The Sunlake Seahawks have had a strong start to the 2014 season. They’ve given up a total of just 26 points in seven games, including four shutouts.
Their 6-1 record includes a district loss, but the team is still in good position to capture a playoff berth if they take care of business the rest of the way.
(Fred Bellett/Photo)
Toward the bottom of the Class 6A-District 6 standings is Land O’ Lakes. The Gators are just 3-3, including an 0-1 district record. They have given up the second-most points in the district. In fact, in three of their contests, they’ve surrendered more points than Sunlake has given up all year.
But if you think those statistics mean the Seahawks will have an easy time when they visit the Gators on Oct. 17, you should probably keep that opinion to yourself. That’s because Sunlake head coach Bill Browning doesn’t want to hear any talk about taking games for granted.
“Oh, no. Absolutely not,” Browning said. “Land O’ Lakes has a good football team. They obviously have a very good throwing game, so we have to be able to get lined up right and be able to defend the pass against them.”
Browning recognizes there’s more to the Gators than a .500 record. Their quarterback, James Pensyl, already has thrown for more than 1,400 yards and 17 touchdowns. They’ve scored 192 points, which is more than Sunlake and everyone else in the district. And while they’ve lost three times, two of those defeats were by a touchdown or less.
Sunlake might be catching the Gators at a bad time, too. Their running game — supposedly a weak spot of their offense — came alive for nearly 300 yards versus Hudson on Oct. 10 in a convincing 55-30 victory that snapped a two-game losing streak.
Sunlake boasts its own offensive weapons, of course. Running back Nathan Johnson paces the offense, and receiver Naejaun Jackson has been a reliable receiver for the passing game while mixing in several carries as well.
And road games haven’t been a problem for Sunlake this year: They’re a perfect 4-0 so far when playing in hostile territory.
But records don’t mean much when you’re talking about Sunlake and Land O’ Lakes, according to Browning. There’s another word that begins with an “R” that means a lot more.
“It’s a rivalry game, so you can throw the records out of the book when it’s a big rival,” he said.
The rivalry wasn’t much of a competition when it first started. Browning has been with the Seahawks since its program began in 2007, and admits his teams had a “little brother” mentality when it came to the Gators in those early years. They didn’t even score the first two times the teams played, and didn’t register a victory until their fourth meeting.
But Sunlake hasn’t lost since, and now holds a 4-3 edge over their rival.
When two schools are less than 10 miles from each other, both teams can expect fans in the stands and an opponent who is ready to play hard regardless of record. But throw in an important district contest with playoff implications on the line, and it’s easy to predict a hard-fought contest with both schools doing everything they can to come out ahead Friday night.
“All the players know each other,” Browning said. “We’re right in each other’s backyard. It makes for a great rivalry game.
“You approach it the same way as any other game, but it always means a little bit more when you face your rival … for both sides.”
Published October 15, 2014
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