The Lakeside Warriors dominated the first half en route to a 28-8 victory over the East Beauregard Trojans Friday night in DeRidder.
Lakeside evened its record at 2-2 with its second straight win. East Beauregard dropped to 2-2 with its second straight loss.
The Warriors scored on three of their four possessions in the first half. The only one they didn’t score on was a kneel to end the half.
“I thought we played pretty well throughout the game,” Lakeside Head Coach John Ware said. “I thought we played pretty well in all phases in the first half. We controlled the ball, scoring three times, and kept them out of the end zone.”
Lakeside didn’t get off to a great start, though. East Beauregard returned the opening kickoff off to the Warriors 40.
The Trojans moved to a first-and-goal at the 10. Three runs moved the ball to the 3. The Warriors stopped another run for no gain.
Lakeside then drove 97 yards for a touchdown, all on the ground.
Freshman Malik Thorn scored on a 33-yard run. He broke several tackles just beyond the line of scrimmage before breaking into the clear.
The Warriors didn’t have to go as far for their next two touchdowns with the defense giving the offense good field possession.
Jaden Clark’s 8-yard run capped a 45-yard drive. The Warriors went 60 yards for their third TD. Thorn got some good blocking from the left side of the line and sprinted 37 yards for the score.
Levi Lelke’s third extra-point kick gave Lakeside the 21-0 lead with 3:32 left in the half.
East Beauregard mounted its lone touchdown drive in the third quarter. After stopping the Warriors on a fourth-and-9 from the 24, the Trojans drove 76 yards.
Lakeside had another scoring opportunity early in the fourth but couldn’t convert a fourth down. The defense came up with a big stop on fourth-and-2 and the Warriors took over at the Trojans 29.
Lakeside’s defense has been playing well all season.
“We had a little adversity and had to make some plays,” Ware said. “They kind of got on us a little bit and that’s the first time that’s happened to us this year where we’re getting a little whipped up front on the defensive line in the second half. That being said, we held our ground when we needed to and made the plays.”
After the turnover on downs, James Roberson scored the game’s final touchdown on an 8-yard run with 1:31 left in the game.
Lakeside hosts Plain Dealing Friday. The Lions (0-4) lost to North Caddo 21-0 Friday night.