Lakeland 60, Venice 48: Live score updates, Florida 4S football state championship
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – This Florida Class 4S state championship showdown between Lakeland and Venice is part of the 2023 Florida high school football championships, which will feature nine games over three days at Florida A&M University.
Stay with SBLive Florida for reports from this state championship game and others as we cover all nine title games at Bragg Memorial Stadium on the campus of Florida A&M.
Below is our Live Update Feed created and updated as the contest progresses. Read from the bottom up to follow the action chronologically from beginning to end.
(Photo gallery by Matt Christopher)
Live Updates:
FINAL: LAKELAND 60, VENICE 48
4Q: LAKELAND 60, VENICE 48
- TOUCHDOWN! The final play of the game is, what else, a touchdown. Deylen Platt makes a great move after a reception from Grasser and runs it to the house as time expires. Lakeland wins!
- Venice gets the ball with 19 seconds left at the 40.
- Lakeland has 540 total yards and the two teams have combined for 979.
- TOUCHDOWN! What a finish! Rucker breaks another long TD, his third of the night. Kick is good. The Dreadnaughts have 60 points and back-to-back state championships.
- INTERCEPTION! Glasser, under pressure, throws off his back foot and Clower comes up with his second interception and his team's fourth of the night.
- TURNOVER! The Indians amazingly recover a second straight onside kick. They have it at their 45.
- TOUCHDOWN! Griffin Gisotti pulls in a TD throw from Glasser as the Indians refuse to quit. The kick is no good. Only 41-seconds remain.
- Glasser hits Lewis for a big gain across midfield.
- TURNOVER! Venice executes the onside kick to get the ball back. We have 1:19 left.
- TOUCHDOWN! CJ Lewis takes the kickoff 95-yards for a Venice touchdown. It won't change the outcome, but what a highlight. Glasser adds a two-point conversion run. 1:23 left.
- TOUCHDOWN! Rucker puts the icing on the cake with another touchdown run. He now has 141-yards rushing. Kick is good.
- Henderson with another first down run. It does not appear Venice will use its timeouts. Lakeland is only 2:32 away.
- Johnson runs for another first down. We're under 4 minutes.
- After a water break timeout, Lakeland goes back to the ground as the clock winds under 4:30.
- Lakeland gets a third down conversion by Johnson. The Dreadnaughts are really working the clock now.
- Lakeland's defense has turned it around in the second half. They now have three interceptions.
- INTERCEPTION! Venice quickly drives it down to the red zone, but Glasser is intercepted once again. Kavon McKinney grabs it in the end zone. 7:01 left.
- TOUCHDOWN! Glasser was trying to make a play on fourth and 12. Instead he is picked off for a pick-six by Shanard Clower. Extra-point is no good.
- Venice has moved the ball out to midfield.
- After a touchback, Venice will start at its 20 with 10:08 left.
- TOUCHDOWN! Malik Morris busts loose for an easy 51-yard TD run. The Dreadnaughts have a two score lead. Kick is good.
- It's third and four after a short run by Johnson.
- Lakeland starts at its own 42.
- Venice opened the fourth facing a third and 13 and Glasser's pass is incomplete. The Indians punt it away.
END 3Q: LAKELAND 33, VENICE 28
3Q: LAKELAND 33, VENICE 28
- The player is off the field and the clock winds to conclude the third.
- Injury timeout with just four-seconds remaining in the quarter.
- Venice has it at their own 26 with less than a minute remaining in the third quarter.
- TOUCHDOWN! Two plays later Mitchell does it on offense, taking the direct snap and racing around left end for the score. The two-point try is fumbled but Lakeland is back in the lead.
- TURNOVER! Wilder runs right is stripped of the ball by Carlos Mitchell who alls on it. Venice back in business.
- Glasser takes a deep shot on first down but it is broken up Kavon Mckinney.
- Venice has the ball at its 18 with 2:41 remaining in the third quarter.
- On third and eight, Johnson is hit in the backfield. Lakeland will punt again.
- Morris goes wide on third and five and powers his way for the first down. Lakeland is at the Venice 42.
- Lakeland calls timeout at the 4:35 mark of the third quarter.
- Rucker stopped for a two-yard gain on first down. The defenses are getting some traction finally.
- Venice goes for it and Glasser comes up short on the scramble. Lakeland takes the turnover on downs at its own 46 with 5:58 to play in the water. The clock is stopped for a water break.
- On third and long, a pass from Glasser falls incomplete.
- It's a short kick, which goes out of bounds at the Venice 48. The Indians have it with 6:46 left in the third quarter.
- Rucker is tackled for a loss and we will have our first punt of the game.
- Smith, who is in obvious pain, flips and underhanded pass for a completion, but the play is called back due to an illegal man downfield. Third and 14 for Lakeland.
- Penick is tackled for a loss. It's second and 14.
- Rucker runs for 12 on first down.
- After a touchback, Lakeland gets its first opportunity of the second half. It will start at the 20.
- TOUCHDOWN! Wilder converts from the one. The PAT is good and Venice is now on top. 9:31 Remaining in the third quarter.
- Wilder runs for another 10. First and goal from the five.
- Glasser hits Lewis for a 20 yard completion.
- The Indians convert a third and five with a run of eight from Wilder. Venice is at the Lakeland 35.
- Wilder keeps the offensive dominance with an 18-yard on the first play of the third quarter.
- The kickoff goes out of bounds. Venice starts in good field position at their own 35.
HALF: LAKELAND 27, VENICE 21
- Venice will get the kick to start the second half.
- The teams combined for more than 500 yards and seven touchdowns in the first half.
2Q: LAKELAND 27, VENICE 21
- Lakeland runs the ball once and that will end the half.
- INTERCEPTION! He throws deep again and this time Lakeland makes the pick. Jameson Young pulls it down at the Dreadnaughts three.
- Glasser throws deep and is nearly intercepted.
- Venice goes to the air and gets a defensive holding and defensive pass interference on consecutive snaps. The ball is at the Lakeland 45 with 25-seconds on the clock.
- Venice starts at the 35, after the kick, with 35 seconds left.
- TOUCHDOWN! D'marius Rucker starts left, races back to the right and outruns everyone to the end zone. The kick is good and Lakeland moves in front.
- On a reverse, Penick runs for 17 down to the 11, but a holding call brings it back. Just 53 seconds left in the half.
- Jordan Henderson runs for 12 more. First down at the 28.
- On fourth and one from the 42, Morris goes down hill for two yards. A new set of downs for Lakeland.
- Jordan Henderson runs for 10 and the loses the ball. It rolls out of bounds and stays with the Dreadnaughts.
- Venice had Lakeland in a third and long, but the Indians were called for personal foul and Lakeland has first down at midfield.
- Zander Smith, after getting his shoulder taped is back in the game.
- Neither defense has made a stop yet. 4:13 left in the first half as Lakeland takes over.
- TOUCHDOWN! Johnson scores on another short touchdown run. The extra-point is added and Venice has its first lead.
- Wilder gashes Lakeland for 22 more.
- Griffin Gisotti with a first-down run out to the the 31. Wilder follows with a run down to the Lakeland 40.
- CJ Lewis with a big return for Venice out to the 32.
- TOUCHDOWN! Johnson pounds it into the end zone from the two and the Dreadnaughts go back on top. The extra-point is foiled by a bad snap.
- On fourth and two from the five, Venice jumps offsides. First down Lakeland.
- Penick, on the direct snap, run right, changes direction and gets inside the Venice 10. It's third and six.
- Lakeland will face fourth and short from the 15 and Johnson picks it up. 8:57 left in the half.
- After one play on the sideline, Smith returns and immediately completes a first down throw to Jayren Dennis. The Dreadnaughts in the red zone again.
END 1Q: LAKELAND 14, VENICE 14
1Q: LAKELAND 14, VENICE 14
- Smith drops back to pass, on a third and six, and then takes off for a 44-yard run. Unfortunately, the took a hard hit on his right shoulder and his leaving the game, for now. Just six-seconds left in the opening quarter.
- Penick bobbles the kickoff and is tackled at his own 11.
- The kickoff goes out of bounds. It will be re-kicked after a five-yard penalty.
- TOUCHDOWN! Glasser throws right to CJ Lewis and he fights through several tacklers to reach the end zone. Kick is good.
- Glasser, on the keeper runs for 10. First down at the 13.
- Alvin Johnson III gains nine on third down. CJ Lewis adds six and a personal foul on Lakeland adds 15. Indians at the Lakeland 31.
- Glasser goes to the air on first down completes a first down throw to Jayce Barlsdale.
- Another touchback. We have 4:09 remaining in the first quarter as Venice starts from the 20.
- TOUCHDOWN! Morris sweeps right, finds an opening and powers in the end zone. The kick is good and Lakeland is back on top.
- Johnson runs it inside the 10. The Lakeland running game is dominating.
- Malik Morris runs inside the 20, keeps his legs grinding and gets inside the 15. Lakeland is in the Red Zone.
- Prior to a third and three snap, Lakeland calls timeout with 5:50 remaining in the quarter. The Dreadnaughts have run the ball eight straight times.
- Johnson adds another first down run. Lakeland is inside the Venice 40 as we move under 7 minutes in the first quarter.
- Carlos Mitchell drops the snap in the wildcat formation but recovers and runs for a first down.
- Markel Johnson runs for a first down at the 35, on second down.
- Lakeland's second possession begins at its own 25.
- TOUCHDOWN! Venice answers right back. Jamarice Wilder runs 23-yards for the Indians' first TD. Kick is good. We're tied.
- Venice gets an explosive play and Jadyn Glasser hits Ryan Matulevich for a 40-yard gain. The Indians are in Lakeland Territory.
- After a touchback, Venice begins at its own 20.
- TOUCHDOWN! QB Zander Smith throws a hitch rout to his right and Jamar Taylor takes it to the house. Five plays, 38-yards and Lakeland is in front.
- Lakeland has a first down at the 14 as it is moving quickly.
- Carlos Mitch runs for 12 yards on first down for the Dreadnaughts.
- Great start for Lakeland. Rick Penick returns the opening kick 52-yards to the Venice 38.
LAKELAND VS. VENICE
- Venice wins the toss but defers. The Indians will kick to Lakeland.
- Lakeland is wearing black pants, white jerseys with silver numbers trimmed in orange and black helmets with orange and white decals.
- Venice is wearing white pants with green stripes, green jerseys with white numbers and metallic green helmets with silver numbers and white and green stripes.
- We are less than 30 minutes from kickoff for the final game of the 2023 FHSAA football state championships.
- Kickoff is schedule for 8:00 p.m. (EST)
