Dana O'Connor
Key Points
The Mustangs returned home after a few games away from Wekiva Stadium. They faced the 3-1 Lake Nona Lions, who were coming off an impressive win over the Edgewater Eagles a week earlier.
The first seven minutes of the first quarter gave the packed stands promise, with both teams showing great effort and response, but that promise faded quickly as the game progressed.
With Wekiva receiving the opening kickoff and answering with a quick four-and-out, the Lions capitalized within the first few minutes with a strong 10-yard run up the middle by senior running back Sebastian Lora, a 30-yard pass from junior starting quarterback Elijah Nickerson to second-year receiver Josiah Hall, and capped their opening drive with a 20-yard touchdown run down the sideline by Lora. With Andres Quintero’s good extra point kick, the Lions were up 7-0 early in the first quarter.
Wekiva’s offense, facing a sizable front seven from the Lions, struggled to move the ball up the field, resulting in a Dominick Sanguine fumble at their own 15-yard line and a Lake Nona recovery. With the Lions in scoring territory, Nickerson dropped back to connect on a screen pass, but Wekiva senior defensive back Dominique Walker jumped the route, picked off the pass and returned it 90 yards for a pick-six. With Sanguine connecting with sophomore receiver Robert Hollis on a two-point conversion, the Mustangs took an 8-7 lead with a little over five minutes left in the first quarter.
Lake Nona, in the very next possession, used a balanced attack of ground and air game. Noah Green on back-to-back plays ran for 10-plus yards, while Nickerson connected with Green on a dig route for an 11-yard touchdown pass. The Lions missed their two-point conversion, leaving the score 13-8.
The Lions kept their foot on the gas for the remainder of the game. The Lake Nona defense, carried by senior defensive back Charles Woodson Jr., senior linebacker Anthony Moreno and senior tackle Johnathan Santiago, kept the Mustangs at bay for the large majority of the rest of the game. On the next possession, the pressure on Sanguine forced an interception by the Lions defense, resulting in a 60-yard pick-six, but the play was called back for a blocking-in-the-back penalty.
With the Lions taking possession, the offense capitalized by putting another seven points on the board with a touchdown run by Noah Green and an extra point by Quintero.
The second quarter saw the same fight and perseverance from the Mustangs, but it also brought the same offensive consistency and defensive domination from the Lions.
Nickerson threw his second of five touchdown passes, putting the team up by 19 points, and the defense blocked a fourth-down punt from the Mustangs and recovered the ball for a touchdown late in the second quarter, putting Lake Nona up 33-8. Right before the halftime whistle, the Lions put 40 on the board when Nickerson found junior receiver Jeremiah Allen up the middle for a 12-yard touchdown pass.
Lake Nona came out of halftime with the same level of domination on both sides of the ball. Noah Green continued to run the ball well, while Nickerson connected again with Sebastian Lora on a 47-yard touchdown, putting the score at 46-8 early in the third quarter. The Mustangs fought and kept pushing back against the Lions. Late in the third quarter, Sanguine was able to escape a near sack and connect with Reshard Ricketts on a 32-yard pass up the middle. However, that possession ended when a high snap led to a fumble and a Lake Nona recovery. Once recovered, in one single play, Nickerson found Josiah Hall on an out-route for 40 yards and scored, putting 53 points on the board.
With both teams utilizing their reserves, Wekiva, towards the end of the fourth quarter, found an offensive groove with Sanguine connecting with Ricketts on a 27-yard pass and Landon Jerome finishing the possession with a goal-line touchdown. With a converted two-point conversion by Sanguine, the Wekiva Mustangs were able to keep their heads held high by putting another 8 points on the board.
The Mustangs next face the South Lake Eagles on the road.
