WESLEY CHAPEL — The effects of last week’s emotional overtime loss appeared to still be haunting Land O’ Lakes.
When senior Brian Watkins forced the Gators to fumble Friday night’s opening kickoff and then recovered the loose ball at their 30-yard line, host Wesley Chapel looked to be in perfect position to take a quick lead.
But an oppressive, physical Gators’ defense asserted itself from the jump, allowing the special teams to not only recover but start making impact plays of their own while the offense reveled in numerous short-field situations. It all added up to a convincing 44-6 victory that settles Land O’ Lakes in second place in Class 5A-7 play.
Methodically moving behind running back Evan Kelly and quarterback Levi Pavlikovic, the Wildcats (now 4-4, 2-2 in 5A-7) got to the Gators’ 1 but saw defensive lineman Ricardo Goode (two tackles for loss, six other tackles) stuff a third-down run for no gain while junior end Evan Richey’s brilliant pursuit forced a 9-yard loss and a turnover on downs.
When asked if the early stop was the play of the game, Richey said: “Oh, 100 percent, because (Wesley Chapel is) thinking they’re about to score then we get a big stop and they can’t finish. We get the hype and they’re just shut down.”
And the defensive momentum continued to build on the next Wildcat drive that also commenced at the Gators’ 30. An 11-yard sack from junior A.J. Pergola, one of five Land O’ Lakes authored on the night, combined with three more negative plays to give the Gators (5-3, 3-1) the ball near midfield.
Richey said: “I think that it really had an impact on the game because as soon as defense sets the tone, (the Wildcats) offense ... they get into thinking they aren’t good enough at the time.”
The tone set allowed the Gators to explode for 23 second-quarter points to seize control.
A short Wesley Chapel punt put Land O’ Lakes on the doorstep where junior Elisha Melendez (135 total yards and three TDs on the night) pounded the ball in from the 4. Then two minutes later, the special teams came through when senior Josh Perez broke in clean, blocked a Wildcats punt deep in its own zone, and recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown.
“I see their personal protector faced the other way,” Perez said. “When you come off the edge, that’s the only guy to block you, so as soon as I saw that, I just needed a good get-off and to get to the ball.”
The defense added to the lead when Richey and Makhali Wells sacked Pavlikovic for a safety, with Perez’s 46-yard return of the ensuing kickoff setting the stage for a 5-yard touchdown sneak from sophomore quarterback Luke Falco.
“It was just that (Wesley Chapel) made some mistakes and our D line dominated,” Richey said. “We just did what we had to do.”
The Wildcats took advantage of a fallen Gators defender to hit on an 87-yard Pavlikovic-to-Mike Johnson bomb 1½ minutes into third-quarter play to snap the shutout. Perez found a seam and blocked the point-after try before Land O’ Lakes answered on a 33-yard Melendez burst with 3:44 left in the third quarter, leaving one final defensive dagger to plunge into Wesley Chapel’s victory hopes.
On fourth down from the Gators’ 23, Pavlikovic swept around right end and past the first-down marker. However, linebacker Azaia Abel closed from behind and punched the ball free. Teammate Wells fielded the loose ball at his 10 then turned on the afterburners to sprint the distance and definitively put the game away.
Melendez got rewarded for his production through claustrophobic conditions on the Gators’ last drive. On second down with three LOL receivers set to the right, Falco took two steps right then flipped the ball left to Melendez. With the defense totally fooled, the junior sprinted the 33-yard distance untouched to the house on the final play of the contest.
“It felt really nice,” Melendez said of the breakthrough play. “We’ve been working on it all week and we just came out and executed.”
“Right now, our defense is leading the way for us,” head coach Dan Goodspeed said. “Our offensive line is playing really well and we just have to get more tempo, feeling that tempo, moving the sticks, and being consistent with it.
“Right now, the focus changed from Chapel to Sunlake (this Friday). It’s such a big game regardless of records. The atmosphere in the stadium is going to be amazing, it’s going to be full, both bands going … it’s what high school football is all about.”