- April 19, 2024
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Lakewood Ranch senior defensive tackle Cameron Caudill (54) brings down Manatee quarterback Andrew Heidel. (Photos by Ryan Kohn.)
Lakewood Ranch junior quarterback Clayton Dees (5) signals a first down after a scramble.
Lakewood Ranch senior wideout Isaac Ashley (11) fights through a Manatee tackle.
At 6-foot-6, Connor Anthony (17) is a big target at wide receiver for the Mustangs.
File photoLakewood Ranch sophomore defensive back Trey Schwartz (20) returns an interception for a score.
Lakewood Ranch junior defensive back Nick Bryan (37) breaks up a Manatee pass intended for Bonshavior Bean Jr. (10).
Lakewood Ranch senior running back Kevin Everhart outraces the Manatee defense for a touchdown.
Lakewood Ranch senior Kevin Everhart celebrates with junior Connor Anthony after an Everhart touchdown.
Lakewood Ranch junior linebacker Simon Freed tackles Manatee junior Cory Sanders.
Lakewood Ranch football Head Coach Rashad West said he was not satisfied with simply hanging with teams like Manatee High and that the team needs to start winning games like these.
Lakewood Ranch junior linebackers Simon Freed and Brody Theriot (34) wrap up Manatee's Cory Sanders.
Lakewood Ranch junior quarterback Clayton Dees scrambles for a first down.
The Lakewood Ranch High football team held a 20-14 road lead on Manatee High at the half, 24 game minutes away from the first win over the Hurricanes in program history.
Manatee was having none of it.
The Hurricanes (5-1) controlled the game and the clock in the second half, running through the Mustangs (4-2) defense, on their way to a 35-23 victory.
Lakewood Ranch's defense bolstered its offense in the first half. Senior defensive tackle Cameron Caudill fell on a fumble on Manatee's first possession, setting up a four-yard touchdown run by senior Kevin Everhart that gave the Mustangs a 7-0 lead. After Manatee rebounded and led 14-7, Mustangs sophomore Trey Schwartz picked off a pass and scored, though the extra point was blocked. The Mustangs' biggest offensive play of the game was Everhart's 79-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, which gave Lakewood Ranch its halftime lead.
After that, the team sputtered. Lakewood Ranch's defense could not get the timely stops it got in the first half — Manatee threw for 237 yards and ran for 256 yards for the game — and the offense could not sustain drives.
"We didn’t come here to just lead or win the first half," Lakewood Ranch Head Coach Rashad West said. "The goal was to win the game. We gave it all we had. We just came up short."
