Lake Region Overcomes Furious Haines City Rally By | Matt Cote HAINES CITY - Hunter Ratcliff nailed three field goals for Lake Region Friday night, and the Thunder needed every one of them. Lake Region used a 36-yard Ratcliff kick with 6.7 seconds left in the game to beat Haines City, 29-27. ....more

Hornets look to end Thunder's playoff hopes By | Matt Cote HAINES CITY - There isn't a lot on the line for Haines City in tonight's matchup, but that doesn't mean the team won't put up a fight. "We take pride in getting a win," Haines City coach Pete Barber said. The Hornets host a Lake Region team that still has playoff hopes tonight at 7 p.m.....more

Haines City's miscues lift Lake Wales By | DICK SCANLON HAINES CITY - Two Haines City fumbles early in the second half turned the game into a rout and Lake Wales rolled to a 47-14 victory in the Hornets' homecoming game Friday night. The undefeated Highlanders, ranked seventh in Class 5A, got off to a good start before a big mistake helped Haines City get back in the game.....more

Ridge has fast start, tops Haines City By | MIKE FERGUSON HAINES CITY - The speed of the Ridge Community Bolts coupled with poor tackling by Haines City made it a long night for the Hornets at Bolt Field Friday in front of 400 fans. The Bolts (5-1) topped Haines City 33-16 for their first Class 7A, District 5 victory while the Hornets dropped to 1-5 overall.....more

Big Plays Help Kathleen Stop Haines City By | Mike Cobb LAKELAND | Kathleen's defense came up with a pair of early turnovers that the offense turned into two quick touchdowns late in the first quarter and the defense made the lead stand up as the Red Devils cruised to a 31-14 non-district win over Haines City Friday night at Johnny Johnson Stadium. ....more

Lakeland handles Haines City, 29-6 By | SOLANGE REYNER HAINES CITY - Haines City wanted to make a statement Friday night against Lakeland.Kind of the same way the Hornets (1-3) did the last time they hosted the Dreadnaughts at Joe Stangry Stadium 10 years ago by snapping their 60-game regular season win streak.....more

Lakeland Returns to Where Streak Ended By | SOLANGE REYNER Lakeland coach Bill Castle won't speak to The Ledger and isn't allowing his athletes to do so either until the FHSAA investigation into the eligibility of five of his football players is complete. So the team will have to do its talking on the football field. But if Haines City (1-2) has its way Friday night, the Dreadnaughts (3-0) will leave Joe Stangry Stadium the same way they did the last time they traveled to play the Hornets — with their first regular-season loss in a long time......more

Miners hold off Hornets By | Matt Cote HAINES CITY - Fort Meade nearly let its opponent off the hook for the second week in a row. The Miners nearly gave up a late 10-point lead, but held off the Haines City charge, stopping the Hornets, 24-21, Friday night. Fort Meade defensive back Jalen Brown picked off an errant Ryan Pynes pass with 23 seconds left in the game to seal the win for Fort Meade.....more

Haines City, Fort Meade look to rebound against each other By | Matt Cote HAINES CITY - When teams lose close, they tend to come out with a chip on their shoulders in their next game. Haines City and Fort Meade will be looking for retribution Friday night when they meet at Haines City High School. "We're itching to get back on the field," Haines City coach Pete Barber said. The Miners are coming off a disheartening 28-27 loss to Lake Region, a game in which they led 21-0 just before half. ....more

Winter Haven Slips Past Haines City By | BILL KEMP WINTER HAVEN - It's not how you start, it's how you finish. After a sluggish first half that was dominated by Haines City's ball-control offense, Winter Haven made the big plays and came away with a 17-10 win over the Hornets at Denison Stadium on Friday night. .....more

Haines City hoping to contain Winter Haven attack By | BILL KEMP WINTER HAVEN - Like Battleship, charades or hangman, football is very much a classical guessing game - it's just not played in anyone's living room. Haines City is fresh off a stirring 38-28 come-from-behind win over Liberty last week in their season opener. But now the Hornets have to face another early-season challenge, guessing a way to stop Winter Haven's pistol offense when they invade Denison Stadium tonight.....more

Haines City 38, Liberty 28 By | Polk Preps Staff KISSIMMEE | Haines City came back from a 28-18 deficit to defeat Kissimmee Liberty and the Hornets pulled out the victory 38-28. Quinton Dent had two touchdown receptions for the Hornets. Decorius Law ran for over 130 yards and added an 81-yard touchdown run. Jaderius Baxter had an fumble recovery for a touchdown and a Interception. Ryan Pynes threw for three scores and rushed for another.Josh Glanton added a touchdown and made numerous tackles defensively, said coach Pete Barber.

Injuries Mar Haines City's 13-6 Win Over Frostproof By | LISA COFFEY HAINES CITY | Haines City came out on the winning end of its Classic with Frostproof, 13-6, Friday at Joe Stangry Stadium. The contest, in front of about 500 fans, featured two injuries involving an ambulance, 23 penalties, six fumbles, two interceptions and 10 punts.....more

Glanton a Big Hit For Hornets In the Middle of the Defense By | Solange Reyner Josh Glanton likes watching Disney's Phineas & Ferb. He also enjoys the Saturday morning cartoon offerings on Nickelodeon. But this linebacker is anything but goofy on Friday nights.....more

Haines City's Reid selected by Ravens By | Tom Zebold Haines City's Jah Reid had no idea when he would be taken prior to the NFL Draft.The offensive tackle should be happy with what transpired Friday night. The former Central Florida star was selected as the 21st pick of the third round (85th overall) by the Baltimore Ravens....more