Land O’ Lakes behind stingy defensive effort, upends Mitchell in Class 4A-Suburban, District 6 showdown

LAND O’ LAKES, FLORIDA- Land O’ Lakes head coach Dan Goodspeed is no stranger when it comes to facing the Mitchell Mustangs.

As the offensive line coach for several seasons under Ryan Benjamin, he knows Mitchell all too well and knew it would take out-coaching a Mustangs’ staff that does a great job every year.

On Monday night at John Benedetto Field, the Gators ended up winning in what was a defensive stalemate at times as Land O’ Lakes got by Mitchell 17-7 behind a defense that picked off multiple passes.

With the win, the Gators puts themselves in the driver’s seat in Class 4A-Suburban, District 6 and possibly a collision course with Springstead, whom is also undefeated. The Eagles defeated Wiregrass Ranch 21-3, setting up a potential district showdown between Land O’ Lakes and Springstead on Oct. 14.

On Monday night, though, the impressive statistic for the Gators was their ability to pull off the win despite putting together less than 150 yards of total offense. Land O’ Lakes (5-0) was able to pull off the victory in spite of its offense, totaling 110 yards altogether.

Difficulty pushing the ball downfield in the pass game seemed to be their potential downfall as Land O’ Lakes quarterback Mason Clarke (5-of-12, 59 yards) was picked off three times by Mitchell’s defense.

Land O’ Lakes first of two touchdowns on the night ended up coming via a 1-yard touchdown run by running back Jolexis Rodriguez in the first quarter with 4:44 remaining. That 7-0 lead ended up holding up for the Gators well into the second half as both teams tried to figure each other out.

Clarke seemed unfazed by the turnovers and still was able to throw a touchdown nonetheless, a 12-yard connection with senior wide receiver Kennen Ayala with under three minutes left in the game to take a commanding 17-0 lead. Ayala finished the game with three receptions for 33 yards on the night.

Mitchell (3-3) wasn’t having so much more trouble actually moving the football as it was more to just getting points on the board against Goodspeed’s defense. Mustangs’ quarterback Chris Ferrini had himself over 200 yards of total offense, completing 15-of-29 passes for 99 and rushing for 103.

Turnovers and miscues did the Mustangs in, however, as numerous opportunities turned into punt situations or a turnover. Ferrini ended up throwing two interceptions to the Gators’ defense, which proved to be costly. Mitchell running backs Jamarion Miller and Sean Brown combined for 53 yards rushing on the evening.

Mitchell’s first three offensive drives to open the second half started on or at least past the 50-yard line, but they couldn’t finish their drives and amount any points on the board to show for it. The Mustangs will take on The Villages (2-2) at home this Friday.

Land O’ Lakes will now have back-to-back games in which they face Hernando County opponents, with the Gators facing Nature Coast on Friday and then Springstead next week. The Gators also have the annual ‘Butter Bowl’ matchup against Sunlake slated for Oct. 21 followed by facing Wiregrass Ranch.

Andy Villamarzo can be reached at andyvillamarzo@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @Andy_Villamarzo.