Central's Lewis is humble sacker

Ermine Lewis didn't have a sack dance prepared last Friday. But the way River Ridge blocked, he should have.

The Royal Knights failed to pick up a backside blitz throughout the game, and Lewis was free to rush quarterback Ryan Mistal on every play.

"We had a key on them where they could not pick it up," Central coach John Wilkinson said.

"We told him to blitz every down and get one yard behind the quarterback. We thought we would get some hits on the quarterback that way."

Lewis registered six sacks, tying the school single-game record set by Lance Holland against Cypress Lake on Oct. 13, 2000.

"After the play was over, I just came back and tried to get (Mistal) again," Lewis said. "We didn't think they could handle the blitz."

DEFENSE: Central admittedly had been "pushed around" defensively in its first two games, allowing 49 total points in consecutive losses.

The Bears were much better Friday against a poor River Ridge team, giving up just 105 total yards, 11 points and dropping the Knights for loss 16 times.

"The defense played great," Wilkinson said. "They saved us. They carried the team tonight."

"We definitely stepped it up tonight," Lewis said. "Twice as much as any other game. Our defense is getting way better."

HURT PAW: Tim Gaynor rushed for an usually low 49 yards (and a 12-yard touchdown) on 16 carries, but he wasn't his normal self.

That's because he played with a broken bone in his hand, heavily wrapped instead of cast.

"He kind of dinged it on one play," Wilkinson said. "He wanted to go, but we wanted to use him as a decoy more because we knew they'd be keying on him."

Shawn Dunker and Steve Martin, who filled in when Gaynor was ineffective, provided a burst. Dunker rushed four times for 63 yards, including a 45-yarder, and Martin had 12 carries for 58 yards and a 1-yard score.

Gaynor made a contribution on the Martin touchdown run by pushing him into the end zone when Martin was stood up at the line.

MISCUES: Wilkinson chose to accept responsibility for 120 yards in Central penalties Friday.

"It's poor coaching," he said. "We have to get more discipline. That's totally our fault, not the kids.

"I don't think we've played with enough aggression so far," Wilkinson said. (Friday) we played with some. Now we have to be more disciplined."

SPRINGSTEAD: With few soft spots in his schedule, coach Bill Vonada is facing a season spiraling downhill. The Eagles are a young team that has yet to respond well to adversity.

They committed five turnovers and surrendered touchdowns on seven consecutive series in a 60-10 home loss to Land O'Lakes on Friday.

"What happened is our young kids responded in a negative manner to a couple bad breaks," Vonada said.

"I'm concerned not with turnovers but in the way we responded. What we need to see this week is a renewed determination and effort."

Springstead's schedule offers little breaks. First it visits a Lecanto (2-1) squad smarting after a loss to Citrus. Then the Eagles play host to improving Central (1-2), travel to meet the North Suncoast's surprise team -- 3-0 Citrus -- before going to 0-3 Mitchell on Oct. 18.

Vonada said he hasn't addressed the tough schedule with his Springstead players.

"We look at each team one at a time," he said. "Land O'Lakes is a great team, but we didn't give them much of a game.

"We concentrate on preparing somewhat uniquely for every team," he said, "and we have to work on finding our best game because we haven't done that yet."

WEAPONS: Doing so against Lecanto's versatile Jarvis Patterson will not make that an easy task this week.

Patterson has 6 touchdowns and 565 yards on 91 carries.

"They move him from quarterback sometimes to running back because he is so good," Vonada said. "But you can't concentrate too much on him because one of the other guys will hurt you."

HURTS: Vonada said injured junior running back Joe Merando might return this week.

Springstead's leading rusher (40 carries, 106 yards) didn't play against Land O'Lakes because of an ankle injury.

FEELING BETTER: Hernando's struggling defense (97 points allowed in three games) could be boosted Friday against Central with the likely return of defensive ends Brae White and Tank Donaldson.

Both missed the Leopards' 40-23 loss at Pasco on Friday. White is recovering from a sprained neck, Donaldson an ankle sprain.

Back-up Danny Hart will miss the rest of the season after undergoing non-football-related surgery.

Coach Bill Browning said changes could be made this week.

"I'm real pleased with the way the offense has moved the ball," he said. "But the defense is still struggling a little bit. Part of that is youth, too, but we're looking for improvement and improvement in a hurry."

ROLLER COASTER: The Leopards (1-2) have no time for an emotional letdown after a rival game at Pasco and another against Central on Friday. Hernando has lost two consecutively.

"We don't have any choice but to get back up," Browning said. "We started out with Springstead (a 28-22 win), with Pasco and Central and Citrus (35-21 loss) sandwiched in there. They'll get back up."

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright