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Vonada: Springstead is seeking 'renewed focus'By BRANT JAMES and GREG AUMAN
© St. Petersburg Times, Springstead coach Bill Vonada expects a more focused group Friday night against Land O'Lakes than the one he said committed numerous concentration mistakes in a 42-16 loss to Crystal River. Although teams usually get excited about playing powerhouse programs such as the Pirates, Vonada said his Eagles didn't -- perhaps because of the timing between a huge county win over Hernando and a district game against Land O'Lakes. "Getting up after the Hernando win and between a district game, it was tough getting up," Vonada said. "But I hope we might find a little bit of a renewed focus this week. "I think the guys will," he said. "I think this is important to them, but I guess it is tough to get up several weeks in a row like that. That was one of the things we realized with the schedule we had." SLIPPERY: Springstead will face one of the best quarterbacks in the area in Land O'Lakes sophomore Drew Weatherford. He's one of the more difficult QB's to defend because of his ability to pass and aptitude at running. Weatherford runs the option out of the Gators' (1-1) multiple offense, but also is able to pull up and throw long and medium passes well. "Anytime you get a mobile QB, and he can throw, that is tough," Vonada said. "You can't take anything off any one area. "We'll try to work on our coverage a little bit because we'll probably see the ball in the air a little more than we have in the past few weeks," the Eagles coach said. Weatherford completed 9 of 21 passes for 107 yards and had a 12-yard touchdown run in a 21-12 loss to Zephyrhills last Friday. Vonada said he's unsure if he will assign one player to "spy" Weatherford, following him wherever he goes. "He will scramble, and they will option with him too," Vonada said. "Our defense has to step up. We'll vary a little bit and try to give him a couple of different looks." RECON: Vonada said he learned a lot about his team through a high low and tough low against Crystal River. "It was good to go against a quality team like (CR) so that we can gauge ourselves," he said. "We made some mistakes against Hernando. I don't know if it was focus or over-confidence." Even in the loss, Vonada said, there was encouragement. "We showed we can make some plays against a team that good," he said. "A couple of years ago, we went up there and I think maybe we didn't have a good series all game. We actually had a few good series this time. But it also showed you cannot lose focus for a moment. "We had some drops against Crystal River," Vonada said. "They made some mistakes, and we did not play well enough to capitalize on them. Instead, we gave them some mistakes of their own." HURTS: Eagles senior lineman Jeff Hess will not play Friday, and the rest of his season is in jeopardy after a knee injury suffered against Hernando. He will be evaluated by a physician Thursday. "He's still on crutches, and it'll be at least a couple of weeks," Vonada said. "It's something inside the knee." RED ZONE-TOUGH: Central's defense offered little resistance to Lecanto between the 20-yard lines, but seemed to toughen up deep in its own territory. The Panthers racked up 20 first downs, but only two came inside the Bears' 20, though Lecanto circumvented the red zone with three long touchdowns in the second half. In the first half, however, Central managed to hold the Panthers scoreless despite giving up 166 yards of total offense. Lecanto drove to the Central 19, 20 and 8-yard lines but had no points to show for it. PASS-HAPPY: Springstead's Jose Flores was the only county quarterback to pass for more than 200 yards last season, but the area could have two players surpass that mark in the third game of the season Friday. Springstead's Brian Bolcar leads the way with 166 yards. Hernando's Brad Wyatt is close with 140 yards -- just 30 behind last year's season total. If there's one category where last year's benchmarks could be obliterated, it might be receiving, where Springstead's Jeff Hill had eight receptions for 127 yards, putting him on pace to nearly double his season-leading totals of 21 catches and 341 yards last year. Hernando is integrating its receivers into the offense better as well. The Leopards' top receivers last season were tailbacks Art Starks and Derrick Mobley, followed by tight end Jason Ingram. But Hernando has four catches each from Joel Steele and Mozell Elder, who are combining to average 11.9 yards per reception. Don't discount the start Starks has had, either. With 167 rushing yards, he has 5 more than former teammate Dee Brown had at this time last year, when he finished with a county-best 1,001 yards. COMING TO TOWN: The Florida High School Activities Association's Student Sports Information Department Program, making an 18-stop tour around the state, is scheduled to stop at Hernando on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. The seminar is designed to show students how to promote their school's athletic program and work with the news media.
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From today's Hernando Times |
