Tampa Bay Bucs’ Running Back Warrick Dunn Pumps Up Lakeland High Prior to Homecomming Victory

Fear Nothing. That’s the translation of the Lakeland High Dreadnaughts moniker. The name dates back to 1923 when the school’s principal said that the team ran through opponents just like a Dreadnaught, or battleship, and it stuck.

Head Coach Bill Castle has steered the ship at Lakeland for 33 years, and in 2007 was named Florida high school’s “Coach of the Century,” as part of a celebration of 100 years of Florida high school football.

But, like their head coach, the Lakeland football program represents more than just fearlessness; they also take pride in personal accountability. Each player carries a card at all times that reinforces this code of honor, encouraging players to make sound decisions. The accountability carries over into the classroom, on the practice field and certainly on Friday nights.

Once again, Nike spent the week at Lakeland getting the team, and the school, ready for Friday night’s game. The company provided students with a Dreadnaught fan pack filled with a scrolled sign, eye black and bumper sticker. They also stationed a NikeiD booth where students designed and customized their own shoes. The Dreadnaughts’ captain even took the time to create a black and orange shoe with “WILDBILL08” inscribed on the side as a gift to Coach Castle.

All of this led to Friday night’s homecoming battle with Boyd Anderson. Just before kickoff, Nike showcased a personalized pep talk video from Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Warrick Dunn, stirring the 8,000 fans as it appeared on the stadium jumbotron.

From there, the atmosphere at Bryant Stadium was electrifying as homecoming weekend brought additional excitement to the contest. The Dreadnaughts lit up the scoreboard first with a 60-yard touchdown pass just over a minute into the game. The team was unable to find the end zone again during the first two quarters, falling behind 13-7 heading into the half.

Lakeland reclaimed control out of the break scoring 14 unanswered points with one touchdown coming through the air and one on the ground. Boyd Anderson would not go quietly though, and tool a one-point lead on a 14-yard TD pass with time running down in the final quarter.

But, as their name states, the Dreadnaughts feared nothing and were able to connect one last time through the air to go ahead 27-22, claim another homecoming victory and protect their then #12 national ranking.