Lakeland - St Thomas Aquinas Title matchup, part VII

[Nulli Secundus]

That's all I got, lol

[Longtime Observer]

Thankfully, there was never a...

Nevermind 

[Rattlin Steele]

Regardless of next week's results, I think you have to say this game was worthy of the state title game.

After 3 overtimes, I'm emotionally worn out.  Hard to believe our usually very good kicker missed 3 (maybe a 4th) FGs, 2 of which would have been walk-off wins.

Somewhat disappointed in our offensive play calling, did not see much new in this game.  The TE up the hash for a TD was a great call and something I haven't seen all year.  Also stupid to call TO in 2nd OT when we didn't have one.

Do not know why our QB #11 cannot throw the ball away and gets sacked instead.  He's done that a lot this year.

I'm super disappointed for our defense as 2 Lakeland TD's in regulation (ended 20 all) were given up by the offense and special teams.  They played their hearts out.

Niceville 423 yds to Lakeland's 152.  Tough loss for us.

But, I'm very proud of them overall, we have 1 guy going to Navy and 2 or 3 more going to little schools so I'm thrilled they came that close against Lakelands numerous P5 recruits.  Malik Morris is a GAM among men!

Congratulations to Lakeland.  Good luck in Miami!

PS - the reason our band (or part of it) weren't there was due to a prior commitment to play in a Christmas parade tomorrow.

[Nulli Secundus]

1 minute ago, Rattlin Steele said:

Regardless of next week's results, I think you have to say this game was worthy of the state title game.

 

 

 

After 3 overtimes, I'm emotionally worn out.  Hard to believe our usually very good kicker missed 3 (maybe a 4th) FGs, 2 of which would have been walk-off wins.

 

 

 

Somewhat disappointed in our offensive play calling, did not see much new in this game.  The TE up the hash for a TD was a great call and something I haven't seen all year.  Also stupid to call TO in 2nd OT when we didn't have one.

Do not know why our QB #11 cannot throw the ball away and gets sacked instead.  He's done that a lot this year.

I'm super disappointed for our defense as 2 Lakeland TD's in regulation (ended 20 all) were given up by the offense and special teams.  They played their hearts out.

Niceville 423 yds to Lakeland's 152.  Tough loss for us.

But, I'm very proud of them overall, we have 1 guy going to Navy and 2 or 3 more going to little schools so I'm thrilled they came that close against Lakelands numerous P5 recruits.  Malik Morris is a GAM among men!

Congratulations to Lakeland.  Good luck in Miami!

PS - the reason our band (or part of it) weren't there was due to a prior commitment to play in a Christmas parade tomorrow.

I believe everyone watching that game is worn out.  All in all, I'm glad Niceville showed up the way that they did.  TO your point, I was suprised at how effective the Eagles play calling was with very little variation.  That timeout call in 2OT was a real head scratcher and probably hurt more than anything at the end of the game.

Thanks for clearing up the band question.  I was hoping it wasn't for $$$ reasons.

[Longtime Observer]

For those who haven't seen the game, here are my observations:

- an average Lakeland offense would've meant a comfortable win for Lakeland. But, this is an anemic offense with poor OL play, poor QB play and suboptimal play-calling. The loss of star player Shanard Clower last week spelled doom for the Lakeland O.

- the anemic offense meant that an excellent defensive effort- with some notable breakdowns against an excellent Niceville offense- was squandered.

- I watched a lot of Niceville and read all of their local news articles and became a fan of them. I like how they coach and play, and I like their fan support. Reading the articles led to me having a flashback to the 1990s. Perhaps they are still living in the 90s in the Panhandle. That's not necessarily a bad thing!

- Niceville absolutely outplayed Lakeland. It was perhaps even more miraculous of a win for us than the Lake Mary win.

- Niceville's kicker nailed a 44-yard FG in the 2nd quarter, and added another before half, then missed three kicks that likely win them the game. Both teams missed a FG in the 1st OT, where either making it wins the game.

- Niceville may have gotten the short end of the stick on a couple of calls. The first, which I have to rewatch, was an odd "strip-six" where Lakeland (perhaps) stripped Connor Matthews of the ball and then ran for a TD. The score was 12-0 Niceville at the time, and the Eagles appeared in position to possibly blow the game open at that point. Instead, it was 12-7 Niceville, and Lakeland had life. The second call was a 2-point conversion at 12-0, where it looked to me like a good conversion, but was called short.

- Lakeland, as unlikely as it was, did hold a 13-12 lead and started to actually move the ball, driving inside the Niceville 30. They gave the ball to their workhorse Malik Morris who made a rare gaffe by fumbling back to Niceville.

- the game was decided at 34-33 Lakeland when Niceville went for 2 and the win in triple OT. I have to rewatch, but the ball carrier appeared to get at or inside the 1 before being down, ending the game.

- Niceville fans are likely equal parts devastated and angry. It has to be the worst possible way to lose a game.

- Lakeland will need another miracle to beat STA

[Longtime Observer]

2 minutes ago, Nulli Secundus said:

I believe everyone watching that game is worn out.  All in all, I'm glad Niceville showed up the way that they did.  TO your point, I was suprised at how effective the Eagles play calling was with very little variation.  That timeout call in 2OT was a real head scratcher and probably hurt more than anything at the end of the game.

Thanks for clearing up the band question.  I was hoping it wasn't for $$$ reasons.

What they did is doable given the extreme pressure the OL and speedy QB put on the run defense. It opened up the quick screen. Play that well and you get burned deep, as McKinney did twice.

[Longtime Observer]

9 minutes ago, Rattlin Steele said:

Regardless of next week's results, I think you have to say this game was worthy of the state title game.

After 3 overtimes, I'm emotionally worn out.  Hard to believe our usually very good kicker missed 3 (maybe a 4th) FGs, 2 of which would have been walk-off wins.

Somewhat disappointed in our offensive play calling, did not see much new in this game.  The TE up the hash for a TD was a great call and something I haven't seen all year.  Also stupid to call TO in 2nd OT when we didn't have one.

Do not know why our QB #11 cannot throw the ball away and gets sacked instead.  He's done that a lot this year.

I'm super disappointed for our defense as 2 Lakeland TD's in regulation (ended 20 all) were given up by the offense and special teams.  They played their hearts out.

Niceville 423 yds to Lakeland's 152.  Tough loss for us.

But, I'm very proud of them overall, we have 1 guy going to Navy and 2 or 3 more going to little schools so I'm thrilled they came that close against Lakelands numerous P5 recruits.  Malik Morris is a GAM among men!

Congratulations to Lakeland.  Good luck in Miami!

PS - the reason our band (or part of it) weren't there was due to a prior commitment to play in a Christmas parade tomorrow.

Congratulations on a great season and a great showing. I confess it was weird having been converted to a fan of Niceville while being a Lakeland homer and alum!

[Jullian]

2 minutes ago, Longtime Observer said:

For those who haven't seen the game, here are my observations:

- an average Lakeland offense would've meant a comfortable win for Lakeland. But, this is an anemic offense with poor OL play, poor QB play and suboptimal play-calling. The loss of star player Shanard Clower last week spelled doom for the Lakeland O.

- the anemic offense meant that an excellent defensive effort- with some notable breakdowns against an excellent Niceville offense- was squandered.

- I watched a lot of Niceville and read all of their local news articles and became a fan of them. I like how they coach and play, and I like their fan support. Reading the articles led to me having a flashback to the 1990s. Perhaps they are still living in the 90s in the Panhandle. That's not necessarily a bad thing!

- Niceville absolutely outplayed Lakeland. It was perhaps even more miraculous of a win for us than the Lake Mary win.

- Niceville's kicker nailed a 44-yard FG in the 2nd quarter, and added another before half, then missed three kicks that likely win them the game. Both teams missed a FG in the 1st OT, where either making it wins the game.

- Niceville may have gotten the short end of the stick on a couple of calls. The first, which I have to rewatch, was an odd "strip-six" where Lakeland (perhaps) stripped Connor Matthews of the ball and then ran for a TD. The score was 12-0 Niceville at the time, and the Eagles appeared in position to possibly blow the game open at that point. Instead, it was 12-7 Niceville, and Lakeland had life. The second call was a 2-point conversion at 12-0, where it looked to me like a good conversion, but was called short.

- Lakeland, as unlikely as it was, did hold a 13-12 lead and started to actually move the ball, driving inside the Niceville 30. They gave the ball to their workhorse Malik Morris who made a rare gaffe by fumbling back to Niceville.

- the game was decided at 34-33 Lakeland when Niceville went for 2 and the win in triple OT. I have to rewatch, but the ball carrier appeared to get at or inside the 1 before being down, ending the game.

- Niceville fans are likely equal parts devastated and angry. It has to be the worst possible way to lose a game.

- Lakeland will need another miracle to beat STA

STA has their own miracles…….flip a coin with this one…..

[Longtime Observer]

1 minute ago, Jullian said:

STA has their own miracles…….flip a coin with this one…..

Literally. But Lakeland without Clower probably favors STA in an extremely ugly, but very close game. STA probably take it.

[Longtime Observer]

I just rewatched the "strip-six" and it did appear legitimate. Just very unlikely, and it's possible the bad ankle Matthews was playing on contributed to the strip.

[Nulli Secundus]

9 hours ago, Longtime Observer said:

Literally. But Lakeland without Clower probably favors STA in an extremely ugly, but very close game. STA probably take it.

The QB  and offense play worries me more than anything.  It reminds me of '06 when Lakeland was trying to limp across that 3-peat finish line with Castle under center.  What I saw tonight was worse than that and honestly the worst showing I've seen all season.

[Rattlin Steele]

6 minutes ago, Longtime Observer said:

- Niceville may have gotten the short end of the stick on a couple of calls. The first, which I have to rewatch, was an odd "strip-six" where Lakeland (perhaps) stripped Connor Matthews of the ball and then ran for a TD. The score was 12-0 Niceville at the time, and the Eagles appeared in position to possibly blow the game open at that point. Instead, it was 12-7 Niceville, and Lakeland had life. The second call was a 2-point conversion at 12-0, where it looked to me like a good conversion, but was called short.

- the game was decided at 34-33 Lakeland when Niceville went for 2 and the win in triple OT. I have to rewatch, but the ball carrier appeared to get at or inside the 1 before being down, ending the game.

- Niceville fans are likely equal parts devastated and angry. It has to be the worst possible way to lose a game.

- Lakeland will need another miracle to beat STA

Thanks for your post!

The strip-six was a great play by your big DE.  He just mauled Matthews (who is one of our strongest guys) and yanked that ball out and up.

On the 2 pt conversion in regulation, it was close, but I guess we have to defer to the official who was right there.  Great hit by the DB.  I hated the idea of going for 2 at that early of a point.  Maybe no OT if we would've kicked it.

I hated going for 2 on the final play with that call. I've never seen a jump pass attempted where the receiver(s) are outside the hashes. Credit to Lakeland for stopping it.  

I'm devastated but not angry.  I was worried we might get embarrassed.

 

[Rattlin Steele]

8 minutes ago, Longtime Observer said:

I just rewatched the "strip-six" and it did appear legitimate. Just very unlikely, and it's possible the bad ankle Matthews was playing on contributed to the strip.

Your guy just made a play when it was needed.  Agree that Matthews wasn't 100%.  We weren't sure he'd even play.  I don't think he returned after the strip.

[MarkECannon]

Was at Bryant Stadium last week.  Was at Hawkins Stadium week.  God knows I’m not great at prognosticating but I would give the slight edge to STA.  Quality wise they matchup pretty evenly.  Lakeland’s offense, which has been discussed before, is not as good as what we have come to expect from them.  STA’s weakness is their kicking game.  The placekicker is serviceable.  The punting, well, not good.  When STA doesn’t have a dominant team they are good at letting the other team beat itself.  This might be another one of those games.

[Longtime Observer]

12 hours ago, Nulli Secundus said:

The QB  and offense play worries me more than anything.  It reminds me of '06 when Lakeland was trying to limp across that 3-peat finish line with Castle under center.  What I saw tonight was worse than that and honestly the worst showing I've seen all season.

Well, they were pretty terrible on O most of the season, really. They just got so many scores from defense and special teams that it masked the flaws. The thing that stood out last night was how terribly inaccurate the QBs are. They weren't even close to completing the pass on several very short, simple throws. Embarrassing to a point. Best bet for Thursday will be to run Malik a lot, and maybe use Zander Smith as a Billy Lowe/Tim Tebow type of power runner.

[Terrapin]

Man that was wild.

Definitely wondered about the decision to go for 2 early on. I get you want to convert to 14, force them to get TDs. but i would have just played it conservative.

Niceville defense is crazy. I hope Bocchino goes and balls out at Troy.

Props to Lakeland, and good luck against the beast in STA.