A bit of early-season intrigue was on display Friday at Charger Field when first-year Nova Lakes played its first-ever road game at Liberty High
Either the Rattlers would get the first win in program history, or the Chargers would snap a 15-game losing streak.
Chalk the first win to Nova Lakes (1-1), who took a 13-0 lead three minutes into the game before Liberty (0-2) had an offensive snap and coasted to a 25-0 win.
Jaden Dionisi carried 13 times for 206 and two scores, and the Rattlers also got their first-ever score on special teams.
“It’s exciting to say we were part of the school’s first win,” Dionisi said. “The coaches got us ready and the O-line played real well in front of us. It’s just amazing.”
NLHS Coach Anthony Rivers said his team made the adjustments and improvements from last week’s opener against Palm Bay to get Friday’s result.
“Yes, we played better, but we’re not yet where we know we need to be,” he said. “We did the big things better. The kids earned this success tonight.”
Nova Lakes started fast. Dionisi took an inside handoff on the first play of the game and weaved through the Charger defense 68 yards to the end zone. The Rattlers recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, and four plays later quarterback Angelo Daddona, who scored the Rattlers’ first-ever points last week, scored on an 1-yard keeper.
After a long Chargers touchdown run called back for holding forcing a punt, Ivan Upshaw batted the kick in the air near the goal line and pulled it in to make it 19-0.
With 10 minutes left in the game Dionisi broke through for another 60-yard run to break the 200-yard mark for the game.
While they didn’t score, Liberty made plays on defense to slow the Rattlers. Jeydens Colas had a pair of interceptions, Eder Clermont picked off another, and Ayomide Akinwole, Elijah Littler and Jonathan Acevedo had sacks.
For Nova Lakes, Fabian Vilchez had a sack and two other tackles for loss, and Braden Navas Jah’niyel Jamison tallied sacks.
The Rattlers will go for their second-ever win next week at Lake Buena Vista. Liberty will try to bounce back at Discovery.
