COMPLETE STORY: LP Gets 'Moore' Than It Wanted

LAKE PLACID - The Lake Placid football was back to full force, but even that wasn't enough to stop Butch Moore.

The Bishop Verot quarterback threw two touchdown passes to Garrett Redden, converted two onside kicks and booted a 37-yard field goal to lead the Vikings to a 31-0 victory over Lake Placid in Class 2A-District 5 action at Roger Scarborough Memorial Field.

Moore, a senior, completed 11 of 20 passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns and played a major role in the frenzied final 1:01 of the first half, booting an onside kick to give Bishop Verot two quick scores before the half.

"That was a big momentum swing for us," said Moore, who was flanked by sophomore running back Schon Thomas' 11 carries for 58 yards and a touchdown. "They did a great job putting pressure on us and holding back our run, but we got things sorted out."

The Green Dragons (2-6, 0-4) had opportunities, but three turnovers on downs and a blocked punt and touchdown return by Bishop Verot junior Craig Toggweiler led to LP's fifth straight defeat and third straight shutout.

Of course, Lake Placid was simply happy to be back to full strength.
Seniors Rashaad Brown and Josh Hickey returned to the lineup after serving two-game suspensions for an on-field scrum against Braden River.

Brown had LP's first seven touches of the game and finished with 14 carries for 58 yards to pace the Dragon offense, while Hickey had two interceptions in the second half to lead the LP defense.

"We had a couple horses back, including myself," Hickey said, noting he was grateful to be able to participate in LP's senior night festivities. "I wanted to walk on the field with my dad, and I was really happy to be able to do that. It felt really good."

Green Dragon coach Tim Grant was also in a cheerful mood despite the defeat: He said his team followed through with its gameplan and showed marked improvement from the previous weeks.

"I'm not disappointed at all," Grant said. "I have every reason to be proud of these guys. People have started questioning this team's heart, and that's not fair. This is a young team and we're not NFL players - they come out and play hard all the time."

After an LP's opening drive stalled on the Bishop Verot 2-yard line with a turnover-on-downs, the Vikings drove into Dragon territory and escaped with a 37-yard field goal by Moore. The field goal looked like it'd be the difference at half, until the Dragons punted at their own 40 and allowed the Vikings to breeze down the field on a nine-play, 87-yard drive to take a 10-0 lead on a 4-yard run by Thomas.

After an onside pooch-kick was recovered by Bishop Verot (6-2, 3-0), Moore went deep on 1st-and-10, hitting an open receiver for a 40-yard bomb that set up a 2-yard scoring touchdown to put the Vikings up 17-0.

"I thought we came out a little flat on offense, and they did a good job hanging on to the ball," said Bishop Verot coach Phil Dorn. "We hung in on defense and didn't give up any points, but it was nice to get in the end zone and un-pop the cork a bit."

The Vikings scored twice more in the fourth quarter, first on a 10-yard toss from Moore to Redden and again on Toggweiler's block and rumble.

"[Moore's] a very smart quarterback," said LP senior Jonathan Simons, who made his final start at home after returning last week from injury. "He always throws it in the right place to his receiver, and when he runs, he keeps his head up and looks down field."

The Dragons travel to St. Pete Catholic next week.

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