Lakeland shuts out Largo, delivers Marvin Frazier first head coaching win
LARGO, FLORIDA – The Marvin Frazier era is off and running.
The new Lakeland head coach picked up his first win Friday with a 28-0 shutout at Largo in a clash of two top programs in a Florida high school football game at Packers Stadium. Both teams were only able to get in one practice this week because of school closures connected to Hurricane Idalia.
Lakeland quarterback Zander Smith is horse-collar tackled by Largo’s Isaiah Goodman on Friday at Largo.
Photo by Bill Kemp
“We only practiced Monday, so the rust was there,” Frazier said. “This was a challenging week for us, but the guys were resilient. Defensively, we were locked in. The communication was there, and we were able to tackle.”
Lakeland took a 14-0 lead after getting two rushing touchdowns from senior running back Markel Johnson. The first was a 4-yard burst at 11:08 of the second quarter to give the Dreadnaughts (1-1) a 7-0 lead which carried into halftime. The second touchdown was a 1-yard run with 1:38 left in the third quarter.
“We have a lot of running backs out right now and coach told me to go in at tailback and do the job,” Johnson said. “Our defense was amazing tonight. I loved what they did.”
Lakeland running back Markel Johnson scores his first touchdown on a 4-yard burst in the second quarter at Largo on Friday.
Photo by Bill Kemp
Though the game was a defensive struggle, Lakeland finally blew the game open when Brayshon Willliams collected a 76-yard touchdown strike from junior quarterback Zander Smith with 6:49 left in the fourth quarter to take a 21-0 lead.
“It was just a slant, and we muffed the snap. But Smith was able to make a crazy play and Brayshon is a four-star (prospect) for a reason. He is a guy who can make a play when the ball is in the air. The ball went up and he made a play. And it was a big play for us.”
Lakeland iced the game with 3:07 left when Michael Walker scored on a 2-yard run to cap the scoring at 28-0.
Largo quarterback Jeremy Thomas fires a pass out into the flat against Lakeland on Friday.
Photo by Bill Kemp
Lakeland will host national power St. Joseph’s Prep from Philadelphia at Bryant Stadium on Sept. 8. St. Joseph’s lost its season opener to Bradenton IMG Academy 17-14 on Aug. 28.
“We always got to get better in every facet of the game,” Frazier said. “We got a juggernaut coming in next week, so we got to get better. We scheduled these games on purpose. We have an end goal, and we are excited about showing up.”
