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Dreadnaughts Surge Past Rivals For 21-17 Victory

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By ERIK SABOL, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 10, 2007

LAKELAND - The oldest Polk County rivalry was alive and well Friday night.

The 8-1 Kathleen Red Devils battled the 8-1 Lakeland Dreadnaughts at Bryant Field, and the game was as close as fans have come to expect when these teams match up. The Dreadnaughts prevailed 21-17 in as physical a matchup as they have seen all year.

In 2004, Lakeland defeated Kathleen 19-17, and in 2006 Lakeland won 29-26.

Kathleen's defense set the tone early, holding Lakeland to one first down in the first quarter. The Red Devils offense was busy, scoring on a 26-yard field goal and a 16-yard run by halfback Terrell Colston.

Down 10-0, Lakeland quarterback Jarred Haggins took the team down the field. He converted a key third down in the red zone, evading two tacklers and getting out of bounds at the 8-yard line. His next carry proved to be a game-changer, when he dashed through the middle of the Kathleen defense and somersaulted in for a score.

Lakeland's defense stepped up, halting the next two Red Devils drives. With two minutes left in the half, Haggins drove the Dreadnaughts down the field again, and running back Jason Guzman powered his way into the end zone from 2 yards out with 38 seconds remaining, giving Lakeland a 14-10 advantage.

The Dreadnaughts put together a 99-yard scoring drive late in the third and pulled ahead 21-10 on Guzman's 7-yard touchdown run.

Kathleen, determined to make it a game, marched to Lakeland's 20-yard line with 10 minutes remaining. Antwon Wilson then threw his best pass of the night, a fade to receiver T.J. Lawrence for a score to pull the Red Devils within four points.

The Dreadnaughts' rushing attack proved to be too much, and Lakeland nearly ran the clock out in Red Devils territory.

Kathleen got the ball back and took four tries to get down field, but to no avail. Lakeland got the ball back on downs and ran out the clock to preserve the victory.

K - Colston 16 run (Dunn kick)

L - Haggins 8 run (O'Brien kick)

L - Guzman 2 run (O'Brien kick)

L - Guzman 7 run (O'Brien kick)

K - Wilson 20 pass to Lawrence (Dunn kick)

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