Lake Ridge Unstoppable at AT&T Stadium

Zachary Bell, Sports Editor|December 1, 2015

The Lake Ridge Eagles take the field at AT&T Stadium during third round high school football playoff action in Arlington, Nov. 28, 2015.

Sydney Johnson

The Lake Ridge Eagles take the field at AT&T Stadium during third round high school football playoff action in Arlington, Nov. 28, 2015.

Playing for the first time at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, the undefeated Lake Ridge Eagles advanced to the quarterfinals of the University Interscholastic League Texas High School Football Playoffs with a 69-40 win against Mesquite Poteet.

Led by quarterback Jett Duffey, who accounted for 599 of Lake Ridge’s 775 total yards, the Eagles soared offensively Saturday. With four passing and two rushing touchdowns on the night, Duffey solidified his position as one of Texas Tech’s top 2016 commitments.

Also contributing significantly to the win was senior running back Duke Carter with 156 yards rushing and four touchdowns. With more than 2000 rushing yards in 2015, Carter has verbally committed to play at the University of Louisiana-Monroe next season, according to 247Sports.

The Lake Ridge passing game, which threw for 41 total yards in a 77-51 run-dominated win against John Tyler a week before, looked revitalized against the Pirates (9-4) with nine different receivers amassing 452 yards.

Although the Lake Ridge defense struggled to stop Poteet’s do-it-all athlete, Walter Dawn Jr., the Eagles were clutch when they needed to be, shutting down the Pirates offense in the fourth quarter.

All season, the focus has been on improvement rather than satisfaction, according to Lake Ridge football players.

“This game was more of a learning lesson than a celebration,” said Eagles defensive back Seth Ette. “We noticed the things we were doing wrong in order to prepare for the next game.”

Advancing further in the UIL 5A Division 1 football playoffs than any team in its four-year school history in Mansfield, Lake Ridge (13-0) will return to AT&T Statium Dec. 5 at 9 p.m. to play the Longview Lobos (11-2), a team the Eagles defeated in the second round of the playoffs last season.

With a win, Lake Ridge will have more victories at “Jerry’s World” in 2015 than the Dallas Cowboys — who haven’t won in their home stadium since Sept. 13.

Lake Ridge 2015 Football Schedule

Aug. 28: Cleburne 52 – 26 W
Sept. 3: @ Fossil Ridge 30 – 13 W
Sept. 10: Waco 47 – 12 W
Sept. 18: Lancaster 48 – 27 W
Sept. 24: Waxahachie 60 – 34 W
Oct. 9: @ Mansfield Timberview 49 – 24 W
Oct. 16: Red Oak 48 – 24 W
Oct. 24: @ Mansfield Legacy 56 – 14 W
Oct. 31: Mansfield Summit 55 – 35 W
Nov. 6: @ Seguin 53 – 7 W
Nov. 12: Samuell 63 – 12 W **
Nov. 21: Tyler 77 – 51 W **
Nov. 28: Poteet 69 – 40 W **
Dec. 5: Longview ** @ AT&T Stadium 9 p.m.
2015 UIL State Football Championships – 2015 Football Conference 5A D1

Playoff Game = **