Lakewood girls use speed to defend title

By JEREMY WRITT
Published April 19, 2006

ST PETERSBURG - The shortest distance between two points might be a straight line, but Lakewood's Kquanise Byrd and Innekia Reedy proved that the shortest distance is not always the best route.

Both members of the Spartans' fleet-footed duo found the end zone Tuesday night thanks to their cutback abilities. Their efforts powered Lakewood (11-0) to a 12-0 win and its second consecutive PCAC championship. The Spartans beat Palm Harbor (9-2) in last year's championship 18-13 so Lakewood coach Necole Tunsil knew her girls were in for a challenge.

"By no means are we expecting a soft game," Tunsil said before the game. "They'll probably be the toughest competition we've played all year."

The Hurricanes came out attacking. Sophomore Katie Torro repeatedly found senior Courtney Whidden open behind the Lakewood secondary. Whidden, who has accepted a scholarship to play soccer for UCF, made the Spartans adjust their defensive strategy.

"Once we realized their speed was just way to overpowering for the run we decided to go up high and were able to make some plays in the air," Palm Harbor coach Keith Mercer said.

The Hurricanes moved the ball well, but could not find the end zone. The speedy Reedy did when she scored just before halftime on a 15-yard run to make it 6-0. Reedy faked left, freezing the only Hurricane close enough to stop her, and went down the right sideline for the only offensive touchdown.

Despite their stingy red zone defense and Reedy's open field running, the Spartans needed Byrd's 40-yard interception return to seal the victory. During the return, Byrd darted in and out of would-be tacklers on her way to the end zone.

[Last modified April 19, 2006, 01:59:13]