LAKE WALES — Justin Henderson ran for three touchdowns, Railond Garrett threw a touchdown pass and Lake Wales’ defense made that stand up in a shutout over Spoto in Class 5A.
Lake Wales finished with 344 yards of offense and the defense came up with three turnovers deep in its own territory in the second half — two on interceptions by Marcus Walker – to preserve the shutout.
“The defense had some great stops down there, and they haven’t played well the last few weeks,” Lake Wales coach Rod Shafer said. “That was our emphasis this week.”
Spoto (3-8) turned the ball over four times.
“You can’t turn the ball over against any team, let alone a very good team, and these guys are a very good team, they’re well coached,” Spoto coach Dale Caparaso said.
Henderson had 142 yards on 13 carries, scoring from 8, 3 and 12 yards. His first two touchdowns gave the Highlanders a 14-0 halftime lead, and his 12-yarder, set up by his 81-yard run from the Highlanders’ 7 to the Spoto 12, made it 28-0.
Until the 81-yarder, Spoto had contained the run by playing eight or nine players near the line of scrimmage.
Garrett added a 42-yard touchdown pass to Darion Staten in the third quarter for a 21-0 lead.
For Spoto, James Bethea was the leading rusher with 57 yards on five carries. He had 44 on four carries before leaving for a while after taking a shot in the ribs.
“We were dominating the running game early, then the kid that was doing all the running for us got hurt,” Caparaso said. “We don’t have anybody else like him to put in.”
The Spartans finished with 275 yards, 160 on the ground.