LAKE WALES CRUISES TO EASY WIN AT HAINES CITY

Might as well call it the plywood bowl and Lake Wales nailed it down. The Highlanders routed Haines City 52-0 at Joe Stangry Stadium on Thursday night in a game that was bumped up a day to prepare for Hurricane Irma. “I am proud the players, proud of the coaching staff and the way they came out.They showed we could be physical and we could control offensively and we can hit you,” Lake Wales head coach Tavaris Johnson said. Lake Wales exploded for 31-unanswered first-half points to put the game out of reach early and then forced a running-clock situation after Johnathon Roberson hauled in a 24-yard touchdown pass from Highlanders’ quarterback Chayil Garnett with 3:42 left in the third quarter. It was Garnett’s third touchdown pass of the night. He also connected with Terrance Barfield on a 45-yarder in the first quarter and a 10-yarder to Norman Love in the second quarter. The 6-foot-1 sophomore quarterback finished 7-of-15 for 147 yards with no interceptions. “The standard is set. The kids are playing football right now. I can tell you the spirit is back. I tell you, it feels like Lake Wales football again,” Johnson said. “We talked about winning the first series all week. The kids are buying in. We put in a hard summer. It was definitely one of the hardest summers in a long time, and when you do that, you get results.” The Highlanders also picked up a 27-yard field goal form Noah Wilson to start the game, a 45-yard interception return for a touchdown by Michael Head, a fumble recovery for a touchdown by Albert Cooper in the end zone and a 14-yard fourth quarter touchdown run by Peter Reitbauer to close out the win. “We won the turnover battle and we won the field position. We won everything. It was a great night for Lake Wales,” Johnson said. Lake Wales starts 3-0 for the first time since 2011 when the Highlanders won their first seven games before losing 13-10 to Winter Haven in double-overtime. Lake Wales finished 9-2 that season. The team will host Lake Gibson next week while Haines City host Port Orange Spruce Creek. “Lake Gibson is a great football team,” Johnson said. “I played with Doug DeMyer and we had a conversation on the phone today. I tell you what, it is going to be a fight.”

LAKE WALES CRUISES TO EASY WIN AT HAINES CITY

Photo Credit: Bill Kemp

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