"I guess we came out and did what we were supposed to do."
- JAMIE JOYNER, Nature Coast coach after a blowout homecoming win.
* * *
"This is for our pride, to beat a team that was suppose to walk all over us."
- RICHARD CHANEY, Lecanto running back.
GAME BALLS
SHANE COLLARD, CENTRAL: What didn't the Central quarterback do? He completed a decisive 96-yard Hail Mary in the final minute, rushed for 163 yards and picked off the last pass of the game just to take extra care in securing a big win for the Bears.
MARK TOMBRINK, CENTRAL: The junior was on the receiving end of Collard's Hail Mary. Enough said.
RICHARD CHANEY, LECANTO: The junior secured Lecanto's first win against Crystal River since 1987 on a fake punt. Chaney kept the defense off balance by faking a throw, then ran in a 42-yard touchdown for a 13-7 victory. The senior running back amassed 128 yards on 27 carries.
RIAN WILLIAMS, NATURE COAST: In a little more than a half of work, the junior collected 126 yards on 12 carries and scored three touchdowns. He also dashed 88 yards for a TD after stripping an HCA running back.
MATT PEPITO, CRYSTAL RIVER: A senior do-everything-you-need player, he intercepted a Lecanto pass and ran it 42 yards for a touchdown. He then kicked a field goal. After getting the wind knocked out of him and coming out for a play, he went back in to receive a punt. He also sees time at safety and as a back.
TIM DOW, SPRINGSTEAD: The senior fullback was Springstead's best weapon against a hard-nosed East Ridge defense. Though the Eagles couldn't get near the goal line, Dow led his team in rushing with 70 yards on 18 carries.
P.J. PERRY, EAST RIDGE: By far the fastest guy on the field, Perry seemed unstoppable against Springstead. He finished with 135 yards on 18 carries, picking up 40 yards on one play, and scored twice.
FRIENDLY RIVALS
East Ridge knocked Springstead out of playoff contention last season, and the Eagles wanted revenge. Springstead was the last team standing between East Ridge and a district championship, and East Ridge wanted to show who was boss. For everything that was on the line between the two, the squads were cordial and warm toward each other. We're not just talking about the usual "good game" and butt-patting. They huddled together and prayed before and after the game. And during the postgame handshake, the players were overflowing with praise for one another. Springstead's Tim Dow told every player down the line, "Hey, you guys played great. ... You deserve this." East Ridge coach Bud O'Hara complimented the Eagles on being a "classy program."
ANYONE, ANYONE?
It's interesting how Crystal River passes to the sidelines but never seems to utilize the open lanes of traffic in the center. Although the defense made a great goal-line stand on fourth-and-1, the D just couldn't keep up, as Lecanto broke tackles at half the speed it used against Citrus. Again, after finally scoring three touchdowns for the first time this season, Crystal River put one TD up before going scoreless for the last three quarters against Lecanto.
MUTED DEMUTIIS
A little depressed over Friday's loss, Springstead kicker Justin DeMutiis downplayed one of his biggest accomplishments as a kicker: a 50-yard field goal. It was the longest of the senior's career and saved the Eagles from being scoreless against East Ridge. Some of the guys on the sidelines were telling DeMutiis the kick was as long as 54 yards, but he didn't want to exaggerate. "I'm pretty sure it was just 50," he said. DeMutiis might have celebrated the 50-yarder, but his thoughts were elsewhere after the 28-3 loss. "I was really hoping for some extra points tonight," he said.
ODDS AND ENDS
Nature Coast's elaborate field painting included a Shark at midfield, checkerboard end zones and an Adidas logo toward the sidelines. An Adidas logo?
With the loss to South Sumter, Hernando can do no better than 2-8, a record it has not seen in at least 30 years.
JUST AN OBSERVATION
Nature Coast was penalized 15 times for 143 yards, whistled a number of times for illegal blocks against a team that it beat by 58 points.
Lecanto keeps hurting itself with penalties. A total of 95 yards on 11 penalties, many of which were encroachments and other silly mistakes. In the first half, the Panthers' penalty yards (55) equaled the rushing yards.
Maybe some were band parents. Maybe some were called away on emergency. Whatever the case was, the Springstead fans seemed to dwindle after halftime, and there were gaping holes in the stands by the time the Eagles were down 21-3. Tough crowd.
- JOHN SCHWARB, DAWN REISS and EMILY NIPPS, Times staff writers;
BOB CHEESMAN and TYLER WATERS, Times correspondents[Last modified October 31, 2004, 01:03:10]
