Editor’s Note: This story will be updated.
If the first game is for a team to set an identity, then Brayden Padgett to Luke Martindale could be a productive combination this season. It certainly was in the season opener.
Padgett hooked up with Martindale for three touchdown passes to lead George Jenkins to a 33-7 victory over Mulberry at The Phosphate Bowl in Mulberry.
Padgett finished 7 of 11 passing for 207 yards and three touchdowns. Martinedale caught four passes for 152 yards.
The Eagles weren’t one dimensional as Malik Raymond rushed 13 times for 74 yards and another touchdown.
George Jenkins’ defense pitched a shutout, but special teams allowed Mulberry to jump on the scoreboard first. Josiah Cobbett returned a punt about 60 yards to give Mulberry the early 7-0 lead.
Then the Padgett to Martindale combination went to work. The two hooked up for a 75-yard scoring strike, but the extra-point was missed.
Jenkins went on top for good when Padgett found Martinedale for a 42-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter. Padgett’s 20-yard touchdown pass to Martinedale made it 19-7.
It was still 19-7 with about seven minutes to play before Jenkins scored two late touchdowns. Raymond had a 27-yard run, and Jermaine Harrison, who had 2.5 sacks, scored on a fumble recover.y
Ryan Boles led the defense with seven tackles and an interception, and SJ Dennis had four tackles and an interception.
Lakeland Christian 81, Santa Fe Catholic 7
Lakeland Christin scored early — AJ Truedell returned the opening kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown and often in this one-sided game.
Truedell scored again to make it 14-0 then quarterback Brody Brenneman got in the act.
Brenneman began getting into the act. His touchdown pass to Marcus Bankston made it 21-0 at 1:35 of the first quarter, and he escaped a sack and hit Cael Straub early in the second quarter to make it 27-0.
Truedell scored again with Straub catching a pass for a two-point conversion. And the points kept coming. Brenneman rushed for a touchdown, Truedell rushed for a 42-yard score, and Brenneman tossed a touchdown pass to Messiah Borders to make it 53-7 as Santa Fe also had a score in the second quarter.
Lakeland 47, Kathleen 0
Lakeland jumped out to a 34-0 halftime lead to give the Dreadnaughts their 13th consecutive victory over their crosstown rivals.
Davenport 38, McLaughlin 6
Hardee 32, Fort Meade 0
Melbourne Central Catholic 44, Victory Christian 12
Tampa Bay Tech 27, Lake Gibson 6
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Roundup: George Jenkins, Lakeland Christian, Lakeland among the winners
Reporting by Roy Fuoco, Lakeland Ledger / The Ledger
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Roy Fuoco, Lakeland Ledger | USA TODAY Network
