ORANGE PARK - Lakeside Junior High football running back Johnny Mizell displayed breakaway speed with two touchdowns and a handful of long runs to ignite the Gators' offense to a 32-12 Northeast …
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![[one cutline underneath both in a box at bottom of page..junior high football will be up top on Tuesday night]
Left: Lake Asbury Junior High quarterback Braylee Rosette was nicknamed "Tom Braylee" for her passing skills, as the 7-1 Tigers won their Northeast Florida Athletic Conference semifinal against Green Cove Springs, 31-7, Monday night. Right: Lake Asbury ball carrier Saleecia Henderson used a "Billy Sims" like cut to gain yardage in the Tigers' 31-7 semifinal win over Green Cove Springs. The NEFAC championship game was on Wednesday, Oct. 21, against Lakeside, a 19-6 winner in its semifinal.](https://epsilon.creativecirclecdn.com/claytoday/original/20261022-092450-a3a-php1zUAZV.JPG)
ORANGE PARK - Lakeside Junior High football running back Johnny Mizell displayed breakaway speed with two touchdowns and a handful of long runs to ignite the Gators' offense to a 32-12 Northeast Florida Athletic Conference championship win against Oakleaf at Ridgeview High on Tuesday.
Lakeside, which finished unbeaten, won a tense 8-6 semifinal game over Green Cove Springs last week, while Oakleaf upended defending NEFAC champion Lake Asbury, 40-34, to advance.
Mizell got his first touchdown in the first quarter with a 36-yard blast behind guard Austin Anschuetz. Cam Thomas scored the two-point conversion for the surprisingly quick Lakeside lead.
Oakleaf responded quickly with a touchdown pass from quarterback Levi Tolbert to wide receiver Deandre Anderson. With the missed two-pointer, Lakeside precariously led 8-6.
On the scoring drive, Oakleaf wide receiver King Gibbs out-wrestled Mizell for a jump pass, then added a pass interference flag to move the ball from midfield to the Gators' 15.
Moments later, the Gator defense struck with a bad snap sailing over Tolbert's head and into the sprinting hands of Lakeside defensive end Kaiden Scruggs, who rumbled 46 yards for a 16-6 Lakeside lead.
Mizell struck again with a 56-yard scamper to the Oakleaf 12 followed by a touchdown jaunt to put the Gators up 24-6.
A wide-open Anderson quieted the Lakeside crowd as Oakleaf closed the gap to 24-6 with a 30-yard scoring pass to close the first half.
In the opening drive of the second half, Lakeside's defense front, led by Lennon Schaefer and Anschuetz, stuffed a fourth-and-one dive by Oakleaf at the Lakeside 5-yard line.
Mizell nearly scored a third time off a 37-yard scamper that only Oakleaf national champion sprinter Bobbie Gibbs Jr was able to catch to end the third quarter.
Lakeside stayed on the ground with Mizell bouncing behind center Schaefer and right guard Anschuetz to set up a 12-yard TD run by Thomas to end the scoring.
