Riverside HS- In 2018, Lake Shore and head coach Joe Delaune lost an overtime thriller to Highlands in the Duval County Middle School Championship game. Fast forward to 2022, and on the same field Lake Shore and Coach Delaune would return this time facing Twin Lakes in the championship game looking to finish what was started four years ago.
Both teams came into the game as division champions the last few years. In 2021, Twin Lakes would win the Southern Division but fall in the playoffs to eventual champion Ribault. Lake Shore would win the Western Division in 2021, but also fall to Ribault in the county championship. Now, they found themselves on the verge of their first championships, but only one team could hoist the trophy.
Early on Lake Shore would gain first downs through the running game, however the Twin Lakes defense would stiffen to force a turnover on downs. Led by linebacker Troy Butler, who had several tackles on the drive, the Timberwolves felt confident stopping Lake Shore on their first drive.
Twin Lakes would take over on offense, but fail to move the ball. They found themselves backed up in the shaddow their own end-zone forced to punt. The punt would sail straight up in the air, actually netting negtive yards bouncing back to the Twin Lakes 4-yard line. That’s when Lake Shore’s Derrick Brown made a heads-up play, picking up the punt that wasn’t downed by Twin Lakes, and running into the end-zone for the game’s first score. Lake Shore led 6-0 in the first quarter.
The game would move to the second quarter, but Twin Lakes continued to struggle on offense. They didn’t have enough time to pass the ball, and they couldn’t create running lanes for their running backs. Lake Shore’s defense was just to stout, like players #74 Donovan Mattie who played both ways.
Forced to rush their throws, Twin Lakes would attempt a pass deep down field but would be picked off by Lake Shore’s JaQuille Hobdy who’d return the interception for a touchdown. Yet a penalty nullified the score, but Lake Shore retained the ball.
The Warriors would put together a strong second quarter drive, thanks to hard nifty running by Hodby and Shaunqueze Foster. The drive would end with a 1-yard touchdown run by quarterback Jaidan Delaune who would also complete a pass for the 2-point conversion putting Lake Shore up 14-0 at halftime.
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In the second half, Coach Delaune and his staff completely shifted their style of play. They went from a power rushing atttack to a high powered passing attack led by their quarterback Jaidan Delaune. Delaune would put on a show, tossing an incredible four touchdown passes in the third quarter.
A touchdown pass to Demetrice Hugger blew the game open, as the Lake Shore receivers caught pin point passes in stride while splitting the vaunted Twin Lake defense on their way to the end-zones.
In the midst of the offensive onslought, Twin Lakes would score a touchdown on a kickoff return by Zalen Martin, as their crowd cheered the Timberwolves on from the home sidelines. It’s that never give up attitude that’s led the mall season, with the leader pf the pack Coach Keith Stallings.
Yet Lake Shore would respond with a touchdown of their own, complete with an interception on their ensuing drive by defensive back JaQuille Hobdy. It was his second interception of the night, as the small 5 foot 3 inch playmaker stepped up big on both sides of the ball. He’d say after the game, “Big time players step up in big time games”.
Shanqueze Foster would catch Delaune’s fifth touchdown pass of the night in the fourth quarter, essentially closing out the contest as Lake Shore led by 40-points in an overpowering performance from every phase of the game. Foster would be named MVP of the game.
Coach Delaune would get the gatorade bath as the clock ran out and Lake Shore taking the 47-7 victory over Twin Lakes. The Warriors would win their first Duval County Football Conference Championship in school history.
“The first time we were here we lost on that 1-yard line to Highlands, but I told them that this is not going to be our last time here because we were changing the culture”, said Delaune after the game. He and the Lake Shore Warriors have now taken a winning culture to a new level as a championship culture in middle school football.
