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Highlands Today

LP Looks To Slow Down Mulberry Offense

Chris Hoffman/Highlands Today

Lake Placid quarterback Zach Campbell 21 had a rough time under center against the Braden River defense last week, passing for only 27 yards on the night.

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By CHRIS HOFFMAN

Highlands Today

Published: October 10, 2008

LAKE PLACID - Never mind the game plan, Lake Placid football coach Jason Holden was more worried about his football team's spirits after a 43-0 shutout at the hands of Braden River last Friday.

"I was really concerned at how my kids reacted after the loss to Braden River," Holden said. "I was afraid that they'd regress and get down on themselves and lose that hunger that they'd been playing with this season."
Class 3A Braden River exposed every weakness that Lake Placid had on its football team, as the Pirates built a 28-0 halftime lead on the strength of senior receiver Willie McNeal's 205 yards and three touchdown first half.

Tonight, Lake Placid gets to take their game on the road to face Mulberry in a Class 2A-District 10 match-up.
Holden asked that the blame for the poor performance against Braden River be laid solely at his feet.

"I take responsibility for our play against Braden River," Holden said. "I didn't have the guys prepared mentally for the game, and as a result, we came out flat."

"We didn't pick up the intensity in practice leading up to the game like we should have and that showed in our team's play on the field. We had to get back to playing aggressive and playing through every whistle and work as hard on Friday's as we do every day in practice."
Mulberry has a high-scoring offense that has the firepower to embarrass a team quickly.

Last week against Tenoroc, Panther quarterback Toney Brown threw a pair of touchdowns and ran for another in the first half as Mulberry thrashed Tenoroc 43-0, with all its points coming in the first half.

Brown passed for 102 yards and had touchdown passes of 20 and 37 yards and a 38-yard touchdown run, while running back Trent Thomas carried the ball five times for 45 yards and a 1-yard touchdown run, as Mulberry had 300 yards of total offense in the first half.

The Panther defense held Tenoroc to 67 total yards on the night; with 24 of those yards coming on one pass play.
Holden and his staff know what to expect from Mulberry and are impressed by what they've seen.

"Mulberry has a lot of speed," Holden said. "There is no one individual that you can key on when you're playing against that offense. They can hurt you in so many different ways.

"There is no one individual on our team that is going to make or break it against Mulberry. We just need our guys to step up and make and finish plays. We have to sustain our blocks and hope to create some turnovers."

A bright spot that came out of the game against Braden River was the all-around play of seniors Travelier Scholtz and Gabriel Lara, who switched to different positions after John Bennett and Laurent Lollis both went down with concussions in the first half.

Scholtz, who normally plays defensive line, added offensive line to his duties and was impressive in creating holes and holding off a superb pass rush by Braden River, while Lara moved to defense and had some key tackles in the second half.

"I thought they both played great after we found ourselves shorthanded," Holden said. "We have to find bright spots in games like those and hopefully build on those pieces."

The Green Dragon offense has been predicated by the running attack of Navarhi Holden and Chevontray Wilson and their effectiveness to establish the run and force the opposing defense to leave gaps open for the long pass.

But against stingy defenses such as Braden River and Mulberry, who have an above average run defense, Lake Placid would be best suited to take to the air and use quick receivers such as Avery Young in the flats and hope for a nice run after the catch.

"We've been working hard in practice on our aerial attack, which we believe is a weakness of ours," Holden said. "I still believe that you have to establish the run before you go to the air. The run will open up play action so our receivers can stretch the field and make the defense work."

No matter the opponent, Holden wants to see the intensity and passion that has been the lifeblood of the Green Dragons this season.

"Win or lose. I want to see them play they're very best," Holden said. "I want them to not worry about how good or bad a team is and worry about how good or bad their playing. I want them to not have any regrets on Saturday that they couldn't do more on Friday."

NOTE: Mulberry leads the all-time series 20-3 and has won the last 12 against the Green Dragons. The Panthers won 58-0 last season.

Green Dragons vs. Panthers

at Mulberry High School

TONIGHT at 7:30

COST $5

Chris Hoffman can be reached at 863-386-5827 or at choffman@highlandstoday.com.

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