5 Reasons Lakeland’s Defense Is Dominating Games

Dreadnaughts have not surrendered a touchdown in 11 straight quarters

Lakeland defensive back Christopher Cresser (26) and his teammates did a great job containing North Carolina-bound speedster Jaden Jefferson (15) all night in De La Salle's 10-6 home win over Aug. 29, 2025. / Photo by Dennis Lee

LAKELAND, FL – Anyone gandering at a Lakeland box score the past few games will notice it’s full of donuts for the opposition. 

After blanking Lake Gibson 40-0 Friday, the stingy Lakeland defense has extended its scoreless streak to nine consecutive quarters, 11 without giving up a touchdown.

Lakeland shut out Miami Washington 43-0 on Sept. 19 and beat Lake Mary 32-13 on Sept. 5.

Additionally, Lake Mary only mustered a pair of field goals -- one in the third and one in the fourth quarters -- against the Dreadnaughts after scoring its lone touchdown in the first quarter, which was the last time anyone celebrated in the end zone against them.

Lakeland travels to Riverview Sumner (5-1) next, a  team it shut out this past season 28-0. So the threat of packing the box with four more donuts appears appetizing for the salivating Dreadnaughts defensive unit.

And here are 5 reasons why the defense is dominating ...

Lakeland places its best talent on defense

The Dreadnaugts have several defensive players this season who are Division-I Power 4 talents, including defensive ends Santana Harvey and Andrew Sapp. Additionally, linebacker Donte McCoy and D-linemen Ashton O’Neal, Java Jean-Louis and Antonio Davis are main cogs in the star-studded group. 

“We definitely put our best players on that side of the ball,” Lakeland third-year head coach Marvin Fraizer said. “But it’s hard to coach kids that are that talented all the time.” 

Despite the recent success against a rock-hard schedule, Lakeland’s defensive line doesn’t consist of huge players this season, but they are gritty and good. 

“We took away the run game from (Concord) De La Salle for three quarters. That was one of the most impressive things we could have done,” Frazier said.

Dreadnaughts realize defensive players like to score, too

The Dreadnaughts recorded three interceptions Friday against Lake Gibson but the defense scored two touchdowns off fumble recoveries. Senior defensive tackle Rashard McGee returned a fumble recovery 15 yards for the score and junior safety Tavoris Black returned a fumble 27 yards to paydirt.   

“It’s exciting for the whole team. We celebrate so much when the defensive guys get into  that end zone,” Frazier said.

“The one thing about defense, you can stop a team from scoring but you can also score on defense. We have a bunch of kids on defense who can start on offense. So if you use that same offensive mentality that they have, then go take the ball away and score.”

Coaching and scheduling are paramount

The Lakeland defensive coordinator is CJ Johnson, and not only does Frazier sing his praises but he tributes him and his staff with most of the success and the current scoreless streak..

“CJ is masterful. He is like a genius over there,” Frazier said. “He really gets those kids to play full-speed, full-tilt disciplined football. It's hard to get kids that are naturally talented to buy into the discipline aspect, but he is masterful at it.”

Right out of the gate, Lakeland slated state powerhouse Miami Northwestern for its kickoff classic and followed it up with a trip to California for national powerhouse Concord De La Salle. The following week came state runner-up Lake Mary.

“We made the schedule so we are seeing the best stuff early,” Frazier said. “So by the time we are at midseason, we are not seeing anything new. When we scheduled Miami Northwestern for our kickoff classic, there was a logic behind that: We wanted to see the best athletes in the world. When we scheduled De La Salle, we wanted to see the most coached-up teams in the world, period. Then the next week, we wanted to see the best quarterback in the state, so we scheduled Lake Mary to see. Noah Grubbs.”

It's not the X's and O's, it's the Dreadnaughts Z’s

Lakeland’s two senior  linebackers Ziggy Riley and Zephaniah Rogers are the motors which steer the Dreadnaught ship. Frazier calls the duo “the core” of the defense.

“Ziggy and Zephaniah really make us go,” Frazier said. “They read and react so well, we don’t have to blitz, ever, not in this lifetime. Sometimes when you have linebackers that aren’t the best football players, you have to tell them what to do. But these kids read what is going on and they just go.”

Sound philosophy translates into shutouts

While many teams and coaching staffs subscribe to the bend-but-don’t break mentality, Lakeland will have no part in it. They are not bending and definitely not breaking – for anyone.

“I know a lot of teams like things of that nature, but we try to give them nothing,” Frazier said. “We don’t want you to get anything. Some teams will say we are going to try to take away your strengths, but we are going to take away the other parts. The mantra is: Give nothing and take everything.

“We were kind of upset that we gave up 69 yards last night. We really didn’t want to give up anything.”