Football: Lakewood piles on the points in 63-42 win over Calvary Christian

Lakewood and Calvary Christian offered the equivalent of two cyclists pedaling furiously downhill, two rafts bouncing wildly downstream, two teams that glared into each other’s eyes, took 10 paces – and traded turns reaching the end zone. 

At least for one half. 

The Spartans were better equipped for the aerial stuff. They had quarterback Anthony Colandrea, who threw for four touchdowns and ran for another in the half. 

The Warriors displayed balance – and trickery. Sean Cuono ran for two scores and caught another from Jacob Drackett. Calvary Christian also got a touchdown on a double pass with Joshua Robinson throwing to Allan Ho. 

Back and forth they went with neither able to hold more than a one score advantage. 

Trailing 35-28 at the half, the Warriors tied on Drackett’s second passing touchdown of the night to tie it at 35. 

Then it was all Lakewood. 

The Spartans spent the rest of the night doing most of the scoring to pull away in a 63-42 victory in the Class 2 region final in the Metro Division. They advance to the state semifinals for the second straight season. 

The touchdowns came in bunches with Tra’quan Johnson scoring three on the ground and Colandrea adding another through the air to give him six total for the night (five passing, one rushing). 

Since the playoffs started, Lakewood’s offense has been on a tear, scoring 40 or more points in three straight games. 

The Spartans also know how to prevail in close contests. Last week, they rallied from a fourth quarter deficit to beat top seed Tampa Catholic 44-41 in the region semifinals. 

The ability to stay calm to tense moments comes from playing a schedule filled with quality opponents. Lakewood played Homestead, Lakeland and Largo, all of which were in the region finals this week. 

Now, the Spartans aim to take the next step and reach the state final for the first time.