The recap

The Spartans continued their dominance in the series, beating their rivals for the 11th straight time, including the last three by double digits. But this season opener was closer than the score indicated. After driving for a touchdown on its opening possession, Lakewood’s offense was stymied by the Pirates’ aggressive defense. Boca Ciega had its chances. Five times the Pirates had the ball inside Lakewood territory in the first half. Twice, Boca Ciega turned the ball over on downs. Two other possessions ended on lost fumbles. The Spartans will have to work on special teams this week, particularly the punting game. One snap sailed over the punter’s head and two other punts were blocked, both resulting in touchdowns. The first score was recorded by Demontae Gifford and the last one was by Amarian Raymond that cut the score to 14-12 early in the fourth quarter. Lakewood regrouped after that, scoring two rushing touchdowns to put the game away. 

Gamebreakers

Montravious Lloyd was the workhorse for the Spartans, rushing for more than 100 yards and scoring all four of his team’s touchdowns on the ground. Quarterback Anthony Colandrea started the game by going 5-for-5 to lead Lakewood to a touchdown on its opening drive. Colandrea, who transferred from Clearwater Central Catholic in the offseason, used his legs in the fourth quarter, scrambling for more than 40 yards to set up a touchdown. Darrell Lee ran hard for Boca Ciega all night. Both defenses were opportunistic, creating a combined six turnovers. 

Did you know?

The rivals kicked off the season ahead of everyone else due to a lack of officials in Pinellas County. Because of the shortage, Pinellas County athletic director Al Bennett has moved at least one game to Thursday for nearly every week of the regular season.