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Dragons reassess expectations

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Lake Placid quarterback Kirk Veley was 3 of 5 for 160 yards and two touchdowns in last week's 45-27 win over John Carroll. The Green Dragons will be in search of their fourth win of the season tonight against Clewiston.

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By RYAN LAVNER

Highlands Today

Published: October 23, 2009

LAKE PLACID - This is what has defined the Lake Placid football team the past two years: three wins, one coaching change and countless frustrating moments.

But during this season of revival, even the once-downtrodden Green Dragons (3-3) are aiming for new heights. They'll look for their first winning streak in 2-½ years - and their fourth win of the season - when they host Clewiston (2-4) at 7 tonight at Roger Scarborough Memorial Field.

"We knew we had it in us and it was just a matter of putting things together," Lake Placid coach Jason Holden said. "The only thing that happened that took us by surprise is we were ready to play a little earlier than what we expected."

The Green Dragons have played 28 games - nearly three full seasons - since they last posted a two-game win streak. That feat occurred in October 2006, during the latter stages of the Green Dragons' 3-7 campaign.

"I've been here a long time," said Holden, who first started with the program in 1992, "and that's definitely a sad statistic. But it's something that has gone on here for a long time and that's a hurdle we definitely need to get over."

Just like that 2006 season, there are pieces with this year's team - quarterback Kirk Veley, tailback Caleb Jones and fullback Navahri Holden - that have sparked improved play.

Veley completed only three passes last Friday, but two of them went for touchdowns. He finished with 160 yards.

Jones, a senior, rushed for 186 yards on 27 carries, scoring three touchdowns and powering Lake Placid to a 45-27 win over John Carroll, a team that had outscored the Green Dragons 48-0 their past two matchups.

And Navahri Holden, who was recovering from a shoulder injury, paved the way for the potent rushing attack. "He is a great fullback and he loves sticking his nose up in there and getting linebackers out of the way," Coach Holden said.

Jones, in particular, has emerged as one of the most explosive playmakers in the Heartland.

Seemingly always with 20-plus carries and 100-plus yards, the elusive tailback will surely play a large factor in tonight's game against Clewiston, which has been shut out three times this season, yet scored at least 32 points in each of its two wins.

"He's always led by example," Holden said of Jones, who has 798 yards on 121 carries this season, a 6.6-yard-per-carry average. "He never takes a play off, in practice or in the game."

Jones will have a difficult task tonight, running into the base of Clewiston's 3-4 defensive scheme, which is "huge up front," Holden said.

But if last week's game is any indication, the Green Dragons will be up for the challenge.

Last week's win over John Carroll "says volumes about our guys and how they've bought into the system and their dedication to the team," Holden said. "And for people to understand, they'd need to spend time with the team and see how we've bonded. It's a great place to be, to be associated with Lake Placid football."

Ryan Lavner can be reached at 863-386-5841 or rlavner@highlandstoday.com

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