By Rick Pedone
Sports Editor
Poinciana hosts Lake Nona today at 7 p.m. for a 5A District 7 football game that the Eagles must win to stay in playoff contention.
The Eagles, 1-5 and 0-2, lost a non-district game to Lake Region, 43-6, last week.
Eagles Coach Corey Fleming said the score was deceiving since the Eagles led 6-0 through much of the first half and trailed by just 15-6 early in the second half.
“We had a 75-yard touchdown play called back because of a penalty in the third quarter, and after that you could see that our guys just kind of let down,” Fleming said.
Josh Lopez scored Poinciana’s touchdown, and it was his 75-yard play that was called back.
Fleming said the key to beating Lake Nona, like the Eagles did last season, is to pressure quarterback Tucker Israel, who passed for 518 yards and seven touchdowns against Celebration last week. The Lions are 3-3.
“We need to have our defensive backs in the right areas to make plays,” Fleming said.
The Eagles go to Port Orange Atlantic and Eustis before returning home Nov. 9 for the regular season finale against Liberty.