By Josh Beavers
On such a crisp early Fall night, it was quite ironic that Lakeside played with fire constantly for the duration.
Whether it was the fire off the feet of senior Jordan Case, who carried the ball some 30 times for more than 200 yards, or the fire that nearly burned from repeatedly fumbling the ball and barely recovering it, Lakeside ebbed and flowed its way to a narrow and thrilling victory over Block Friday night. The final score was 41-34. Lakeside is now 3-1 on the season and has won three games in a row.
Case was nearly unstoppable as the Warriors literally ran the same play over and over again for big gains nearly every time. The only difference was sometimes the play went slightly to the right and other times it went slightly to the left. All of them were up the middle, and all of them showed just how dominate the Lakeside offensive line was against the woeful Block defense.
Offensive linemen never get any credit, so right here I’m going to name them and give the kudos for Jordan’s big night largely to them. They are Willie Jenkins, Caleb Barber, Jamarcus Tellis, Bryce Parker, Eli Campbell, and Cage Williams.
Block knew what was coming each play – a Jordan Case run straight up the gut – but they could do nothing to stop it.
The Warriors scored first following a nice play by Tamarjah Ferrell on offense and then a Jordan Case interception on defense. After the INT, Jordan found the endzone (up the middle of course). Cage Williams made the point after, and Lakeside was up 7-0 at the 8:52 mark of the first quarter.
Block’s Corrin Collins got behind the Lakeside defense a few plays later for a 50-yard touchdown reception to make the score 8-7 for the visitors. Following a pretty Taron Riley kick return to midfield, Lakeside was unable to pick up a first and turned the ball over on downs.
Jamarion Evans had his name called for the first time of many on the next drive as he rushed the quarterback and allowed Willie Jenkins to force a fumble. Block recovered but had to punt.
Lakeside was moving the ball following the superb Block punt, but a cornerback stepped in front of a Brock Case screen pass to his receiver. The defender picked the ball out of the air and ran more than 70 yards for a Pick-6. The play gave Block a 14-7 lead at the 9:41 mark of quarter number two.
Jordan Case scored from 33 yards out when Lakeside got the ball back. The PAT failed but Lakeside was within a point at 14-13 with a little over eight minutes to play in the half.
Jeremiah Allen, Jamarion Evans, Willie Jenkins, and Caleb Barber made life miserable for Block on the next series. The visitors were forced to punt once more. Following three consecutive penalties – there was more laundry on the field in this game than laundry in the dirty clothes basket of a family of six – Lakeside fumbled again and Block recovered.
A Block touchdown was nullified by another penalty. Lakeside got the ball back and Kameron Grigsby, Jordan Case, and Taron Riley steadily picked up yards as the clock steadily ticked toward halftime.
Riley made a dynamic catch and huge spin move for his touchdown. Following breaking tackles and almost pirouetting into the endzone, Riley’s touchdown pushed Lakeside up to 21-14.
Evans (I’m telling you, Jamarion’s name was called A LOT) as well as Eli Santelices, Kentravion Miller, and Jalen Jackson made big defensive plays to keep Block from scoring. The half ended with the score 21-14.
Bryce Parker made a tackle for loss to start the second half which led to a Block punt. But it wouldn’t take long for penalties, combined with a Lakeside turnover, to give the visitors another chance. Block found the endzone at the 7:53 mark of quarter three. The score at that point was 21-20 with Lakeside still leading.
It was the Jordan Case show from that point on out. He carried the ball play after play. It was like an old Dallas Cowboys game when Emmitt Smith would take handoff after handoff, and the Boys’ offensive line would just beat down the defense.
That’s what happened here.
Case scored from 24 yards out with 3:57 to play in the third. The point after failed, but Lakeside now had a 27-20 lead.
Evans (there’s that name AGAIN) and Caleb Barber made defensive plays to force a punt. Case kept running up the middle, and Kameron Grigsby got into it as well (on the same play). Kam scored from 14 yards out with 22 seconds to go in the third. The score was 33-20.
Block just wouldn’t go away, though. Collins scored on a long touchdown which was nearly identical to his catch in the first quarter. Their 2-point attempt was good, and the score was 33-28 with 11:43 to go in the game.
Lakeside fumbled three times on the next drive but were able to recover all three. On fourth and two near the goal line, Brock Case kept the ball on a quarterback sneak for a touchdown. It was 41-28 with 7 minutes to play.
Block scored one more time to make the score 41-34, but they couldn’t pull even despite a Lakeside turnover very late in the game.
Eli Santelices made a big defensive play in the waning moments, and Caleb Barber broke up the final Block pass attempt of the game to force a turnover on downs.
The final seconds ticked away, and Lakeside earned its third consecutive win. The final was 41-34.
It’s homecoming next week for the Warriors. The opponent is Lincoln Prep. Game time is at 7 p.m., and the Homecoming court will be presented at halftime.
