Lakeland Edges Tampa Bay Tech with Last-Second Field Goal to Advance to FHSAA 5A State Semifinals

Calum Muldoon’s Clutch Kick and Shannard Clower’s Big Return Keep Dreadnaughts’ Championship Hopes Alive

Calum Muldoon's 33-yard field goal on the game's final play lifted Lakeland to a thrilling 24-21 victory over Tampa Bay Tech. / Bill Kemp

LAKELAND, FLORIDA – This one started fast and ended the same way.

Lakeland (12-0) edged Tampa Bay Tech 24-21 with a 34-yard field goal by senior place kicker Calum Muldoon with three seconds left to push the two-time defending state champion Dreadnaughts into the Class 5A state semifinals.

“It was just like any other kick and I trusted the process,” Muldoon said. “I knew the snap was going to be there and the hole was going to be there.”

Lakeland, now riding an 18-game winning streak, will host Manatee at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Bryant Stadium in Lakeland with a berth in the 5A state championship game up for grabs.

“It’s blessing,” Lakeland coach Marvin Fraizer said. “It is the longest winning streak in the state. God is good. From Day 1 there has been adversity, but that is the reason why you schedule tough games to get ready for games like this.”

The heart-stomping finish was set up after Tampa Bay Tech quarterback Darryon Jones rumbled 8 yards for a touchdown with 49 seconds left.

Lakeland led 21-20 but there was a timeout on the field before the point-after attempt that would tie the game.

When play resumed, Tech decided to roll the dice, opting for a 2-point conversion to win the game outright. 

Jones scored on a run but a Titans' penalty waved off the score and Tech decided to play it safe and kick the game-tying PAT, which knotted the game at 21-21 with 40 seconds remaining.

Lakeland quickly answered with a huge return by senior defensive back Shannard Clower on the ensuing kickoff to put the Dreadnaughts right back in Tech territory.

“For Mulddon to make that kick is big, but for Shannard Clower to set us up with that kick return is big, too,” Frazier said. 

A few plays later, Lakeland pushed its way down to the Tech 17-yard line with six seconds left, where Muldoon delivered the game-winning kick.

Lakeland had vaulted out to a 14-0 lead less than two minutes into the game, after Malik Morris scored two touchdowns.

Morris scored on a 24-yard pick-6 off of Jones’ first pass of the game. And then following a Tech fumble, Morris scored again on a 7-yard run.

The lead held until Jones scored on a 19-yard run off the right side to narrow the Lakeland lead to 14-7 in the third quarter. 

But Clower returned the ensuing kickoff 97 yards for a Lakeland touchdown to put the Dreadnaughts back up 21-7 with 4:45 left in the third quarter.

Tech trimmed the lead to one score, 21-14, when Jones vaulted through the middle on a 2-yard touchdown run with 6:57 remaining in the game.