The Lakewood Gators will face off against the South Florence Bruins at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Lakewood has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the matchup with 12 straight defeats, while South Florence will come in with three straight wins.
Lakewood's offense might be in the hot seat on Thursday considering what happened against Darlington last Friday. They were dealt a 43-0 loss at the hands of the Falcons.
Meanwhile, South Florence humbled Darlington with a 57-6 victory. The result was nothing new for the Bruins, who have now won four contests by 31 points or more so far this season.
Lakewood better focus on containing Messiah Jackson and Cameron James as the pair were huge in South Florence's win. Jackson rushed for 20 yards and three TDs, while James rushed for 98 yards and a pair of touchdowns on only eight carries. James' longest rush was for an impressive 55 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total. The team also got some help courtesy of JayAun Perkins, who picked up 99 receiving yards and one score.
South Florence was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 205 rushing yards. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their rushing yard total in four consecutive games.
One reason for the win was South Florence's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for three sacks. The team can thank three different players for their defensive prowess: Jewel Washington, Quashawn Byrd, and Dewain Felder, who each picked up one sack apiece. Amare Reaves got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.
South Florence's victory bumped their record up to 5-1. As for Lakewood, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-6.
Lakewood was dealt a bruising 42-12 loss at the hands of South Florence when the teams last played back in October of 2024. That matchup was all but decided by halftime, at which point the Gators were down 29-6.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
