Southeast dominant in running its record to 5-0

Six games into Rashad West’s second season as head coach, Southeast High football is all about defense.

“It’s playing good defense again,” West said. “Getting back to playing some defense and scoring some points when we have opportunities.”

Southeast made the most of those opportunities.

Quarterback Alex Taylor completed 11 of 17 passes for 177 yards and three touchdowns and Latrell Peavy rushed for two scores in the first half as Southeast defeated Lemon Bay 49-6 in a Class 5A-District 11 game Friday night on Paul Maechtle Field at John Kiker Memorial Stadium.

Southeast raised its record to 5-0 overall, 3-0 in the district. Lemon Bay fell to 2-4 (1-2).

Southeast, the victim of running clocks in recent years, needed nearly all of two quarters to amass a 36-0 halftime lead, which led to the mercy rule.

The Seminoles’ first score was a 33-yard run by Peavy. Lorenzo Rojas’ kick made it 7-0 with 8:24 remaining in the first quarter.

Lemon Bay threatened on its next drive, taking the ball from its own 19-yard line to the Southeast 1, where running back Colby McCauley fumbled it away with 1:31 left in the first quarter. Later a high snap went over the head of Lemon Bay punter Hayden Wolff and out of the end zone, giving Southeast a safety and a 9-0 lead with 11:45 remaining in the second quarter.

Peavy then scored on a 41-yard run for Southeast. But a bad snap on the point-after attempt kept the score at 15-0.

Southeast scored again on its next drive. Taylor connected with Tyler Stevenson from 26 yards out as the Noles went up 22-0 with 7:07 left. After a Manta Ray punt, Taylor connected with Korey Waters Jr. for a 24-yard touchdown pass and a 29-0 Southeast lead.

A bad snap by Lemon Bay resulted in good field position for the Noles. Taylor then connected with Clyde Townsend on a 34-yard scoring pass with 24 seconds left in the half for a 36-0 lead.

Lemon Bay blocked a Southeast punt with about 7:30 remaining in the third quarter. Keegan Marinola of the Manta Rays then caught a screen pass and fumbled the ball. But McCauley picked it up and scored for Lemon Bay. The two-point conversion was unsuccessful as Wolff’s pass was incomplete, and Southeast led 36-6.

Townsend took the ensuing kickoff and ran 85 yards for a touchdown with about 4:15 remaining in the third. The kick gave Southeast a 43-6 lead. Emmanuel Miril then scored on a 30-yard run, but the kick was missed.

Coming off a 35-30 win over Cardinal Mooney last week, West understated his team’s performance against the Manta Rays.

“We played better,” he said. “We played OK in spots. There are always things we can improve. I know we’ll need to improve to go beat Hardee next week.”

This story was originally published October 13, 2017 at 10:33 PM with the headline "Southeast dominant in running its record to 5-0."