Land O' Lakes defeats Pasco behind strong offensive performance
DADE CITY, FLORIDA- Closing the season out on a high note and missing out on the postseason is always tough.
Land O' Lakes and Pasco matched up at W.F. Edwards Stadium on Thursday night playing for pride, looking to head into the off-season with some good vibes.
With both programs coming off feel-good wins last week, it would be the Gators that closed the 2023 campaign with a win.
Gators' quarterback Kyle Horvath and running back Cody Gwinn combined to finished with 358 total yards and accounted for six touchdowns as they led Land O' Lakes past Pasco 51-24.
Land O' Lakes ends the season even at 5-5 while Pasco finishes at 2-8. Both teams made the playoffs in 2022 and will very likely miss out this time around.
In what seemed like it might be a defensive contest proved to be high-scoring after just one quarter. The two clubs combined for 27 first quarter points, highlighted by a 70-yard touchdown pass from Pasco senior quarterback Alvaunte Brown to wide receiver Angel Miles.
It would end up being the second quarter where Land O' Lakes (5-5) started to create some separation from Pasco (2-8). The Gators were finding minimal gaines from running back Cody Gwinn throughout the evening, but Horvath (14-of-23, 177 yards) began to find a rhythm on offense.
The Gators' signal caller connected on a 33-yard post route to wide receiver Donovan Faria, resulting in a touchdown and a 24-16 lead for Land O' Lakes. Taking advantage on the very next series was Faria, picking off an Alvaunte Brown pass to give the ball right back to the Gators.
Just before intermission, Horvath would extend Land O' Lakes' lead just a little bit more as he hit junior tight end Zach Campbell on a short 7-yard touchdown pass. Land O' Lakes went into halftime up 30-16 and would never look back.
In the second half, Gators' head coach Dan Goodspeed would rely on the ground game behind the play of running back Cody Gwinn. The tailback ended the night scoring three touchdowns and finishing with a game-high 181 yards on 35 attempts.
Pasco had its opportunities to remain in the game, but turnovers proved costly throughout the course of the contest. Brown finished with 258 yards passing, two touchdowns and three interceptions. Freshman running back Amontiy Hudson ended the night with 81 yards rushing and senior Darrell Teartt Jr. added 55 on the ground.
Now the Gators will away 'Selection Sunday' when the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) will announce the official playoff brackets and teams will find out if they made it in the postseason or not. With an outside chance of making it in, Goodspeed and the Gators will be paying close attention to the FHSAA's live YouTube feed on Sunday morning.
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-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @sblivefl
