The Leopards hound QB Drew Weatherford and score 34 consecutive points to defeat the Gators 40-14.
By STEVE LEE
Published August 29, 2003
BROOKSVILLE - Coaches and players from both teams spoke of Thursday's preseason classic as a learning experience.
The host Leopards doled out a lesson plan in a 40-14 drubbing of Land O'Lakes and its touted quarterback.
Drew Weatherford, who last season led the state with 39 touchdown passes, threw for touchdowns on the Gators' opening drives of each half. In between, he was plagued by seven dropped passes and worked on his scrambling ability thanks to a porous offensive line.
Weatherford left the game after the first series of the second half with Hernando leading 34-14. He completed 12 of 25 passes for 112 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
Coach John Benedetto chalked it up as "a learning experience," and Weatherford said he concurred.
"This is the best thing that could have happened to us," Weatherford said. "It's a wake-up call.
"Now (my teammates) realize they're going to have to step up and make some plays. I'm not going to make all the plays, and (running back) Chris Perez isn't going to make all the plays. It's going to benefit us in the end."
Weatherford capped the game's opening drive - 53 yards in six plays - with a 24-yard touchdown to Eddy Gibbs.
Then the Leopards scored 34 consecutive points.
Jagren Castillo, who rushed for a game-high 78 yards, returned a kickoff 94 yards and scored the final touchdown of the first half on a 43-yard pass from Antonio Brown.
In between, Rian Williams had touchdown runs of 24 and 2 yards and Rod Roberts scored on a 53-yard run.
"It's different every year," said Hernando coach Bill Browning, alluding to last year's 20-0 loss to Land O'Lakes that was called early in the third quarter due to a thunderstorm.
"We played good team defense. I told them just to be aggressive and not make mental mistakes. Offensively, I think we'll be pretty potent."
On the other end of the spectrum, Land O'Lakes made plenty of mistakes, and the offense struggled.
"We weren't tackling very well, and we were making a lot of mistakes on offense," Benedetto said. "We were dropping a lot of passes."
Caz Piurowski, a tight end who accounted for three drops, did haul in a 14-yard touchdown on Land O'Lakes' opening drive of the third quarter.
"I talked to (the players) at halftime, and they settled down," Benedetto said. "We came out and scored."
Fabian Jackson accounted for the final score on a 1-yard run during the fourth quarter.
