Lakeland’s offense finding itself at the most important time

The Dreadnaughts are coming off a 77-point performance in a 4S region final over Lake Minneola

This isn’t your Bill Castle coached Lakeland Dreadnaughts anymore. 

Marvin Frazier, the first-year head coach of the Dreadnaughts, has seen plenty of ups and some downs in his debut campaign. One of those ups was in last week’s Class 4S, Region 2 final against Lake Minneola. 

That upward ascent for Lakeland was seeing its offense reach possibly its highest potential: Scoring 77 points. 

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Yes, we know it’s boys basketball season, but the Dreadnaughts haven’t traded the cleats for sneakers just yet. The final score, 77-48 over Lake Minneola, closely resembled a real high school hoops score. 

Seeing the Dreadnaughts’ offense scoring at the rate they did against the Hawks was a welcomed sight for a team that’s been injury-riddled for mostly all of 2023. 

Taking a deeper dive into the stats from Lakeland's 77-point explosion against Lake Minneola, you would find that the staple of Dreadnaughts' football, the ground game, led the way to victory at Bryant Stadium. 

A staggering 653 yards rushing on 44 attempts led to 11 touchdowns for Lakeland. Though D'Marius Rucker led the Dreadnaughts with 16 carries for 278 yards and two touchdowns, there was plenty of yards, carries and touchdowns to go around for second helpings the day after Thanksgiving. 

Lakeland outlasts Lake Minneola in 125-point 4S Region 3 scoring bonanza

Athlete Carlos Mitchell did a little bit of everything for Lakeland, carrying the ball four times for 115 yards, four total touchdowns and also made an impact on defense with numerous tackles and pass deflections. 

Running back Markel Johnson jumped in carrying the ball 11 times for 111 yards, scoring three touchdowns and Jordan Henderson added 92 yards on six touches and a score. You get the picture, though. A lot of players touched the football and gained a ton of yards and scored multiple touchdowns. 

Now Lakeland will face the next test and undoubtedly the team's toughest road test of the season when they hit I-75 north to Citizens Field when they take on an undefeated Buchholz Bobcats club led by Florida commitment Myles Graham. 

For the Dreadnaughts to book its ticket to Bragg Stadium for the right to defend their Class 4S state championship, they'll need to be playing their best football of the season. After last week's performance against Lake Minneola, when talking about the offense, they just might be hitting on all cylinders and are playing their best football at the most crucial, important time of the season. 

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FHSAA 2023 CHAMPIONSHIPS BRACKETS

2023 FHSAA CLASS 4M STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

2023 FHSAA CLASS 4S STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

2023 FHSAA CLASS 3M STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

2023 FHSAA CLASS 3S STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

2023 FHSAA CLASS 2M STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

2023 FHSAA CLASS 2S STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

2023 FHSAA CLASS 1M STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

2023 FHSAA CLASS 1S STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

2023 FHSAA CLASS 1R STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @sblivefl