The first guy Michael Stones had to get past on his way to the end zone this season was in his own family. The Dartmouth College basketball commit had to convince his father that going back out for football as a senior was a good idea.
Stones, who opted out of football for two years after his freshman season to concentrate on basketball, succeeded in gaining his dad’s approval. The rest is history and everybody in the family is beaming these days.For the fourth consecutive week Stones returned a kickoff for a touchdown as the undefeated Lakers (6-0) won a makeup game 63-7 over visiting Lakeland Santa Fe Catholic on Monday night.
Historical records are sketchy on such a feat, but Windermere Prep coaches have done some digging online and believe Stones tied a national high school record of four consecutive games with a kick return TD.
“Our team really emphasizes special teams,” Stones said on Tuesday. “Coach Kelly has pretty much set me up success. I thank him a lot for that.”
The spree started with a 90-yarder in a 49-12 win at Bradenton St. Stephen’s in September. A week later Stones made an over-the-should snag of a deep kickoff against Lake Mary Prep and weaved his way back 97 yards to the end zone in a 63-0 rout.
“The first one was amazing to me,” said Stones, who is also the Lakers' leading receiver. “The last one I was pretty much on cloud nine because of the records we set.”
The Lakers hope to keep the streak going when they play Bishop McLaughlin Catholic (1-6) of Spring Hill at Disney’s Wide World of Sports on Friday night in a game that is both homecoming and senior night.
The Lakers will start the three-week Sunshine State Athletic Conference playoffs the following week and are a contender to make the Nov. 15 SSAC championship game at Master’s Academy in Oviedo.
“I know this year is probably be the last time I play football,” Stones said. “I couldn’t be happier with my decision to play.”
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