Lakewood Ranch football team faces long odds against rival Braden River
To conclude Tuesday’s practice, Lakewood Ranch head football coach Mick Koczersut addressed his team and told them no one thinks they have a shot to win Friday night against Braden River.
Nobody, that is, except the players and coaches on the team, Koczersut said.
“Everybody’s going to tell them they’re going to get their butts kicked,” Koczersut said. “It’s up to them to decide how they want to handle it.”
The challenge with East Manatee rival Braden River is similar to what the Mustangs encountered in their previous two games against Venice and Palmetto.
The Indians presented an up-tempo offense that goes through quarterback Bryce Carpenter and wide receiver Jaivon Heiligh.
The Tigers featured plenty of speed on defense as well as skill on offense.
With the Pirates this week, Lakewood Ranch encounters an offense that can strike on the ground with South Carolina commit Deshaun Fenwick and Cam White, or through the air with quarterback Bryan Gagg and receiver Knowledge McDaniel, who is garnering his share of Division I interest as a junior.
“You game plan for all the stuff, but ultimately I don’t have a kid that can catch either one of those kids,” Koczersut said. “That’s the truth. So for us to change everything in one week, we’re going to do the things that we do best.”
A 3-0 start, which included a victory over Spring Hill Springstead, meant the Mustangs were in the playoff discussion this season.
It’s a topic that wasn’t expected from non-football players at Lakewood Ranch.
“Everybody coming into the school year at our school already told us we were going to be bad,” 5-foot-11, 210-pound senior tight end Mickey Koczersut said.
Added 5-foot-11, 220-pound senior center Jack Hudson: “They didn’t think we were going to win a single game.”
Hearing the doubters has only fueled Lakewood Ranch’s players this season.
“It gives me more of a demeanor to go out and beat (teams),” Hudson said. “And prove our school wrong as well as all the people that doubt us.”
The Mustangs are on a two-game losing streak, suffering setbacks against two-thirds of the Class 7A-District 11’s top half – Venice and Palmetto – but still find themselves with a chance to get into the playoffs with a statement victory over rival Braden River.
“We’re going to come out and still play hard either way,” Mick Koczersut said. “That’s not going to be an issue there.”
An upset victory is a tall task, considering Braden River’s superior size and speed on both sides of the ball. But what Lakewood Ranch lacks in that department, the Mustangs make up for in hard work during practice that they hope pays off Friday night.
“That’s what the game’s about,” Koczersut said. “The kids I’ve got, I will have the highest GPA in the state of Florida for a public school. I will have more kids off my football team go to college, maybe not for football, but I will have more kids that go to college than a majority of the schools around here. Without a doubt, I want to win. But my way of winning is doing it not having to bend the rules.”
Braden River has won the last two meetings with a combined 72-7 margin. The Mustangs, who are 4-6 all-time against the Pirates, haven’t defeated the Pirates since 2013.
“The rivalry has kind of fallen off, because we haven’t won the last couple years,” Koczersut said.
It’s also fallen off for the Mustangs players, particularly with the senior class that doesn’t know many players at the school just a couple miles down State Road 70.
However, it’s still a game that gets circled on the calendar.
“This is a game I’m excited for every year when I see it on the schedule,” Mickey Koczersut said.
For Lakewood Ranch to have a chance Friday against a Braden River team ranked fifth in the state for Class 7A, the Mustangs must stick to their plan.
And that’s running the football to control the clock, Koczersut said.
Jason Dill: 941-745-7017, @Jason__Dill
Week 9 schedule
Friday’s games
St. Pete Catholic at Out-of-Door Academy, 7 p.m.
IMG White at Tampa Berkeley Prep, 7 p.m.
DeSoto County at Bayshore, 7:30 p.m.
Lakewood Ranch at Braden River, 7:30 p.m.
Palmetto at North Port, 7:30 p.m.
Riverview at Manatee, 7:30 p.m.
Southeast at Wauchule Hardee, 7:30 p.m.
Saint Stephen’s at Seffner Christian, 7:30 p.m.
Clearwater Academy International at Bradenton Christian, 7:30 p.m.
IMG Blue at Salt Lake City East, 9 p.m.
This story was originally published October 18, 2017 at 2:36 PM with the headline "Lakewood Ranch football team faces long odds against rival Braden River."