Late touchdown lifts Lakeside over North

EASTLAKE—Lakeside kicked off the 2024 season with a dramatic finish to its 21-14 nonconference win at North on Friday.

Trailing 14-13 with 2:14 remaining in the game, the Dragons marched 66 yards in just over a minute with Devan Miller capping the drive with a go-ahead touchdown and quarterback Matthew Wagner added a two-point conversion to close out the scoring.

“When it came down to it, on that last play, (Miller) asked for the ball,” said Lakeside head coach Terrence Henton. “You gotta’ give the ball to a guy who’s asking for it in primetime, and he did what needed to be done. It was an unreal feeling on the sideline; part of me expected us to score, and the other couldn’t believe we had scored. Couldn’t ask for anything better.”

After a scoreless first half, both teams found offensive success in the second.

Lakeside struck first when Wagner scored on a four-yard run with 8:22 remaining in the third quarter.

North’s special teams and defense created an opportunity for the Rangers after a Jacob Breen punt pinned the Dragons back at their own five and Alexander Davis returned an interception for a touchdown that tied the score, 7-7, with 5:13 left in the third.

The Rangers had another opportunity to score off a turnover when Tyler Lawrence picked off a pass on Lakeside’s next drive, but the Dragons held and then took a 13-7 lead when Nate Bartone scored on a two-yard run.

North’s running game began picking up yards in chunks thanks to Drake Martinez, who broke off a 20-yard run along with several other chunk plays.

Martinez finished off the drive with a three-yard run and Yahir Rangel’s extra point gave North its first lead with just over two minutes remaining in the game.

The Dragons quickly moved into Ranger territory after a swing pass from Wagner to JayAnthony Williams that covered 44 yards.

Miller did the rest.

“My mother passed away less than a year ago. I’ve been thinking about her all day,” Henton said of his first victory as a head coach. “This win today is special for many reasons other than football; we had some big players make big plays. It took us a while to get going, but I knew we had it in us.”

On the field, Lakeside dealt with cramps and injuries up and down its roster, most notably with starting quarterback Omar Ambriz sitting out the final three-quarters of play, handing the reigns off to Wagner.

Wagner, who filled in under center after starter Omar Ambriz left the game with cramps after the first quarter, operated the ship well, going 5-for-8 passing with 86 yards and two interceptions while rushing for 29 yards on six carries with a touchdown and a two-point conversion.

“I was nervous when I came in, but a lot of my teammates comforted me and encouraged me,” Wagner said. “I went out there, made a play, and everything fell into place. (Devan’s touchdown) was amazing. We had a great week of practice and were ready for this. We knew (North) was a good team, and we felt it’d be close.”

Bartone carried 11 times for 67 yards with one touchdown and Willias added 133 yards from scrimmage on nine touches.

Following the win, Henton caught the Gatorade bath from his players to commemorate the moment.

“As long as I’ve been coaching, that’s my first (Gatorade bath),” Henton said. “I didn’t realize how cold it is. Remember the Ice Bucket Challenge? That’s how it felt, and I’m glad I’m the kind of guy who packs clothes so I can go into the locker room and change. It’s awesome. I don’t want to celebrate the first win like it’s the Super Bowl, but at the same time, these guys worked hard enough to celebrate. We’ll watch film in the morning and get right back to it.”

Despite the setback, North coach Shawn Dodd was pleased with his squad’s performance and effort.

“I’m proud of the way the kids played tonight. They stayed confident about the game,” Dodd said. “Their heads never went down, and I’m proud of their demeanor. The thing that hurt us was ourselves. We had snaps over our quarterback’s head and holding penalties that hurt us. We have to find a way to fix those things.”

Defensively, the Rangers picked off two passes and recovered a fumble while also recording numerous tackles for loss and QB sacks.

Dodd hopes the offense follows suit in Week 2.

“It’ll be with watching the film,” Dodd said. “The defense played well, and there are a lot of good things to build off of. For most of the night, we contained most of (Lakeside’s) weapons, so we can’t fault anyone defensively. Offensively, we tweaked the formations and ran the ball as we thought we would. Once we get on film, we’ll build from there. The guys are in a pretty good mind frame after the game, so I know we can head in the right direction with this group.”

Martinez led the Rangers with 168 rushing yards on 23 carries and he scored one touchdown.

North hosts Norwalk in Week 2 while Lakeside travels to NDCL.