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Lakewood: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

The Spartans are coming off a big upset, which means Dunedin may have a chance.

By JOHN C. COTEY, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published October 17, 2002

Lakewood is 4-2, is in great position for a second straight playoff berth and boasts some of the county's most exciting players.

But ... Pinellas Park?

Just another headscratcher for coach Brian Bruch, whose team's up-and-down act belongs in an amusement park.

Bruch can point to any number of reasons for his team's 17-13 loss to the Patriots on Friday, but when you cut through the offensive and defensive woes you get this: Pinellas Park was 1-4.

The past two seasons Lakewood has been a team that seems to need a reason to win. Last season it was on the edge of elimination before storming back to get into the playoffs, in which it rallied from a 14-0 deficit in its first game to win and almost toppled Lake Gibson after seemingly being buried a number of times.

This season the Spartans have sputtered in wins over Osceola, which it led 3-0 at halftime, and in Friday's loss to Pinellas Park.

Give it a couple of good grudge matches against Tarpon Springs and Largo, or a neighborhood tilt against Bogie, and you get the Spartans that had Bruch thinking this would be his best team ever.

"When we played Osceola, our week of preparation was poor, it was putrid," Bruch said. "And that's exactly what happened last week too. They think they're invincible. It's like the best looking guy in school not being nice because he thinks he can get a date with anyone he wants.

"We told them after Bogie beat Northeast, 'How do you think practice was at Bogie that week? You think they fooled around?' "

Lakewood hasn't fooled around this week, with Dunedin coming to town for tonight's Class 4A, District 9 showdown.

The Spartans have owned Dunedin recently, winning six of the past eight meetings, seven if you discount a 33-14 Spartan victory in 1994 later ruled a forfeit. Since the Falcons' last win over Lakewood in 1997, the Spartans have won four straight and outscored Dunedin 134-28, including 40-0 last season.

But at 6-0 the Falcons are one of two undefeated teams in Pinellas County (with Seminole being the other) and would like to keep it that way. Tonight's game also is for first place in the district, where both teams are tied at 2-0.

"We haven't had a bigger game since I've been here," Dunedin coach Mark Everett said. "We're not going in with the idea it is the district championship because we have two difficult district games to follow it. But we want them to be up for it. It would be nice to be in control of our own destiny."

Dunedin hasn't been overwhelming this season, but quarterback Aaron Ford has led a suitable offensive attack and the defense has been stingy.

The Falcons hope to catch the Spartans at the right time, even if they are coming off a loss.

"On one hand, they proved that they were beatable," Everett said. "That first game with Seminole we just figured, well, that was the first game of the season. But last week either proved they are beatable ... or someone has woken up the sleeping giant."

If the Spartans are the sleeping giant, they need some work to avoid becoming Rip Van Winkle-esque.

Their offensive line has been banged up. Bruch likens finding enough guys to play to a game of Chinese checkers, where centers, tackles and guards have been interchangeable. The defense, which replaced eight starters, had a great second half against Osceola but hasn't been as good as its predecessor. The receiving unit lost starters Anthony Moncrief and Jeremy Diaz to shoulder injuries, leaving a less sure-handed group to which quarterback Pat Carter can throw.

And Carter hasn't been as spectacular as expected. He leads Pinellas County in passing yards but is completing less than 50 percent and has as many interceptions as touchdown passes (8).

Throw in intangibles like opponents getting fired up for the Spartans -- Seminole took exception to Lakewood being tagged as the county's best team -- and taking the game out of Carter's hands and forcing them to run behind a beat-up offensive line, and Bruch's bunch is clearly a work in progress.

Considering Lakewood's past 20 games or so and their ability to rise to the important occasions, that may not be such a bad thing.

"We hope so," Bruch said. "If not were going to be in trouble. We've been knocked down, and we better get up (tonight)."

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