Ida Baker hands Mustangs their second defeat

LAKEWOOD RANCH — The fourth quarter presented Lakewood Ranch with an opportunity to get within one touchdown of undefeated Cape Coral Ida Baker. But the visiting Bulldogs came up with a deflating goal-line stand and then punctuated the victory with a fumble recovery for a touchdown to send Lakewood Ranch to a 37-8 defeat at home Friday.

After Lakewood Ranch drove 50 yards in 15 plays, taking 6:36 off the clock, the Mustangs (2-2) faced a 3rd-and-goal at the 3-yard line, trailing 23-8 with 11 minutes to play. Quarterback Reggie Lindsey tried to hit his tight end open in the flat, but Baker’s Christian Rivera tipped the ball away at the last possible second. A five-yard penalty pushed it back to 4th-and-goal at the 8, and the Mustangs tried to find 6-foot-3 receiver Octavious Washington on the fade route. Joseph Byrd deflected the ball away and with it the Mustangs’ momentum.

Yet, the Mustangs still had hope when they forced a Baker punt two minutes later. The Mustangs had the ball in Baker territory after a short kick, and Lindsey tried to break outside on the Bulldogs. He couldn’t escape the Baker pursuit and fumbled the ball. Sean Montaney scooped up the pigskin and returned it 44 yards for a touchdown to finally put away the Mustangs, who knocked off East Lee County on a last-minute field goal a week earlier.

“You can’t give a good team opportunities,” Lakewood Ranch coach Shawn Trent said.

The Mustangs opened with a strong first possession following kickoff. The hosts moved 43 yards in nine plays, but the drive stalled due to back-to-back false starts. A 37-yard Seth Browning field goal attempt missed, and the Bulldogs got right to work. Track star tailback Byrd carried four times on the drive, breaking away down the right side for 30 yards before he was pushed out at the 3-yard line. Fullback Andrew Haynes finished things off with a 1-yard dive for the touchdown.

Lakewood Ranch couldn’t answer and things got worse when the punt snap sailed out of the end zone for a safety. The free kick gave Ida Baker (4-0) a short field, and the Bulldogs moved 47 yards on 11 plays for a 16-0 lead.

Needing a response, the Mustangs went to their big-play connection. Lindsey broke containment to his left, and Washington, who hauled in seven passes for 132 yards a week earlier, found himself behind the defense. The Bulldogs tracked him down from behind at 5-yard line for a 70-yard gain, and Taryn Laws capped the possession with a 3-yard touchdown run, the first touchdown allowed this season by the Bulldogs.

“I was expecting a little bit more disappointment, but they knew we let up one there and they weren’t going to let it up in the second half,” Baker coach Brian Conn said.

With time winding down in the half, the Mustangs attempted to sustain that momentum with an onside kick, but Ida Baker recovered. Byrd again proved to be tough to handle even when the Mustangs bottled him up. A stretch play going right forced him backward, where he found open space and sprinted 33 yards before being pushed out of bounds at the 4-yard line. Baker stumbled backward to the 9-yard line before a play action pass on third down by quarterback Sean Francis found Jacob York right at the pylon for a touchdown.

Lakewood Ranch again went to the kicking gave for a momentum boost, and Doug Snell recovered an onside kick to open the second half. The adrenaline spike fizzled though as Lindsey scrambled backward and fumbled the ball.

The Mustangs will have to regroup quickly following the end of their two-game winning streak because Manatee visits on Friday.