Eric's Blog

'Naughts Silence Any Doubters
Lakeland used scare against Niceville as motivational tool for dominating victory in 5A final Friday.

MIAMI --On their way to another perfect season and a national football championship, Lakeland's Dreadnaughts had only one real scare.

They tasted vulnerability only once. They didn't like the way it tasted, and they used it as a motivating tool for Friday night's convincing 39-10 victory over Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas in the Class 5A state championship game.

Lakeland outscored its first 13 opponents by a combined 513-62, and rarely used its regulars late in the fourth quarter. But in the state semifinal up in Niceville, they found themselves backed up to their own 4-yard line in the closing seconds, clinging to a seven-point lead. Niceville had the football and the momentum, and Lakeland's defense appeared to be out of gas until linebacker Troy Johnson came up with a clock-killing and game-saving sack.

The 28-21 victory was good enough to move the Dreadnaughts into the championship game and maintain their No. 1 ranking. But it was not good enough to erase doubts over whether they could beat Aquinas again after the Raiders routed Bradenton Manatee, 45-17, in the other semifinal.

"Everybody thought we weren't as good because we gave up big plays against Niceville," said defensive tackle John Brown. "We had to go out and prove ourselves again."

Nobody is better at that than Lakeland, which got every opponent's best shot after going into the season as the top-ranked team in the USA Today national poll. County rivals Winter Haven and Lake Gibson stayed with the Dreadnaughts as long as anyone, with the exception of Niceville.

But Lakeland passed every test, most of them easily.

"It's hard to do," said coach Bill Castle, "and that's a tribute to our football team to go out there with a target on your back and get it done every week."

The scare at Niceville couldn't have come at a better time -- or at a worse time for Aquinas.

Jamar Taylor, who ran for 154 yards and three touchdowns against Aquinas, said there wasn't much talking on the bus ride to Dolphins Stadium, especially from the defensive players.

"We were upset because we know we have a better team than that," Taylor said. "We had to step our game up."

Lakeland's defense stepped up indeed, coming up with six takeaways against the nation's fourth-ranked team.

In fact, the Dreadnaughts made Aquinas look every bit as overmatched as their first 14 opponents, the notable exception being Niceville in the fourth quarter.

"I think that got us ready for this week," quarterback Billy Lowe said. "We were ready because of that."