Lakeside 54
Beekman Charter 20
By Josh Beavers
There are a lot of names that will be mentioned in this story.
But there are five that need to be shared first: #75 Gavin Garland, #60 Bruce Bunton, #54 Jamarion Evans, #50 Kris Redden, and #77 Keegan Bryan.
This is the Lakeside offensive line. And they paved the way for four Warrior skilled position players to rack up more than 250 yards rushing and five touchdowns as Lakeside hammered Beekman Charter Friday night by a score of 54-20.
Games are won on the offensive and defensive lines. And while defensive linemen don’t receive as much attention as the linebackers and defensive backs, the big men who anchor the line on the defense do get a chance to make headlines with sacks and tackles for loss. The offensive lineman, however, leads a largely anonymous life on the gridiron, overlooked by the fans and left out of the news stories.
So, when a team puts on a rushing performance like Lakeside did last night over north of Bastrop, it’s worth a mention and applause for the five anchors of the offense.
Ashton Stewart led the way on the ground as he racked up 160 yards and a touchdown on 22 attempts. Jacob Whitehead contributed two touchdowns to go along with 62 yards rushing, and Rokedrick Smith chipped in 34 yards and a score. Rounding out the onslaught of rushing touchdowns was Cade Boley with a score on his only carry of the night. Well, his only carry of the night that wasn’t nullified by a penalty.
Both schools combined for 25 yellow flags totaling more than 200 yards in penalties. The game lasted well into the Friday night and was much longer than most contests that feature run heavy teams. Those types of games are usually over quite a bit sooner because they don’t have an excessive amount of clock stoppages due to incomplete passes.
At least four Lakeside touchdowns were called back for infractions. However, truth be told, it didn’t really matter because the Warriors eventually scored a few plays later on each of those possessions.
Beekman started the scoring first with two big passes on the opening drive. On the next play, the Beekman running back scored on the ground from seven yards out. Warrior Toby Askew picked off the try for two and Beekman led 6-0 at the 10:03 mark of quarter one.
On Lakeside’s opening possession, Stewart and Smith moved the ball down the field in rapid fire runs. One. Two. Bam. Bam. Less than three minutes after Beekman scored, Lakeside added its first of many touchdowns on the night. Smith was responsible for this touchdown as he went around the left side from a few yards out to even the score at 6.
Jaden Miller recovered a fumble when Beekman took back possession. This led to a 25-yard run by Jacob Whitehead. A touchdown toss from Whitehead to Smith was called back due to a hold. Moments later, another Smith touchdown was nullified due to penalty.
A few plays later, Lakeside finally scored. This one came from Stewart as he bruised into the endzone from three yards out. Smith scored on a reverse for the conversion to give Lakeside a 14-6 lead. The Warriors never trailed again.
Beekman scored on the ensuing drive, but Lakeside answered with a 38-yard touchdown connection between Whitehead and Cade Boley. The try for two failed but Lakeside was now up 20-14 with seven minutes until halftime.
Jaden Miller recorded a sack and Koby Mangrum had a tackle for loss; then a Warrior got a hand on a Beekman punt to give Lakeside the ball with another chance to score before intermission.
Another Cade Boley touchdown was nullified by a holding penalty, but Jacob Whitehead soon scored on the ground (from 10 yards out), and Stewart converted the try for two. Score at the half was Lakeside on top 28-14.
Beekman recovered an onside kick to open the next half and quickly scored through the air to pull within eight points. Ty Manness intercepted the try for two pass attempt. Beekman would not score again as the Lakeside defense (and Beekman’s own penalties) kept the Tigers far away from the endzone.
Cade Boley would score the next two touchdowns for Lakeside. The first came on a nine-yard run. Stewart added the two-point conversion. And the second Boley score came on the defensive side of the ball as he picked off the Beekman quarterback and returned the interception 60 yards for a touchdown. The try for two failed, but Lakeside now had a 22-point lead, 42-20.
Toby Askew made a dynamic tackle on the next Beekman drive, and Ty Manness recovered a fumble that was forced by Jake Wilkins.
On the next Beekman possession, Jaden Miller and Koby Mangrum continued their stellar play, but it was newcomer Jake Wilkins who reached in and caused and then recovered a fumble.
In the fourth quarter, Whitehead scored again to increase the lead to 28 and the scoreboard to shift to 48-20.
And the final touchdown of the night might have been the most dynamic as a Warrior or Warriors got a hand on a late Beekman punt and sent it spiraling and veering to the home sideline. Josh Sebald plucked it out of the air like LSU’s Craig Steltz from 15 years ago, and the young Warrior returned the ball 25 yards for the final score of the evening.
Next up for Lakeside is a homecoming game against Lincoln Prep.
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