Indian Rocks Christian averages 10 yards a carry to spoil the Lions' first game ever, 65-0.
By JOHN SCHWARB
Published September 11, 2004
LARGO - The scoreboard did not lie Friday night.
Fortunately for Hernando Christian, it didn't tell the truth either. Hurricane Frances knocked the scoreboard out of order.
Were it functioning, it would have told the one-sided story of the Lions' football debut. Host Indian Rocks Christian romped to a 65-0 victory.
IRC, an established Pinellas County Class A school, easily pulled away behind a rushing attack that averaged 10 yards a carry. The score was 49-0 at halftime, thanks in large part to five touchdowns and 153 yards on nine carries by senior halfback Jimmy Davis.
"We knew (IRC) would be tough, these kids here are well-disciplined," HCA coach Steve Johnson said. "For us, every down is a training down."
From the opening kick it was evident that opening night would be a long night of training, as IRC senior Dan Joyner returned the kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown. He broke one tackle and ran away from the rest of the Lions.
HCA (0-1) did not get a first down until its fourth possession, when it trailed 28-0. It collected only 60 yards of offense in the first half, including 30 yards on 13 rushes.
With the game slipping out of reach, HCA went for a couple of fourth-down plays deep in its own territory, and when failing the Golden Eagles were quick to cash in with rushing touchdowns.
The second half was more respectable for HCA, as IRC scored just two touchdowns.
"We're sleepers, we just don't seem to get going until the second half," Johnson said. "The kids played with heart though, they hung in there."
Both teams came into the game under unusual circumstances, playing season openers in Week 2 of the season with little practice time in the past week.
"I didn't know what to expect, I thought we would fumble a lot, I thought we would jump offsides a lot," IRC coach Chris Westfield said.
That was not the case. The Eagles did not turn the ball over and never punted.
