Lake Minneola is 1-0 against Forest since October of 2022, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Lake Minneola Hawks will look to defend their home field against the Forest Wildcats at 7:30 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Lake Minneola had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 40.3 points), and they went ahead and made it four on Thursday. They breezed by South Lake at home to the tune of 62-14. Given Lake Minneola's advantage in MaxPreps' Florida football rankings (they are ranked 73rd, while South Lake is ranked 326th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Lake Minneola relied on the efforts of Dane Thompkins, who rushed for 94 yards and three touchdowns, and Jackson Hughes, who threw for 293 yards and five touchdowns while completing 73.7% of his passes. Another player making a difference was Braylon Knauth, who picked up 98 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Meanwhile, everything went Forest's way against East Ridge on Monday as Forest made off with a 38-14 win. The win made it back-to-back wins for Forest.
Vimel Poole looked great while leading his team to the win, throwing for 150 yards and two touchdowns, while also punching in a touchdown on the ground. Another big playmaker for Forest was Jordan Strickland, who returned a punt for a touchdown.
Their wins bumped Lake Minneola to 5-3 and Forest to 4-3.
We should be in store for an exciting game Friday as the pair have no problem gaining yardage. Lake Minneola has been on an offensive roll this season, having averaged 445.8 total yards per game. However, it's not like Forest struggles in that department as they've been averaging 357 per game. With a pair of commanding offenses duking it out, the defenses are going to have their work cut out for them.
Everything came up roses for Lake Minneola against Forest when the teams last played back in October of 2022 as the team secured a 35-7 victory. Will Lake Minneola repeat their success, or does Forest have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
