No. 9 Lake Brantley holds off No. 10 Wekiva
Lake Brantley scored all it needed off turnovers Friday night in a defensive slugfest between Sentinel Super 16 teams.
Senior quarterback Braxton Woodson rushed for 2 touchdowns in a span of 51 seconds early in the third quarter to put the Patriots in front for good during a 17-12 win vs. visiting Wekiva.
No. 9 Lake Brantley (4-1) and No. 10 Wekiva (2-3), meeting on the football field for the first time, each entered with momentum after scoring upset wins last week against Top 10 teams.
Sophomore Blaine Gibbons recovered a Wekiva fumble on the opening kickoff of the second half and Woodson scored two plays later on a 26-yard run. Woodson, who surpassed 100 yards for the fourth straight game, scored again on a 32-yard run to make it 17-6 following another Mustang fumble.
“It was a big deal for us to get those turnovers and get something out of them,” Lake Brantley coach Skip Clayton said. “We made a few adjustments at halftime and changed some formations, and the kids went out and did what they were asked to do.”
Wekiva lost 4 fumbles and turned the ball over 5 times in all. The Mustangs also turned the ball over on downs four times, including on two trips to the red zone in the second half.
“Our defense played out of their minds,” Clayton said. “All of the plays we made on defense were big at the time they were made.”
The biggest of all was an interception by Lake Brantley senior safety Luke Hoggard on a pass down the middle of the field with 2:40 remaining. Anthony Gray reached Wekiva’s quarterback for a sack one play earlier.
Gray also teamed with Walter Balcom for a sack in the first quarter.
“I had an off-game all day, so
as soon as it came down to the end I knew we had to make a big play and get a stop,” Hoggard said. “The quarterback just threw it right into my hands. I was nervous and bobbled it a bit, but I took it a couple yards and then the offense did their job at the end.”
That turnover was preceded by Woodson and junior running back Landen Paquette leading the offense on a 10-play drive that started with 9:52 to go in the game and spanned more than six minutes.
“We talked at halftime about how we had to step up and make big plays and take advantage of the opportunities,” Woodson said. “When we saw the big holes from our offensive line we took advantage of them.”
Wekiva chipped into the deficit midway through the third quarter
when senior Terrelle Weathers scored on a 42-yard run. But the Mustangs turned the ball over on downs on their next two possessions, including once from the 12-yard line early in the fourth.
“We had way too many mistakes on offense,” Wekiva coach Jeremiah Rodriguez-Schwartz said. “We need to look ourselves in the mirror and get better. It’s tough, especially when we know we’ve got a good team. We just can’t play like that with all these mistakes.”
Wekiva led 6-0 with 7:18 left in the first half when junior quarterback Ty’ray Davis threw deep to Joshua Bennett for a 35-yard score. Bennett also had a 69-yard kick return that set up the Mustangs at the 11-yard line after Woodson scored for the second time.
The Patriots settled for a 24-yard field goal from Emilio Bacardi with
5 seconds left in the first half after forcing a fumble past midfield, which junior safety Alexander Catano returned to the 5.
Lake Brantley prevailed despite losing 3 fumbles.
Kason Dake recovered a fumble for the Patriots on a muffed punt in the first quarter and UCF commit Michael Harris blocked an extrapoint attempt.
Romell Smith and UCF commit Sincere Edwards had fumble recoveries for Wekiva. Jamar Watkins recorded a sack.
Both teams return to district play on Friday.
Lake Brantley plays at Evans (0-5) in Class 4M (Metro) District 2. Wekiva hosts Edgewater (5-0) in Class 3M District 3.