Lakeland is on a seven-game streak of home wins (dating back to last season), while Gaither is on a five-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Lakeland Dreadnaughts will host the Gaither Cowboys at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Lakeland is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They breezed by Spoto to the tune of 51-6. The matchup was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 37-0.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Lakeland to victory, but perhaps none more so than Jordan Henderson, who rushed for 63 yards and a touchdown. The team also got some help courtesy of Jaysean Pritchard, who rushed for 62 yards and a touchdown on only seven carries.
Lakeland was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 266 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in December of 2023.
Meanwhile, while Gaither put up plenty of points on Friday, the same can't be said for Springstead. Gaither simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Springstead 42-0. Given the Cowboys' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida football rankings (they are ranked 37th, while the Eagles are ranked 135th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for Ej Archield Jr, who threw for 323 yards and three touchdowns while completing 71.4% of his passes, and also punched in a rushing score. Ryan Hamilton was another key player, picking up 138 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Gaither's defense stepped up as well, laying out the QB three times. Antonio Henley was particularly dangerous to the passing game, picking up two sacks himself. He has been hot , having also posted five or more total tackles the last five times he's played.
Gaither's win bumped their record up to 9-2. As for Lakeland, their victory bumped their record up to 10-0.
Friday's game might be decided in the trenches. Lakeland has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 149.3 rushing yards per game. It's a different story for Gaither, though, as they've been averaging only 90.6. How will they fare against such a dominant running game? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
