By Ethan Jones
Friday night brought another important district matchup to Polk County as the Lakeland Dreadnaughts welcomed the Auburndale Bloodhounds to Thomas Bryant Stadium. Both teams entered the night with a 3-1 record, making this a game with plenty on the line as the district race continued to take shape.
Lakeland came into the matchup looking to continue its momentum after back-to-back wins over Osceola and American Heritage. While Auburndale was looking to build off its 27-9 victory over Kathleen to pick up its first district win of the season.
With two teams looking to make a statement, there was plenty to keep an eye on once the opening kickoff arrived. The Dreadnaughts and Bloodhounds battled throughout the night, but when it was all said and done, Lakeland was the team that made the plays when it mattered most.
From start to finish, the Dreadnaughts controlled the matchup, coming away with a dominant 49-14 victory over Auburndale.
Before this dominant performance, the Dreadnaughts were already coming into the game having put together dominant performances in previous games, having outscored their opponents by an average of 19.5 points a game.
Lakeland’s offense has turned into a fine-tuned machine, having won three out of five games this season by 34 points or more.
Home is where the heart is, and that couldn’t be more true when it comes to the Dreadnaughts. They have won 10 of their last 12 games at home, which gives them a .833 winning percentage during that span and improves their record to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in district play this season.
Lakeland’s offensive dominance goes without saying, but a big part of their success during their 10-2 record at home has been a result of their suffocating defense, having only allowed 13.2 points on average during that stretch at home.
For Auburndale, Friday night’s loss drops the Bloodhounds to 3-2 overall and 0-2 in district play. The loss also continues a difficult stretch on the road, with Auburndale now having lost three of its last four road games.
Now, with that being said, here are some of the top performers from this game.
Starting out for Lakeland, there were several players who made an impact as the Dreadnaughts’ running game was on point. Lakeland had rushing touchdowns from four different players.
Stewart Butler scored on a 25-yard rushing touchdown, while Ahnarri Cooper added a 5-yard rushing touchdown. Xavion Mitchell found the end zone on a 4-yard run, and Matwoin Bryant scored on a 1-yard rushing touchdown.
Auburndale also found the end zone through some big plays of its own. Adonis Cuyler provided one of the game’s biggest plays for the Bloodhounds when he returned a kickoff 70 yards for a touchdown. Hayden Leade also scored a rushing touchdown for Auburndale.
Both teams will be back at home next week as they look to move forward from Friday night’s result.
Lakeland, now 4-1 overall and 2-0 in district play, will host SFA (2-4) at 7:30 p.m. Auburndale, now 3-2 overall and 0-2 in district play, will welcome Haines City (3-2).
For Lakeland, Friday night’s performance was another statement that the Dreadnaughts are continuing to build momentum as district play moves forward.
For Auburndale, the focus now shifts to responding and finding a way to get back on track at home next week.
After the game, I had the opportunity to talk to Lakeland head coach Marvin Fraizer and ask him about his thoughts on the game.
When I asked Coach Frazier about the dominant performance of his team and, since it was such a well-rounded performance, if there were any players he was especially impressed with, this is what he had to say
“The whole team, man, to God be the glory because this was a rough week where we had a bunch of injuries and illnesses behind the scenes. These guys were able to show up and put out their best effort, so I have to give it to the whole team.”
With that being said, this was another important district matchup that showed just how competitive Polk County high school football can be.
Both Lakeland and Auburndale had their moments throughout the night, but when the game reached its biggest moments, the team that made the necessary plays was able to come away with the victory.
For Lakeland, the win gives the Dreadnaughts another important victory as they continue to work toward their goals for the rest of the season.
For Auburndale, there is still plenty of football left to be played, and the Bloodhounds will have an opportunity to learn from this game and respond moving forward.
As the season continues to move along, every district game becomes more important, and both teams will now turn their attention toward the next challenge.
The road ahead is only getting tougher, and there is still plenty left to be decided under the Friday night lights.
