After each having a week off, the St. Cloud Bulldogs and the Lake Nona Lions will shake off the cobwebs and hit the field against one another at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Lake Nona will square off against a team with plenty of momentum: St. Cloud extended their winning streak to five last Friday. The Bulldogs simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Lake Minneola 55-6. The matchup was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 41-6.
St. Cloud found their leader in sophomore Jeremiah Lattier, who threw for 290 yards and five touchdowns while completing 72% of his passes. The team also got some help courtesy of Santiago Ochoa, who gained 83 total yards and two touchdowns.
St. Cloud's run defense was locked in: Lake Minneola could only muster three yards per carry. The team can thank Bryce Anthony Oraine Williams for the heroic effort on defense: he. St. Cloud's run defense has been on the up-and-up: they allowed 4.3 yards per carry earlier this season, but they've only allowed 6.93 on average over their last five games.
St. Cloud's defense didn't let Gianni Barzotti, get away unscathed either: they got into the backfield for five sacks. That dominant display was truly a team effort as five different players picked up one apiece. Anthony Oraine Williams was another major factor on D, making nine total tackles (1.0 for loss) and defending six passes in addition to snagging an interception.
Meanwhile, while Lake Nona put up plenty of points two weeks ago, the same can't be said for Innovation. The Lions took their game with ease, bagging a 38-0 win over the Bulls. The Lions pushed the score to 25-0 by the end of the third, a deficit the Bulls had little chance of recovering from.
Lake Nona didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Deanthony Lafayette and Nollan Vasconcelos. Lake Nona got some further help from Cristian Cuffy: he made 12 total tackles (2.0 for loss) and defended two passes.
Lake Nona's victory bumped their record up to 7-3. As for St. Cloud, their win bumped their record up to 8-2.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Friday's contest: St. Cloud has been excellent in the air this season, having averaged 277.9 passing yards per game. It's a different story for Lake Nona, though, as they've been averaging only 139.3 passing yards. How will they fare against such a dominant passing game?
St. Cloud beat Lake Nona 25-17 when the teams last played back in September. Will the Bulldogs repeat their success, or do the Lions have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
