Tigers topple Green Dragons

Playing its biggest district game in a number of years should have had Lake Placid fired up for Friday night's Class 2B-District 6 matchup with Fort Myers Dunbar.

Instead, the Green Dragons came out sluggish and committed costly mistakes inside the Dunbar 20-yard line to short-circuit four different scoring opportunities in dropping a disappointing 20-3 decision to the Tigers at Roger Scarborough Memorial Field.

"Our keys to victory were to play with discipline and tackle well and we really dropped the ball when it came to playing with discipline," said second-year Lake Placid coach Jason Holden. "We had penalties, shot ourselves in the foot and made too many mistakes to beat a team as good as Dunbar.

"We had plenty of scoring opportunities, but we just didn't capitalize on them."

The win improved Dunbar to 5-3 overall and 3-1 in district play, while the loss evened Lake Placid's record at 4-4, 2-2.

"We moved the ball pretty well, but fumbles, penalties and some bad play-calling kept us from scoring," Holden said. "Against a team as talented as Dunbar, you have to put points on the board when you get the chance."

Lake Placid took the opening kickoff and put together a nice drive behind the strong inside running of senior fullback Navahri Holden and the outside scampers of senior tailback Caleb Jones that reached the Dunbar 29.

But the Tigers' swarming defense stiffened, and quarterback Kirk Veley's fourth-down pass went incomplete.

Dunbar took over at its 32 and scored on its second play from scrimmage as junior quarterback Chris James hooked up with Darius Deloach for a 66-yard touchdown pass down the left sideline.

James completed 6 of 9 passes for 111 yards and the one touchdown.

The two-point pass attempt was incomplete and the Tigers led 6-0 with 5:21 remaining in the first quarter.

After an exchange of punts, Lake Placid moved the ball on the ground as Jones, who finished with 76 yards on 19 carries, used his quickness to exploit the Dunbar defense.

Holden, who rushed for 88 yards on 13 attempts, blasted up the middle of the Dunbar defense to give the Green Dragons first-and-goal inside the 10.

A pair of inside runs was stuffed by the Tigers and Veley was hit and fumbled the ball running the option and Dunbar recovered at its 3.

The Tigers faced a third-and-16 from deep in their own territory when Deloach ran a draw play and shook loose for a 76-yard touchdown.

The two-point pass was batted away and the Tigers led 12-0 midway through the second quarter.

"We knew Dunbar would have some big plays because of their team speed," Holden said. "Other than the two big plays, the defense did a pretty good job."

Lake Placid took advantage of a bad snap on a Dunbar punt to set up a 32-yard field goal by Stephen Guelff on the last play of the half to trim its deficit to 12-3.

The Green Dragons tried an onside kick to start the second half, but Dunbar recovered the loose ball and took advantage of the excellent field position to drive 45 yards in six plays with tailback Schon Thomas scoring on a sweep around the right end for a 12-yard touchdown.

The two-point pass failed and the Tigers led 18-3 with 8:50 left in the third period.

Dunbar added a safety on a bad snap on a punt for its final points late in the fourth quarter and the Tigers ran out the clock to seal the district road win.

Lake Placid has to put this game behind it quickly as the Green Dragons hit the road next Friday for a district game against Gateway Charter (Naples).

"Gateway Charter is a good team and led Dunbar during their game," said Holden. "We want to finish with a winning record and we have to get rid of the sloppy play if we want to do that.

"We're going to work hard in practice this week to be better disciplined and hopefully, we'll come out and play well in our last district game of the season."