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By GREG AUMAN
© St. Petersburg Times, published September 16, 2001
LAND O'LAKES -- Drew Weatherford had a touchdown and 187 yards passing, but he knew some of the Gators' best work Friday night came while he was on the sidelines.
Land O'Lakes' defense had control of Springstead throughout the Gators' 13-0 victory Saturday night, allowing the Eagles inside its 35-yard line once.
"Our defense did a great job," said Weatherford, who completed 13 of 20 passes to help his team to victory in its district opener. "We're a real young team and we're not real big, but we just stepped it up tonight. Our defense played much better than our offense did."
That defense made the Gators' two touchdowns easy. Springstead (1-2) went three-and-out on its first drive, and Greg Rosenthal's 24-yard punt return set Land O'Lakes (2-1) up on the Springstead 31-yard line.
Weatherford ran for 8 yards, completed passes of 11 and 12 yards and finished with a 1-yard run. The Gators' other scoring drive started on Springstead's 33, capped by Rosenthal's 3-yard run.
The biggest defensive stand came early in the third quarter, when Springstead had marched to the Gators' 10-yard line. Land O'Lakes held Justin Melnik (15 rushes, 64 yards) a yard short on fourth and two, ending the Eagles' only scoring threat.
"We didn't execute, and that's really the key," Eagles coach Bill Vonada said. "Every time we got something going, we'd get a penalty."