Vanguard edges Lake Wales in regional semifinals

Despite a two-hour delay because of a power outage, Vanguard stayed focused on the task at hand and used its punishing running game to wear down a talented Lake Wales squad by a score of 30-23 in the Class 4A-Region 2 semifinal on a cold and windy Friday night at Booster Stadium.

The hard-earned and physical victory was Vanguard’s 11th in a row and improved the Knights to 11-1 on the season. With the win, Vanguard, the No. 2 seed, advances to the Class 4A-Region 2 finals on Friday night to take on the No. 1 seed in Jones High School (Orlando).

“It was an interesting game, and I loved the way we moved the ball up and down the field,” said Knights coach Edwin Farmer. “Our offensive line did a great job of blocking. Our backs ran hard, and the defense made the plays when they had to.”

Vanguard’s special teams almost cost the Knights the game with several miscues. They had an extra point blocked, failed to recover an onside kick, fumbled a punt, missed a field goal and gave up a long pass play on a fake punt to Lake Wales.

“Our special teams did not play well tonight,” coach Farmer said. “We struggled at the beginning of the season on special teams but had improved since then. We’ll get that fixed and cleaned up before the next game. We were able to overcome some adversity and I’m proud of the kids because they never quit and found a way to win.”

Lake Wales finished the season at 7-4. This is the second consecutive year that Vanguard has eliminated the Highlanders from the FHSAA state playoffs.

Vanguard won the coin toss and elected to defer. Lake Wales marched down the field on its opening possession behind strong running from junior Kylor Sanford and short, accurate passes from senior quarterback Brycen Levidiotis. The drive stalled and junior Isaac Rivera came on to boot a 22-yard field goal to give the Highlanders a 3-0 lead midway through the first quarter.

Vanguard answered with a methodical 11-play, 90-yard drive that ate up more than seven minutes off the clock. Senior tailback Nasir Allen ran with abandon, gashing the Lake Wales’ defense for runs of 8, 11 and 15 yards. Allen gained a game-high 173 yards on 15 carries. Sophomore quarterback Terrance Lewis capped the drive with a spectacular 29-yard touchdown run after escaping the pocket on fourth down. The extra point by Jaxson Lee gave the Knights a 7-3 lead early in the second period.

Lake Wales went nowhere on its next possession and was forced to punt.

A good punt return gave Vanguard excellent field position at its 45. Lewis showed his elusiveness once again by picking up good yardage with his legs. Lewis gained 84 yards on 12 carries. The Highlanders’ defense stiffened inside its 10 and Lee came on to kick a 21-yard field goal to put the Knights ahead by a score of 10-3 with 6:15 remaining in the second period.
Lake Wales wasted no time in answering with a four-play, 58-yard drive that Levidiotis capped with a 22-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Claudarius Bell. The point after tied the score at 10-10.

The Highlanders went into their bag of tricks and recovered an onside kick. The Vanguard defense forced a fourth down, but Lake Wales faked the punt and gained 25 yards on a pass play to the Knights’ 18-yard line. The gamble paid off as Levidiotis found Kaneilius Purdy open for a 15-yard touchdown pass. The extra point was blocked to leave the Highlanders ahead at the half by a score of 16-10.

Vanguard took the second half kick and went 75 yards in eight plays, all on the ground, with sophomore running back Sergarion Gunsby and Allen taking turns gouging the Lake Wales defense. Gunsby scored from two yards out, but Lee’s extra point attempt was blocked to leave the score tied at 16-16 with 9:05 left in the third quarter.

Lake Wales moved the ball inside the Vanguard 40 and tried but another fake punt, but it didn’t fool the Vanguard defense which stuffed the play for a loss. The Knights went 60 yards in just three plays with Allen finding the end zone from three yards out. The point after was good to give the Knights a 23-16 lead midway through the third period.

The Highlanders were forced to punt on their next possession, but Vanguard fumbled the punt and Lake Wales recovered the ball on the Knights’ 20. The Highlanders capitalized on the miscue as Levidiotis connected with Bell on a 15-yard touchdown pass. Levidiotis completed 13 of 27 passes for 163 yards and three touchdowns. The point after tied the score at 23-23 late third quarter.

Vanguard, which ran for more than 225 yards as a team, showed great fortitude by driving down the field behind excellent blocking and strong running by Allen and Gunsby against a weary Lake Wales defense. Gunsby scored his second touchdown of the night on a 20-yard scamper around right end. Gunsby rushed for 65 yards and two scores. Lee’s extra point gave the Knights a 30-23 lead with 8:58 left in the game.

Lake Wales had two more possessions in the game but had to punt the ball away on its first. Its last possession ended with a fourth-down sack of Levidiotis by senior defensive end Travis Zimmerle-Vigil at the Knights’ 43 with 2:02 left in the game. Lake Wales had only one time out and Vanguard was able to run out the clock to seal the victory.

“Lake Wales is a good team and had some trick plays they used,” coach Farmer said. “We played hard and never quit and that sack by Travis ended the game. We ran the ball well and I give the credit to our offensive line. We got the win and I’m proud of our guys because we’re moving on.”

Up next for Vanguard is the regional finals and a road game against the Jones Tigers.

“We’re very familiar with Jones,” coach Farmer said. “They’re a very good team and we’re going to have to play sound football to come away with a win.”