LAND O’ LAKES — Land O’Lakes’ offense picked a good night to break out.
Riding Elisha Melendez and a physical ground game in the first half, then sophomore quarterback Luke Falco and a corps of athletic receivers in the second, the Gators routed Wharton 51-15 in their Sept. 25 homecoming game and moved into the driver’s seat in the Class 5A-7 standings.
“I think making the difference was we were really coming off the ball this game,” Melendez said. “We’re just trying to hit them in their mouth every play, running with authority. We wanted to make our presence felt every play.”
The Gators had scored just 85 points in their first five games.
Melendez carried 36 times for 188 yards behind a dominant line, including a 15-yard touchdown run that opened the scoring after the first of three Wharton turnovers.
The junior now has more than 600 rushing yards and six touchdowns for the Gators, who have won four straight.
Behind a line with just one senior, center Grayson Benoist, Land O’ Lakes (4-2, 2-0 district) ran for 213 yards on 42 carries and lost yardage on only two plays.
“It felt really good to take that control,” Melendez said. “Really good.”
After wearing down the front seven of the visiting Wildcats (3-3, 0-2 district) for a 17-0 halftime lead, the Gators shifted gears.
“I was talking to coach after halftime, and I said, ‘Coach, let me throw the rock,’” said Falco, who had scored on a 2-yard quarterback sneak in the second quarter. “That was just the end of it.”
Falco, who split reps with junior Canon West early in the season and transferred from Steinbrenner just before the school year began, showed poise beyond his years after the break. He completed all six of his second half passes for 103 yards and four touchdowns.
First, he found tight end Jaxon Hunt on a third-down pop pass down the left seam for a 6-yard score. Then, after junior Bryce Grady forced a fumble that Jeremyah Mitchell recovered, Falco immediately hit senior Tyrae Jackson in stride for a 39-yard touchdown. On the next possession, a 12-yard bubble screen to Jayven Williams set up a 15-yard scoring strike to Jackson.
“Eli, he just totes the ball, so they try to stop the run,” said Jackson, who finished with four catches for 88 yards. “Then the coaches set up a great play. I’ve got 12 (Falco) throwing me the ball, I do my route, get open, and score.”
The two had a head start on their chemistry.
“I was thinking about (going to) Land O’ Lakes, and I hit up some guys over the summer like Tyrae,” Falco said. “I was like, hey, do you want to get some throwing in? I’m thinking about coming, and they said, yeah, let’s go work out.”
Melendez then carried the load on a 13-play, seven-minute drive that stretched into the fourth quarter. Falco capped it with his only pass of the series, an 11-yard fade to Williams in the left corner of the end zone on third down.
“We just had to click, it was the offense clicking,” Falco said. “I feel like quarterback is a confidence-based position. If you have that confidence, have a little bit of anger, that’s the mixture for success.”
Gators coach Dan Goodspeed likes his options behind center.
“I think we’re in a great situation at quarterback,” Goodspeed said. “Canon’s an athlete, so we moved him around a little bit to get him on the field, and he did a great job there. I think that’s going to grow, so it’s good to have the availability of two quarterbacks. You don’t often get that in high school football.”
Jackson closed his night on defense, stripping a Wharton receiver, recovering the ball and tightroping down the sideline for a 42-yard scoop-and-score, the Gators’ final touchdown.
Wharton’s bright spot was junior quarterback Ty Nesmith, who shrugged off hit after hit and ran for 87 yards and a touchdown on seven carries. His 46-yard scoring run came late in the third quarter, and he threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to tight end Tyler Bonarski along the right sideline as part of a 156-yard passing night.
“That was our focal point on defense was to disrupt (Nesmith’s) rhythm,” Goodspeed said. “(Nesmith) is a phenomenally fast, quick quarterback, and it was our concern to contain him and their running back. Coach (Anthony) Hendrix is doing a great job with our defense, and they’re all bought in, playing for each other, and it’s fun to watch them fly around.”
The Gators held Wharton junior running back Berry Sanders to 11 yards on six carries, and he lost a fumble.
Land O’ Lakes visits Wiregrass Ranch on Friday, Oct. 2, while Wharton tries to snap a three-game skid against Cypress Creek.
