Foundation Academy hopes to bounce back from lopsided defeat

LAKELAND – Head coach Brad Lord likes to keep an eye on Foundation Academy’s October district football schedule, but the Lions had more pressing issues before Week One was barely in the books.

Lord and his staff were focused this week on how the players would react after a difficult regular-season opener.

Foundation had been looking forward to a rematch with Lakeland Christian School after dropping a 20-13 decision to the Class 3A Vikings in the 2013 opener.

But not much went right this time around.

Lakeland Christian put six touchdowns on the scoreboard Aug. 29, before the second quarter was six minutes old. The host Vikings eventually registered a 41-0 victory when the non-district contest was called shortly after a lightning detection system sounded with 4:48 left in the third quarter.

“They beat us in every aspect of the game,” Lord said. “That’s a good football team, and they were hungry. We came in and tried to fire up our guys, but we got beat.”

The expression, “When it rains, it pours,” not only applied to the weather as the night went on Friday, but  also, it held true for Foundation’s misfortunes.

Lord already was making adjustments to the lineup prior to kickoff after handing out game suspensions to a couple of key starters. A pair of fourth-down miscues on Foundation’s opening two series subsequently resulted in short touchdown drives for Lakeland Christian, while senior wide receiver/safety Conrad Brown (who had 103 receiving yards, two touchdowns and one interception in Foundation’s 47-0 Kickoff Classic win over Lake Highland Prep) was hobbled much of the game after taking a hard hit during a first-quarter kickoff return.

With regard to the player suspensions, Lord said it was important “to set the tone, because Brad Lord programs don’t run that way.”

“But if the players come together, and they hold each other accountable, you’ll see a different team against (The First Academy),” Lord said. “We’ve got to get more physical and we’ve got to go back to basics this week. Some of these freshmen we have who had great games (in the Kickoff Classic) learned what real football is.”

Lakeland Christian carried a 21-0 lead into the second quarter against Foundation before scoring three more touchdowns within a 2:56 span. R.B. Marlow caught touchdown passes of 10 and 62 yards, Dominic McNish contributed 2- and 3-yard TD runs, Keland White scored on a 71-yard run and Frank Burgess returned an interception 49 yards for a touchdown.

Foundation junior quarterback Jacob Murphy made plays in the running and passing game against Lakeland Christian’s aggressive 3-5-3 defense, while Colby Adamson punted twice for a 42-yard net average. Defensively, Darius Irvin and D’angelo Byer were credited with eight total tackles apiece for the Lions.

The Lions have a short turnaround in Week 2, when they host The First Academy Royals at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 4, at Walker Field.

TFA, which features Clemson commit Garrett Williams, opened the season with a 35-21 setback to Bishop Moore.

Foundation plays four of its next five games at Walker Field. The Lions’ two Class 2A, District 4 games are then scheduled for Oct. 17, at Victory Christian Academy, and Oct. 31 versus Agape Christian Academy.