Lakes played nearly flawless football against Decatur in the first half Saturday night.
The Lancers ran 20 offensive plays in the half and eight went for touchdowns.
By the time the SPSL 3A contest at Federal Way Memorial Stadium was over, second-ranked Lakes had thumped the Gators, 61-0. The Lancers led at halftime, 54-0.
But Lakes senior Ma’ne Manaea said the blowout was not the Lancers’ best effort.
Huh?
“This is the second-best we’ve played this year,” the University of Colorado-bound senior said.
Manaea, a receiver and defensive back, pointed to Lakes’ 57-7 drubbing of Capital in Week 3 as the Lancers’ gold-standard so far in the 2011 season.
Lakes coach Dave Miller said the win over Decatur was comparable to that victory.
Miller said the Lancers (2-0 SPSL 3A, 6-0 overall) were disappointed in the number of penalties and turnovers they totaled in a 33-13 win over then-undefeated Peninsula last week, spurring a good week of practice that carried over into the game.
“The kids were really dialed in and it showed in the first half,” he said. “Decatur is not a bad team, they’ve got athletes, got some speed, got some size.
“We just were executing at a high level and when we do that with our athletes it’s impressive.”
Lakes’ quick-strike offense was on display in the first half, thanks, in part, to Decatur’s go-for-it attitude.
Facing fourth-and-8 on its own 36 on the first possession of the contest, Gators quarterback Abraham Ferrell-Logan found Michael Klavuhn for a 12-yard gain.
Decatur (1-1, 4-2) went for it again on fourth-and-8 at the 50, but Ferrell-Logan’s pass was incomplete.
“It gives us the ball with a short field,” Miller said, “and makes it awfully tough on their defense.”
Lakes didn’t take long to capitalize.
Four plays later, quarterback David Wood scored Lakes’ first touchdown on a 1-yard sneak.
The Gators declined to punt on their next possession and the Lancers took over at Decatur’s 34.
Wood found uncovered Marquin Russell for a touchdown on the next play.
Of Lakes’ eight first-half possessions, six began in Decatur territory.
The Lancers’ worst starting position was their own 39 and they covered that ground in five plays. Cedric Dozier capped the drive with a 17-yard throw to receiver Sammie Long in the end zone that gave Lakes a 26-0 lead with 11:45 left in the second quarter.
Wood was 7-for-11 passing for 137 yards and three touchdowns and Dozier was 3-for-5 for 47 yards and also ran for a 17-yard touchdown.
By the time Lakes pulled its starters – most exited the game at the end of the third quarter – it had piled up 315 yards of total offense, averaging 10.9 yards per play, and held the Gators to 81 yards of offense, including minus-6 rushing yards on 26 attempts.
Running back Levonte Littlejohn ran for 49 yards on three carries and caught three passes for 69 yards and two touchdowns for the Lancers.
Doug Pacey: 253-597-8271 doug.pacey@thenewstribune.com blog.thenewstribune.com/preps
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