Sports: 'New' Lecanto holds off Central

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'New' Lecanto holds off Central

By DAVID MURPHY
Published September 24, 2005

LECANTO - The hooting and hollering and screaming and yelling came from behind the door marked locker room. The thumping and blaring and singing and shouting came from behind the door marked gymnasium.

And as Chris Hand stood in the foyer at Lecanto, all of it blended together into a beautiful cacophony of homecoming sweetness.

"This is the reason I play," the Lecanto defensive end/split end said after a 16-11 win over Central on Friday. "Games like this, it brings you such an emotional high. And on a night like homecoming, being the underdog pretty much the entire season, we're starting to show what the new Lecanto is all about."

Admittedly, there were times the new Lecanto looked very much like the old Lecanto. A defense that entered giving up just less than 38 points per game allowed DaJuan Harris to shred it for 156 yards on 21 carries. An offense that has relied on running back Richard Chaney all season got both of its touchdowns from the senior.

But anyone on the team will tell you there was something different at Panther Stadium on Friday. And it wasn't just the students in cocktail attire awaiting the postgame dance.

"It takes individuals. It takes teams to be able to make big plays," coach Bob LeCours said. "We won as a team." Chaney was held in check for most of the game but broke off two touchdown runs. The first, a 19-yarder, along with a two-point conversion tied it at 8 with 1:27 left in the first quarter. The second, a 14-yarder, gave the Panthers a 16-11 lead with 1:39 left in the third.

The defense, despite its difficulties in stopping Harris, came through when it needed to.

On Central's last possession, Chaney, playing free safety, broke up a fourth-and-10. Late in the third, the Panthers forced Harris to fumble at the end of a 16-yard run and recovered the ball on their 30. The miscue was one of many by the Bears, who had three long runs negated due to penalty.