Football: Lakewood 48, St. Petersburg 0

ST. PETERSBURG — After a summer of heightened expectations followed by a rainout in a preseason matchup, Lakewood was ready to showcase its skills in an opening-week matchup against crosstown rival St. Petersburg.

With three first-half touchdown passes by Deuce Spann paving the way, the Spartans raced out to a 35-0 halftime lead and never looked back en route to a 48-0 win against the undermanned Green Devils.

“Everybody came out to see us play and we just wanted to show the city that our team is really good,” Spann said.

Spann opened the game with a short touchdown pass to Iowa State commit TJ Tampa. Spann said the two worked on their game together all offseason.

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“When I scramble, I always tell them to stay on a swivel because you don’t know when I’ll throw it to you,” he said.

Lakewood’s defense bullied the Green Devils all game long. The Spartans combined for five first-half sacks and forced two turnovers in the half, including one by Derrveron Maxwell-Black.

“The defensive mindset is that everyone gets to the ball and we have fun with it,” he said. “We dap each other up after every play. We play fast and everyone gets to the ball. Coach (Cory) Moore tells us we need to rush to the ball like bees.”

With fewer than 30 players on the St. Petersburg roster, Lakewood was able to use its depth to control the line of scrimmage. The Spartans only punted once and spent most of the game in St. Petersburg territory.

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“The guys did a great job and we’ve got a lot of depth. I’m so proud of us up front, with that offensive line,” Moore said. “It’s awesome to coach a bunch of great kids. St. Pete is a good program. I understand things have changed, but that’s still a good program.”

Junior receiver Artez Hooker also caught a touchdown pass from Spann.

“It’s fun having those weapons,” Spann said. “After practice we throw to get that timing down and it showed tonight.”

Lakewood hosts Pinellas Park and highly-ranked running back Lawrence Toafili next week. Moore said the Spartans will be ready for the challenge.

“We’re gonna be up against another test,” he said. “The test is not Pinellas Park. The test is us. He’s a great back. But all we can control is Lakewood. We can’t let Lakewood beat Lakewood. It’s a new day. We talk about our goals. We understand that we can’t shoot ourselves in the foot. There’s no room for selfishness.”