NAPLES — Two game-changing plays in the second quarter set the tone for Lake Region in its 38-0 victory over Spruce Mountain in an 8-man football game Friday night.

Jackson Libby recovered a blocked punt in the end zone for a touchdown early in the quarter and Brayden Wilson caught a TD pass as time expired — following some alert play-calling as the officials made a first-down measurement — to give the Lakers a 16-0 lead going into the half.

“That was huge,” Lake Region coach Mike Meehan said of the blocked punt. “And one second going into the half and going up 16-0 was big.”

Lakers quarterback Brock Gibbons ran for 196 yards, most coming in the second half, threw two touchdowns and ran for another. Spruce Mountain (3-1) suffered its first loss of the season.

The first quarter was marked by penalties and turnovers on both sides. Each team had two turnovers in the first 12 minutes, and three came within a 37-second span late in the quarter.

Spruce Mountain coach Devin Roberts said he hoped the Phoenix could grab some momentum from the takeaways.

“We thought one of the fumbles or turnovers we were gonna take advantage of and then it just continued on our side, too,” Roberts said.

The Lakers finally capitalized on a mistake in the second quarter when Libby recovered a blocked punt in the end zone to give the hosts a 6-0 lead with 10:15 remaining in the half. Jaiden Meehan caught the 2-point conversion.

Offense continued to lag during the period, thanks to penalties and strong play from both defensive lines.

“Well, we couldn’t really get any offense going, we couldn’t control a snap, we had a hard time getting off the line of scrimmage,” Roberts said. “And I mean we really had no offensive plays, so it’s hard when you don’t have an offense to play in the game.”

Lake Region (3-1), meanwhile, finally got its offense going with a 10-play, 46-yard drive to end the second quarter. A shovel pass from Gibbons to Landon Ross sent the Lakers down to the 7-yard line with 1 second left.

The officials measured to see if the Lakers picked up the first down, which allowed Lake Region to set up at the line of scrimmage. After the officials deemed the play good enough for a first down, the Lakers snapped the ball at the whistle and Gibbons found Brayden Wilson in the end zone. Sean Murphy scored the 2-point conversion.

Mike Meehan gave instructions to Gibbons and the offensive line as the officials were measuring to make sure everyone knew the ball had to be snapped the moment the whistle blew.

“I was proud how they listened,” Meehan said. “That’s what we echoed going in and that’s what these guys have done a great job, listening and paying attention, getting better as we are coaching them during the game and on the field. We are proud of how they played, all of them.”

Lake Region’s Wesley Obermeyer, right, dives for an incomplete pass while being defended by Spruce Mountain’s Owen Kelvey during Friday’s game in Naples. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

The mood changed for Spruce Mountain going into halftime.

“Yeah, if we could have stopped them before the half, I mean it’s a different ballgame coming out of half,” Roberts said “We had a little bit of momentum … but when they put that second one in, you could see it in the kids’ faces, they kind of hung their heads a little bit, but we try to encourage them at halftime to come back out and things just didn’t go our way after that.”

The Lakers picked up where they left off in the third quarter with a 65-yard, 15 play drive to start the period, capped by Gibbons’ 3-yard TD run; he carried the ball for 42 yards on the drive. He also scored the 2-point conversion to give Lake Region a 24-0 lead with 4:24 remaining.

“Number 22, he gets better as he gets hit more,” Mike Meehan said of Gibbons. “He’s a bowling ball, a tough kid, 200-plus pounds with that equipment on. He’s a heck of a running back.”

After Murphy recovered a fumble on the ensuing Spruce Mountain drive. Gibbons found Jaiden Meehan on the next play for a 16-yard TD and Gibbons added another 2-point conversion for a 32-0 lead with 2:49 remaining in the third quarter.

“Jaiden Meehan, he is a junior and that kid is a stud,” Gibbons said. “He’s like give me a chance and I am like, ‘yes.’ That kid can get the ball. That kid is going to do whatever he can to get that ball.”

Murphy had a short TD run early in the fourth to cap the scoring.