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Destini Gonzalez | SNN

Wide Receiver Shamar Rigby lines up and waits for the snap at Lakewood High School on Aug. 25.

The opening game for Lakewood High School’s football team was at Lakewood against Northeast High School. The Spartans were favorites by a score of 40-14, so they were expected to start the season on a high note.

In the first quarter, The Spartans got possession first and in the first play of the game, the quarterback, Anthony Colandrea, connected with receiver Aviyon Mack-Smith for a 40-yard completion. Then, at the 20-yard line, Colandrea threw a pass to junior receiver Shamar Rigby for the touchdown.

Nate Sosa-Jones then kicked off for the Spartans all the way down to the 30-yard line, and the Spartan defense quickly put the Vikings away in four downs. The Spartans then got the ball back and drove aggressively down the field. First Colandrea ran for a 15-yard first down, then the next set he handed it off to Tra’quan Johnson, the new running back who just transferred from Gibbs High School, who was able to run for a first down. On the next couple of plays, Colandrea went to tight end/receiver Martravious Lloyd twice for a first down and a touchdown to put the Spartans up 14-0.

Continuing their bold play, the Spartans started off the Northeast drive well, by blocking a pass on second down forcing a big third and long, however movement on the defense caused a first down for the Vikings. Northeast was then stopped with a sack, so they were forced to punt to the Spartans.

The drive for the Spartans started well, consisting of three passes to Lloyd for a few first downs, but a holding penalty brought the Spartans back to 25 yards short of a first down for a huge third and long. With a great running game, Colandrea was able to sprint for the remaining yards putting the Spartans in good position to take a three-score lead over the Vikings before the quarter ended. Unfortunately, targeting the end zone, Colandrea tossed an underthrown interception to turn the ball over before the end of the quarter. Northeast then had to punt once again, so the interception did not amount to anything.

The next quarter consisted of more of the same, but a lot more runs for Johnson with a touchdown. The Spartans defense continued to stop Northeast’s attempts at scoring through halftime and part of the third quarter. Then, towards the end of the third quarter, Colandrea placed a ball just out of the reach of a defender for Rigby and the latter went over the head of two defenders to make the catch to make the score 28-0. Due to lightning delay, the game ended prematurely, to the disappointment of Spartans everywhere.

A few players stood out after the opening game including Colandrea, Rigby, Johnson, and Lloyd. Colandrea was expected to play at this level after last year. Junior Shamar Rigby has made several athletic dives for touchdowns in the past two games and at the Jamboree, showing his worth to the Spartans offense. Senior transfer Johnson, aka Megatron, is a powerhouse running back whose stamina outlasts everyone on the field. When in the fourth quarter and everyone else is tired, he turns it on and runs everyone over. Finally, former running back Lloyd moved to wide receiver to get more yards and is a master at running off screen passes and proved useful for 10–20-yard completions.

Linebacker Samorion Lang thinks that Lakewood has not even unlocked all their potential yet.

“I think that we will go undefeated and go all the way to state and win the championship if we play as a team,” Lang said.