ENGLEWOOD — Three minutes remained in the game when Southeast coach Paul Maechtle went to his hurry up offense Friday night. Not to score more points. Goodness knows, the Seminoles scored plenty to win two games.
Maechtle wanted to use the precious seconds to get his second and third string ball carriers some carries. It didn’t really work.
Time ran out on the Seminoles during their 45-0 victory against Englewood Lemon Bay.
The win moved Southeast (5-3, 3-0) a victory away from the Class 3A-District 10 championship. The Seminoles can win that next week with a victory against visiting Bayshore (4-4, 2-1).
“We got to win next week to get the district championship,” Southeast running back LeTray Fagins said. “I’m excited.”
Fagins led the Seminoles rushing attack with 98 yards on seven carries. He scored on runs of 3, 56 and 8 yards.
Quarterback Dyron Speight was 8-of-10 for 165 yards and three touchdowns. Speight hooked up with Deven Bacon on touchdown passes of 10 and 53 yards. His third touchdown was a 16-yard toss to Adrian Richard that gave the Seminoles a 33-0 lead late in the second quarter.
Southeast’s other score came from Brian Poole, who returned Lemon Bay’s onside kick 68 yards to the end zone to start the second half. That started a running clock with 11:50 remaining in the third quarter.
Despite the shortened game, Southeast was able to accomplish its main objective: run the football.
“We just blocked well today,” Fagins said. “We practiced hard. We focused more on the run, instead of just being a passing team. We got the blocking. It’s really important to be a two-dimensional team. That will help in the long run, especially in the playoffs.”
Waymon Bowden added 87 yards on eight carries as Southeast had little trouble running through overmatched Lemon Bay (3-5, 0-3).
“It helps our confidence to run the ball and gives us another dimension other than just throwing,” Maechtle said. “Dyron threw the ball pretty well, but we didn’t have to throw it a whole lot.”
Southeast played without defensive back Jonathan Dowling, who sprained his left ankle in practice earlier in the week. Defensive end Justin Pieterila injured his left knee in the first quarter and missed the rest of the game.
“That’s what I’m worried about,” Maechtle said. “We’ve got a big district championship game next week, and we’re going to be without another one it looks like. Fortunately Gio (Francois) came back and played. You worry about Pieterila. We ought to have Dowling back. Those are things you risk every time you go on the field. You don’t like it to happen, but it’s part of the game.”
Friday’s game was never in doubt as the Seminoles scored on five of their six first-half possessions. At halftime Manta Rays coach Mike Messina said he asked his team to keep playing hard.
“It was kind of hard to overlook them, but we got beat before when we overlooked a team,” Fagins said, referring to the Seminoles’ loss to Lakewood ranch. “We were supposed to win. We learned not to overlook a team.”
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