Chad Washington
GREENACRES, FLA – History was made Friday Night in Greenacres as John I. Leonard hosted Marco Island Academy. The Lancers and Manta Rays came into this one with high hopes and we saw a tale of two halves.
JIL opened the scoring with a touchdown by Latrell Johnson to take a 6-0 lead early in the first. Right after this, the Lancers forced a fumble that was recovered by Latrell Johnson, a solid start to the game for him.
Camirion Williams added another touchdown late in the second to extend JIL’s lead to 12-0.
John I. looked to have control but then the Hutch Hamilton show began, a long run got the Manta Rays on the board to make things 12-6 at halftime.
Hamilton found the end zone again on the first play of the second half on a deep ball from Zac Massie.
This tied the game at 12-12 and we were looking at a classic finish. But then John I’s offense started to kick things into high gear.
The Lancers responded with a kickoff return on the following play before the game settled into a series of punts.
Dwayne Taylor then broke off a 64-yard touchdown on a huge fourth down. Latrell Johnson added another touchdown late in the fourth quarter as John I. ended up winning this one 43-12
This win means a ton for the John I. Leonard program, this is their best start in almost 40 years, and first winning season since 2005.
However the Lancers look to turn attention to Tuesday as they host Oxbridge. This game will be their toughest test so far.
Then they’re set to Friday as they travel to St. Edwards to close the stretch of four games in twelve days.
Coach Van Es and crew are making huge strides in Greenacres, and the Lancers have more opportunities to scratch the history books in the coming weeks.
