LAKELAND — Coaches want to have a good idea of where their team stands heading into the summer, and there’s no doubt that Lakeland coach Marvin Frazier has a handle on his Dreadnaughts.
Lakeland’s 30-16 loss to Tampa Jesuit exposed areas where the Dreadnaught need to work, but the entire spring also told Frazier enough about his team.
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“We came a pretty decent way,” he said. “We had some a big senior class (last fall), So just about everywhere you look, we had a new guy stepping up. (Running back) Jadarius Dobie is a guy that was a returner that we felt good about and (wide receiver) Cam Fuse as a freshman then some of the other positions we had injury riddled season. So we had to get other guys and I think, you know, when you look at somebody like Kevn Hendrix.”
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Lakeland running back Jadarius Dobie stiff-arms a Tampa Jesuit defender en route to a big game on Saturday night at Bryant Stadium.
Hendrix, a transfer from Kathleen where he played quarterback, played a couple of snaps at quarterback but showed potential as a receiver.
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“There’s a lot of talent there,” Frazier said. “He was just moved to receiver a week ago. There are so many things we going to be able to do when we unleash it.”
One of the new players was at center as rising senior Ian Anderson was injured in the spring and replaced with a freshman. The Dreadnaughts had fumbles off bad snaps inside the 10 on back-to-back posssessions, which proved costly.
Here are takeaway from Lakeland’s spring.
Dobie a prime time back
Dobie was part of a backfield rotation the past two seasons, but he showed he can be the go-to back. Dobie led the running game with 130 yards on 16 carries, and scored a touchdown on an 11-yard run.
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The Dreadnaughts still have depth. Amari Cooper had a couple of good runs, and Steward Butler likely will enter the mix. He had a 22-yard run on Lakeland’s second-to-last play of the game.
Lakeland defensive back Dominic Harris Payne make a hit on a Jesuit receiver at Bryant Stadium.
Defense strong then runs out of gas
Lakeland got strong play defensively int he first half. CJ Kresser came up with a big stop on fourth down to clinch a goal-line stand. The Dreadnaughts forced three turnovers with interceptions of fumble recoveries, including Santana Harvey’s fumble recover and Crisean Davis’ interception off Ziggy Riley’s deflection. However, leading 17-16, Lakeland gave up long touchdown drives after the turnovers inside the 10. Frazier spoke to his team after the game about the need over the summer to get in batter shape.
Passing game a work in progress
It was a mixed day for new quarterback Joquin Kavouklis. He had a big pass to Hendrix called back on his first possession and the offense stalled about couple of times in the second half with incompletions. But he hit three big passes, two to Fuse, on Lakeland’s final drive inside the 10 that could have been a game-winning drive, prior to the fumble on the bad snap. He finished 10 of 17 for 101 yards.
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“There’s some things that we should have hit tonight that we didn’t,” Frazier said. “We didn’t capitalize, but at the end of the day, he’s got a growing pains too, and I’m willing to ride with a sophomore that’s coming here ready to work.”
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Tampa Jesuit defeats Lakeland in spring football game
