LAKEWOOD RANCH — Standing 6-foot-3, senior Octavious Washington has quickly become senior quarterback Reggie Lindsey’s go-to receiver.

On Oct. 2, Lindsey connected with Washington for a 34-yard touchdown — his third touchdown catch of the season. The catch also gave the Mustangs an early 7-0 lead over visiting Manatee.

But Lakewood Ranch’s lead would prove to be short-lived as Manatee, led by quarterback Brion Carnes, responded and eventually pulled away in the fourth quarter, defeating Lakewood 35-14.

After falling behind in the first quarter, Manatee (4-0) scored a pair of touchdowns to take a 20-7 lead into halftime. The Mustangs (2-3) responded in the fourth quarter when running Taryn Laws lunged into the end zone from a yard out, cutting the Hurricanes’ lead to six.

But that would be as close as Lakewood would get as Manatee added a pair of touchdowns late in the fourth quarter.

“We need to protect the ball better,” coach Shawn Trent said. “We had a couple of chances to score in the first half and didn’t, which really hurt.”

The Mustangs will look to get back on track tomorrow night as they open their district season at Port Charlotte. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

Port Charlotte enters the contest coming off a 29-21 victory over Lemon Bay. Last season, the Mustangs lost 21-0.

“We need to play more consistent and not make mistakes that are putting us in bad situations,” Trent said.

Contact Jen Blanco at

jblanco@yourobserver.com

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