ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Lakewood High School football team has been a state title contender for many years but has never won a state championship.
The Spartans will travel to Ft. Lauderdale on Friday to take on Cardinal Gibbons in the Class 4A state semifinals.
“This week is very important,” Lakewood defensive back Jaden Shorter said. “It feels good to be this far. I ain’t even been this far on a high school team. It feels good. It took a lot of work, dedication. It feels great to be here.”
Another player excited to be in this position is quarterback Anthony Colandrea, who transferred from Clearwater Central Catholic.
“That was the main thing to come here and win a state championship,” Colandrea told ABC Action News sports anchor Kyle Burger. “That was the main thing, I want to make history.”
No high school team from Pinellas County has won a state title in football. Lakewood’s opponent has won two state titles in the past three seasons.
“They have talented players, they’ve won state championships, but they are not better than us though,” Shorter said. “They have won state championships, but they don’t have better athletes than we do.”
Lakewood’s last appearance in the state semifinals was in 2019, a loss against Booker T. Washington Senior High School. Spartans head coach Cory Moore hopes the law of averages says this is their year.
“I believe that eventually, we’ve been in this situation for 15 years,” Moore said. “So, we’re looking at it as if someone knocks on your door 15 times pretty soon somebody got to open it. We hope we can open it up this year.”
