular season next week against Orlando First Academy, their last chance to iron things out before the playoffs.
“I think it’s just becoming more more consistent,” Hendrix said. “That’s all, just being more consistent with each and every play.”
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Here are three takeaways from Lakeland’s victory.
Big plays come early
On Lakeland’s second play from scrimmage, Kevin Hendrix, the quarterback’s brother, broke loose for a 43-yard run that set up his team’s first touchdown, a 6-yard run by Ahnarri Cooper.
Hendrix also had a 24-yard run, and Steward Butler had a 28-yard run that set up his 7-yard touchdown in the second quarter that gave Lakeland a 16-0 lead.
In the fourth quarter, Cooper had an 85-yard for the Dreadnaught’s final score.
Kelin Hendrix had touchdown passes of 16 yards to Jasper Hebel and 30 yards to Cam Fuse along with completions off 15 yards and 27 yards to Jerry Howard.
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Lakeland spreads the wealth
It was a balanced offense with plenty of contributors as Lakeland finished with 222 yards rushing, and Kelin Hendrix threw for 102 yards on 7-of-11 passing. Cooper finished with 96 yards on four carries, Kevin Hendirx had 84 yards on four carries, and Butler finished with 35 yards.
Kelin Hendrix completed his seven passes for five different receivers. Jerry Howard finished with three receptions for 44 yards.
Defense dominates
Lakeland’s defense came out dominating. The Dreadnaughts allowed just one completion on Ashton Frazier’s first eight pass attempts and held Kathleen’s offense to minus-13 yards combined on its first four possessions.
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Kathleen managed to get a little offense going but still finished with just 105 yards of total offense, most of it coming on an 81-yard scoring drive in the second half when the game had a running clock. Frazier connected with Marcus Bangston for a 19-yard touchdown pass.
“We were mad,” Sapp said.It was the end of the quarter, and we had a couple of backups in. But we’re always mad when we give up touchdowns.”
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Lakeland defeats Kathleen in high school football
