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Leopards' picture starts clearing up on Thursday

The preseason game against South Sumter will help Hernando figure out the starters at quarterback and running back.

By DAVID MURPHY
Published August 16, 2006

	[Times photo: Edmund D. Fountain]
	Hernando junior quarterback Jason Davies, left, ball in hand, with George Fribley, will start Thursday's preseason game against South Sumter but still hasn't beaten out Lamon Neal for the regular-season opener.

From the outside looking in, the questions facing Hernando are far more numerous than the answers heading into Thursday's preseason game against South Sumter.

But with four quarters of action against a team that last year lost in the Class 2A state championship, the opportunity exists for coach Matt Smith and the Leopards to start changing some of the former into the latter.

Will junior Jason Davies play well enough to hold onto a quarterback competition he currently leads?

How will a backfield that graduated stars Fabian Jackson and James Thomas perform?

Can five new starters on the offensive line block well enough to make Smith's Wing-T offense work?

"This definitely gives you something to judge yourself by," Smith said after practice Monday afternoon.

Last year, the Leopards faced South Sumter in the preseason and led 21-14 in the second quarter. They were outscored 35-6 the rest of the way and ended up losing 49-27. But the game offered a decent preview of the season to come as Thomas, Jackson and Robert Smith combined to rush for 280 yards.

This year, Smith is the lone returnee from a backfield that anchored the Leopards throughout last season. Juniors George Fribley, Justin Braswell and Jesse Graham are just a few of the other names who likely will get carries throughout the season, but there is no doubting Smith will be the horse upon whom the offense rides.

Though he insists, "I don't consider myself the guy," Smith - one of just eight seniors on the roster - will get a chance to play like "the guy" Thursday.

"I get excited for every game, whether it is regular season or not," he said.

Even more intriguing than the Leopards' situation at running back could be the quarterback battle between Davies and fellow junior Lamon Neal. Though Davies will start Thursday and took the majority of snaps during practice Tuesday, Coach Smith said he has not picked a starter.

In fact, he said it is possible both players could see time under center depending on the situation.

"I'm probably going to go with the guy who looks like he is motivating our offense and moving our offense," Smith said.

"I'm looking for leadership qualities that the rest of the team wants to get behind, which they are both showing so far. It's real tight."

Davies, for one, carries himself as if he is the starter. He is confident and vocal and says he is determined to help bring the team together on and off the field.

Last year, he said, the team wasn't as united as it should have been.

"It's so much easier to block for someone you know and love," Davies said. "They've got your back. You've got their back. You want to play for each other. You want to do good for each other."

Last year, Hernando went 4-6 in the regular season but earned a playoff berth because of its 3-1 record in Class 3A, District 6.

Tonight, the Leopards, who were walloped by Citra North Marion 61-10 in the region quarterfinals, will face a team that long has been a dominant force.

The Raiders have put together nine straight winning seasons and lost just eight games over the past four seasons.

"The better they are, the more opportunity we get to show what we can do," Robert Smith said.

"It's always good to go against teams who are well-coached and well-disciplined," Matt Smith said.

Of course, by the end of Thursday night's game, the Leopards are hoping South Sumter is saying the same thing.

[Last modified August 16, 2006, 06:55:38]