Auburndale blanks Lake Region; Lake Wales, Bartow stay undefeated in high school football
EAGLE LAKE — Auburndale rebounded from a close loss to Bartow with a 28-0 victory over Lake Region that allowed the Bloodhounds to keep pace with undefeated Lake Wales in the Class 3S, District 8 race.
Charles Calhoun scored two rushing touchdowns on runs of 10 yards and 2 yards to pace the Bloodhounds’ offense. Camryon Johnson had the only touchdown of the first half as a steady downpour slogged down both offenses.
Calhoun’s first touchdown with 8:44 of the third quarter extended Auburndale’s lead to 14-0. Elijah Diaz scored on a 7-yard touchdown run with 11:15 left in the game ahead of Calhoun’s final score with 4:50 left.
The game was called with 3:14 remaining due to lightning.
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“The plays were there, and we executed well as far as X’s and O’s but we have to be able to play when it’s wet,” Auburndale head coach Kyle Sasser said. “We had four fumbles in the first half that cost us. We have to be able to finish. It doesn’t matter if it’s raining. It was a turnover struggle on both sides. We can’t play like that against a team that’s better than us if you want to go deep into the playoffs.”
Auburndale (4-1, 1-0) will travel to Pasco next Friday in a non-district contest. Lake Region will take on rival Winter Haven at home next Thursday.
Bartow 20, Winter Haven 19
Murray and Burgess and Jeremiah Martin combined to block Winter Haven's extra-point attempt to secure Bartow's dramatic come-from-behind victory over the Blue Devils in a Class 4S, District 8 battle.
"That was one of the best games I've ever been a part of," Bartow coach Tyler Eden said.
Bartow (6-0) trailed Winter Haven, 13-0, with about six minutes to play when it finally got rolling. Galva scored on a jet sweep for Bartow's first score.
The Yellow Jackets' defense then made three great stop, pushing Winter Haven back and forcing a punt, and Bartow got the ball back with about four minutes to play. Jayden Williams faked a reverse and went nearly 60 yards for the game-tying touchdown.
Winter Haven tried to drive late but fumbled at midfield.
On the second play in overtime, Bartow quarterback KJL Valentine faked a handoff and found Tranell Smith in the end zone for a touchdown, and the extra point was good.
After Murray broke up a pass intended for Guiseann Mirtil, Winter Haven's Alfred Smothers then ran in for the score.
"That, that was big for our kids," Eden said. "They never gave up."
Winter Haven led at halftime, 3-0, then scored in the third quarter after recovering a fumble at the Bartow 2-yard line.
Bartow struggled to get anything going offensively until midway through the fourth quarter.
"Our offense really struggled in that game, and Winter Haven did a lot of good things to bottle us up," Eden said.
Lake Wales 50, Davenport 14
DAVENPORT — Lake Wales’ offense finally got rolling in the second half to secure a Class 3S, District 8 win over Davenport to remain undefeated.
The Broncos kept it close for a half as they trailed 21-14 in the third quarter before the Highlanders put the game away.
Brycen Levidiotis’ quarterback keeper started Lake Wales’ second-half outburst to make it 28-14 with 4:49 left in the third quarter.
After that, A’ssiah Williams scored twice, the defense recorded a safety and Kylor Sandford added a touchdown run to give Lake Wales a decisive road win.
Levidiotis hit Gabe LeGrand on a touchdown pass to open the scoring and Kaneilius Purdy had two big touchdown runs of 44 and 63 yards.
Lake Wales (5-0) will travel to Lake Gibson for a tough non-district test next Friday. Davenport (2-3) will be at home against Poinciana.
Fort Meade 47, Indian Rocks Christian 21
LARGO — Fort Meade trailed 14-7 early in the game, but the Miners stormed back and won in a rout with Keveun Mason once again leading a potent Fort Meade offense. Mason scored three rushing touchdowns as the Miners came away with a road win in a battle of unbeaten teams.
Mason scored all of his touchdowns on the ground, cashing in from 29, 7 and 10 yards to give him eight rushing scores this season.
Carson Montsdeoca had two passing touchdowns, hitting Josh Porter for 18 yards and Nasier Berrien on a 19-yard strike.
Markell Baker added a 10-yard touchdown run for Fort Meade as well.
Fort Meade (5-0) will look to stay unbeaten as it takes on Ambassadors Christian at home next Friday.
Mulberry 47, Tenoroc 0
TENOROC — DJ Duvalt scored three times as Mulberry picked up a rain-shortened Class 2S, Distirct 13 win over Tenoroc.
The game was called due to inclement weather with six minutes left in the third quarter.
“It was a good game for us to get a win and get the young kids some playing time,” Mulberry head coach Brad Metheny said.
Ray Burgess had a rushing touchdown, and Devin Burgess scored twice as he brought the opening kickoff back for a score and later added an interception return for a touchdown.
DaiDai McWilliams hit Javonn Baptiste for a 60-yard touchdown pass for the Panthers as well.
Mulberry (3-1) won’t have much time to rest as it will take on Avon Park at 6 p.m. on Monday before playing host to Parrish Community on Friday night.
All Saints 44, Trinity Christian 0
WINTER HAVEN — The rain didn’t slow down All Saints in a weather-shortened romp over Trinity Christian.
Magnus Darrington and Tre Bell each had three touchdowns, and Claudarius Bell added two more on the ground to lead the Saints’ offense.
All Saints’ defense held Trinity to one first down all night, and that came on a penalty.
The Saints (3-2) will play Central Florida Christian on next Thursday at home.
Jordan Christian 22, Young Kids in Motion 20
HAINES CITY — Jordan Christian scored twice in the final :32 seconds to pull off the comeback win.
A fumbled onside kick recovery allowed Jordan Christian to go for the win, which it captured when Kailis Knowles caught a tipped ball at the 10, broke a tackle and scampered into the end zone with no time remaining.
Stephen Bell scored on a 40-yard run with :32 seconds left to cut the Seahawks’ deficit to 20-16.
Bell finished with 80 yards on the ground and threw the game-winning pass to Knowles, who racked up 78 yards on two catches.
Jordan Christian (1-2) will take on West Oaks in Orlando next Friday.
George Jenkins 9, Kathleen 0 (postponed)
KATHLEEN — Lightning forced the game to be postponed until Monday with George Jenkins ahead of Kathleen at the end of the third quarter.
The game will be restarted on Monday at 7 p.m.
The only touchdown scored in the game was on special teams as Zeph Rogers blocked a punt that was picked up and ran back for a touchdown by Isaiah Blankenship.
George Jenkins also got a 38-yard field goal from Cam Turner.
The Eagles’ next full game will be at home against Frostproof. Kathleen will be at home against Victory Christian.
Lakeland Christian 35, Evangelical Christian 14 (THURSDAY)
FORT MYERS — Thursday was a bit of a litmus test for the Evangelical Christian School Sentinels. Though the game against Lakeland Christian School didn't go the way Mack Mitchell wanted, it did show the ECS coach where his program is.
"We haven't really played four quarters of good football. We haven't hit that mark yet," Mitchell said following Thursday's 35-14 loss at Sentinels Stadium. "We'll go back and sharpen up. We're playing tougher competition, and it's going to take some time to be able to play four quarters in those tough games.
"You look in the mirror and have to have a reality check. This is where we are, and let's identify where we need to get better."
Lakeland Christian did most of its damage on the ground to run away with the victory. Junior running back Josh Bellamy led the way by rushing for 161 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries.
"He's tough and has been someone who's been able to break through this year," LCS coach Danny Williams said. "He's hard to tackle."
LCS initially went backwards on its first series with consecutive penalties. The Vikings then got it going with six consecutive running plays, ending with Bellamy's 15-yard run to the end zone. Vikings safety Trey Berry intercepted ECS quarterback Tanner Helton on the ensuing series, leading to a second rushing score by Bellamy, and it was 14-0 with 3:54 remaining in the first quarter.
"To be at that point in the game against a team like that and be up two touchdowns was big," Williams said.
The Sentinels (3-3) finally got their offense going late in the opening stanza, but that was paused by a 27-minute lightning delay with 1:31 left. When play resumed, Berry notched his second pick of the game. The score remained 14-0 until Lakeland's Killian O'Neal ripped off a 32-yard jaunt on a fourth-and-4 midway through the third quarter to extend the Vikings lead. O'Neal finished with 91 yards on eight attempts.
Haines City 26, Ridge Community 6
Haines City broke a seven-game losing streak to Ridge with the decisive 20-point win. The Hornets' last win over Ridge was 28-0 in 2015.
Zephyrhills Christian 27, Victory Christian 0
The Storm dropped to .500 with the loss.
Out-of-Door Academy 33, Santa Fe Catholic 26
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Auburndale blanks Lake Region; Lake Wales, Bartow stay undefeated
