Green Sea Floyds would stage a nice rally in the fourth quarter Friday night, but by then it was much too late.
An all too familiar culprit had already spoiled the evening for the Trojans.
Visiting Lake View took advantage of Green Sea Floyds' continuing turnover woes to grab a 20-point halftime lead on its way to a 34-19 win over the Trojans in the first round of VIII-A regional play.
Frustrating is the word Green Sea Floyds coach Joey Still kept coming back to afterward.
"Tonight, we played a great second half, but we're not putting it all together," Still said. "We've got to stop turnovers. We have got to stop turnovers."
Green Sea Floyds, 2-3, was within a touchdown when it regained possession with six minutes, 17 seconds left in the second quarter.
But for the Trojans, the quarter couldn't end fast enough. Three turnovers later, Lake View had taken a 27-7 lead and sapped most of the suspense out of the evening.
"And that's what's hurting us," said Still, noting his team is averaging three to four turnovers a game. "We can't do that."
The night started to get away from Green Sea Floyds as soon as that possession started midway through the second quarter.
On the Trojans' first play, senior running back Lassan Reaves lost the football while colliding with the defense at the line of scrimmage.
Lake View took over at the Trojans' 12 and capitalized two plays later on a 5-yard Benton Jones touchdown run.
And just as soon as Green Sea Floyds regained possession, it gave the ball right back to Lake View as Reaves fumbled again on the next play.
This time, the Wild Gators would turn the ball over on downs, but they'd get another chance soon enough.
Green Sea Floyds sophomore Holden Clark was intercepted by Lake View's Jordan Miller just inside midfield for the third Trojans turnover in a span of five offensive plays - a forgettable spurt from which the Trojans would not be able to recover.
Lake View quickly found the end zone again, catching Green Sea Floyds by surprise with its first pass attempt of the game as Chris Ford hit Miller wide open behind the defense for a 33-yard touchdown pass and a 27-7 Wild Gators lead.
"It's just frustrating," Still said. "It's frustrating. It's something we work on every day."
Junior Damion King provided some late excitement for Green Sea Floyds, scoring twice in a span of 21 seconds in the opening minute of the fourth quarter - first on a nine-yard end around rush for a touchdown and then moments later on a 49-yard fumble return for touchdown to make the score 34-19.
Green Sea Floyds threatened again on a 10-play drive back into the red zone. But Clark fumbled the football on a rush up the middle for what would have been a first down.
Instead, Lake View, 3-2, recovered the loose ball and made sure the Trojans' comeback got no closer.
"They didn't quit, and they played hard until the end. I'm proud of that," Still said. "And we'll have something to build on next week because of that."
Despite his fumbles, Reaves finished with 102 rushing yards in 22 carries for the Trojans.
Senior Justin Holcomb led Lake View with 121 rushing yards and a touchdown in 10 carries as the Wild Gators rushed for 316 yards as a team.
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