Auburndale (5-2) vs. Lake Wales (5-2)
When: Friday at 7:30
Where: Legion Field in Lake Wales, FL
TV: Channel 47 and HD 1147
Live streaming: Log onto bhsnlive.com to watch the game live and on-demand
Coaches: Ken Grantham is in his 6th season as Auburndale head coach. He has a 20-40 record. While Tavaris Johnson is in his first season at the helm in Lake Wales at 5-2.
How they match up: There is tons riding on this game when the Bloodhounds and Highlanders match up Friday night. A win for Auburndale clinches their second district title in three years and a fourth straight postseason. This year has been special for the Bloodhounds because they raced out to a 4-0 start. Even though they dropped two in a row soon after, Coach Grantham still believes his team’s best football is yet to be played. “The Bloodhound Way” is to simply out-physical opposing teams for 48 minutes. They will also wear teams down trying to catch them. The three-headed monster at running back is senior Wilber Cooper with juniors Artavis Pierce and Jesse Britt. Cooper is finally back to 100% after tearing an ACL his sophomore year while Pierce may be the most talented of the three, coming off a 197-yard rushing performance against Mulberry. Quarterback Tyler Wilkerson has a steady arm, but they have not asked much of him so far. Most of the heavy lifting is coming from those RBs. On defense, senior LB Colton Rausch never comes off the field. He actually starts at center as well and will even play special teams. Sophomore DE Keandre Jenkins has good size for a tenth grader and is just getting better with age. In the back, senior SS David Etienne is a coach’s dream according to Grantham…”if I had 30 David Etiennes, I’d be ordering state championship rings,” Grantham said.
Lake Wales has taken on a new identity behind head coach Tavaris Johnson. Johnson has tons of energy. He is a player’s coach constantly thinking of ways to motivate his team. Recently, Johnson walked out of practice threatening to quit the season. About 30 seconds went by before his players snapped out of it and begged him to come back. Not that he ever meant to quit, but Johnson is constantly pushing buttons to see how his team reacts. Thank goodness for junior QB Xavier Gaines, a transfer from Frostproof who has been dynamic at quarterback this season. Gaines lives by the motto “hard work beats talent”. He is a true leader, taking command the first day he walked on campus. Senior RB Justin Henderson is not having the same year he did in 2013 but he can still gash a defense. And welcome back senior WR Marcus Walker, fully recovered from a broken wrist he suffered during summer 7-on-7. Defensively, keep an eye on Josh Dunn. He will make a big play before the night is through. Javorius Taylor is having a great fall as well. With 4 INTs, three of those have gone for a pick-six!
Things to know:
1.) Both head coaches are graduates of the schools they are leading. Grantham was in the Auburndale Class of 1990 while Johnson is part of Lake Wales Class of 1997.
2.) Lake Wales has won seven of the past 8 meetings between these teams, including six in a row from 2006-2011.
3.) This game may come down to stamina as there will be eleven two-way starters in this game…Auburndale has five of them and Lake Wales sports six