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Eagles run with strong finish from last seasonBy GREG AUMAN © St. Petersburg Times, published May 20, 2001 SPRING HILL -- The county's three teams went up against their Citrus County foes in Friday night's spring jamboree, and what fans saw at Springstead's Booster Stadium amounted to the good, the bad and the "extremely inexperienced." Springstead opened with a surprisingly dominant 14-0 win against Citrus. That was followed by Central being upset 14-6 by a Lecanto team that went 0-10 last season. Hernando finished the night with a 24-0 loss to Crystal River. SPRINGSTEAD 14, CITRUS 0: The Eagles, who ended 2000 with two victories, started where they left off. With a balanced offense and an opportunistic defense, Springstead left coach Bill Vonada impressed. "After three weeks of practice, we're real happy with the way they performed," Vonada said. "They've been paying a lot of attention to detail, and these guys worked their butts off." Three Springstead backs ran the ball well. Steve Garofano raced 17 yards on the Eagles' first play, Dan Raddish had an 8-yard score and Justin Melnik went for 30 yards on one run and 15 on the team's second touchdown. Quarterbacks Brian Bolcar and Everet Simmons combined to complete 5-of-9 passes for 67 yards. When Citrus was able to drive to Springstead's 15 late in the second period, Kevin Szudarek intercepted a Casey Snyder pass to seal the shutout. LECANTO 14, CENTRAL 6: Central went 69 yards in five plays to score on the opening drive, but it couldn't find the end zone the rest of the way. Jamie McElfresh went 35 yards on the first play and capped the drive with a 6-yard score, but the Bears managed just 61 yards the remainder of the half. Central had three chances to tie the game, but was doomed by turnovers. Quarterback Chase Evans fumbled on the Lecanto 11, then redeemed himself by intercepting a Panthers pass, only to see quarterback Todd Joa intercepted inside the 5-yard line. Lecanto fumbled on its 27 with 4.6 seconds remaining, but Joa was sacked as time expired. CRYSTAL RIVER 24, HERNANDO 0: The Leopards struggled with a young lineup, but they saw promise from tailbacks Art Starks and Jagren Castillo, who combined for 62 yards. Crystal River had seven plays of 20 yards or longer. Hernando's best efforts were 12-yard runs by Brad Wyatt and Trevor Coleman. "We're raw. We're extremely inexperienced," Leopards coach Bill Browning said. "There were kids that have only been playing two weeks, ever, and they're starting for us. We're going to get better. We'll be all right."
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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