Pirates Pummel Green Dragons

Lake Placid's Avery Young remarked at how nice Pirates stadium looked and all the amenities it had, including a full merchandise stand and an elevator leading up to the press box.

Another item that Class 3A Braden River had that Lake Placid didn't on Friday night was a machine-like offense that used crisp passes and a go-to running back to systematically pick apart the Green Dragon defense in a 42-0 rout.

Pirate's tailback Jajuan Bell used his strength and cut-back ability to rush for 232 yards on 22 carries to set the tone for the Pirates offense that amassed 505 total yards.

Lake Placid head coach Jason Holden took responsibility for his team's slow start that saw Braden River take an early 14-0 lead in the first quarter and the home team never looked back.

"I thought we came out flat tonight," Holden said. "As a coaching staff, I don't think we had our team ready to play. I think we put too much pressure on the kids this week

"I'm still really proud of our team. They never quit until the final whistle and that says a lot about the character of this team."

Bell may have been the go-to-guy on the ground for Braden River but it was senior receiver Willie McNeal who exploited holes in the Lake Placid secondary by scoring three first-half touchdowns that were set up by solid running by Bell.

McNeal finished with 205 yards on four catches - all in the first half.

The game started with a comedy of errors, as Lake Placid's Travalier Schultz knocked the ball loosed from Bell, who fumbled at midfield and John Bennett alertly fell on it to give the ball to the Green Dragons.

But Navarhi Holden gave the ball right back to the Pirates on the very next play on a fumble of his own. Three plays later, Braden River quarterback Steven Fischer connected with McNeal on a 52-yard touchdown strike in the left-side flat.

After Lake Placid went three-and-out, Fischer and McNeal would hook up again on the same exact play - left-side flat - this time for an 80-yard scamper into the end zone for a 14-0 lead with 4:57 left in the first quarter.

"We knew they were a fast team and they showed it tonight," Holden said. "They're a very well coached team and they're speed really hurt us tonight.

"It really hampered us when we wound up playing catch up so early in the game."

McNeal and Fisher would hook up one more time before the half on 40-yard touchdown pass this time to the right side flat and the Pirates never looked back.

Lake Placid's offense couldn't get into any kind of rhythm, as Braden River's defense was constantly putting pressure on Green Dragon quarterback Zach Campbell and was routinely in the visitor backfield that negated any chance of a big play.

The Green Dragons two biggest plays of the game were an 11-yard run by Chevontray Wilson and a nine-yard pass from Campbell to Young, but those highlights were few and far between against the Pirates.

Lake Placid managed just 64 yards of total offense for the game.

Young was visibly frustrated throughout the game and hopes that this game shows the unbalanced nature of the Green Dragon offense.

"We need to be more balanced with our offense," Young said. "We've become very predictable and teams are making us pay for that. If we run 100 plays, 97 of them are usually going to be running plays.

"We have to get back to basics and open things up on offense."

Lake Placid three the ball nine times - Campbell went 4 for 8 for 27 yards - while running the ball 22 times for 37 yards with Holden carrying the ball five times for 22 yards.

One of the bright spots for the Green Dragons was the inspired play by Schultz, who forced two fumbles and made five tackles on Bell that stopped him for no gain or for a loss.

But after the game, Schultz didn't want to talk about his good game.

"It doesn't mean anything unless the team wins," Schultz said. "We were all motivated to come out and play hard tonight and I think we did just that.

"I'm proud of my teammates, especially the defensive line, for playing hard on every play. We continually got after the ball and made some plays, but we just weren't able to capitalize on them."

Lake Placid is back in action on Friday when they travel to face Class 2A-District 5 rival Mulberry.

Braden River 42, Lake Placid 0

Lake Placid 0 0 0 0 - 0

Braden River 14 14 7 7 - 42

SCORING SUMMARY

First Quarter

BR - Fischer 52 pass to McNeal, (Kerns kick), 9:37

BR - Fischer 80 pass to McNeal, (Kerns kick), 4:57

Second Quarter

BR - Fischer 40 pass to McNeal, (Kerns kick), 9:13

BR - Roderick 6 run, (Kerns kick), 3:19

Third Quarter

BR - McNeal 12 pass to McKoan, (Kerns kick), 3:13

Fourth Quarter

BR - Roderick 8 run, (Kerns kick), 6:40

INDIVIDUAL STATS

RUSHING: Lake Placid; Holden 5-22, Wilson 8-14, Campbell 7-?, Jones 1-3, Young 1-8. Braden River; Bell 22-232, Fischer 5-22, Roderrick 3-11-1, Yannotti 1-1.

PASSING: Lake Placid; Campbell 4-8-27, Wilson 0-1. Braden River; Fischer 6-8-227-3, McNeal 1-1-12-1.

RECEIVING: Lake Placid; Young 1-9, Gort 1-8, Holden 1-5, Campbell 1-5. Braden River; McNeal 4-205-3, McKoan 1-12-1, Roderick 1-12, Bell 1-10.