Citrus football

By CAREY FREEMAN, KEITH NIEBUHR and BRANT JAMES

© St. Petersburg Times,
published September 23, 2001

QUOTABLE: "We had a chance to win the game and we won it. We decided to take control instead of waiting for something bad to happen. And once again these kids' character . . . they had very strong character." -- Lecanto coach Dick Slack

Game balls

ISAIAH WEBB, CITRUS: The junior running back led Citrus with 110 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. Webb also had a 55-yard punt return for a score and led the Hurricanes' receiving corps with three receptions for 44 yards.

CHRIS CORBIN, DIXIE COUNTY: The sophomore running back led all rushers in Crystal River's 17-14 victory with 167 yards on 25 attempts, including a 71-yard scoring run.

RYAN McNALLY, CRYSTAL RIVER: Though held under 100 yards for the first time this season, the junior led the Pirates with 85 yards on 11 attempts, including a 47-yard touchdown run. McNally also had a crucial sack on the final play of the second half that saved a touchdown.

WILL BLEAKLEY, CRYSTAL RIVER: The senior caught a 9-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter and his 21-yard, third-quarter field goal and two extra points were the difference for the Pirates.

JARVIS PATTERSON, LECANTO: The junior rushed 20 times for 131 yards and two touchdowns. He also put the Eagles on their heels for the first time in the second quarter after a couple of nice defensive stands. On the Panthers' first scoring drive, he rushed for 25, 20, 15 and 4 yards on consecutive plays behind fullback Bruce Lewis. Springstead just couldn't stop him. Three plays later, he scored from the 4.

DICK SLACK, LECANTO: The coach made the proper defensive adjustment -- moving Bruce Emberley from cornerback to a position resembling goalkeeper -- to slow Springstead's one-trick, but effective passing attack in the second half. Brian Bolcar amassed 155 yards on lobs to 6-foot-4 wideout Jeff Hill, but was not as effective after the adjustment, tossing for 63 yards (and throwing an interception) in the second half.

Yep, they're fast

Crystal River coach Jerry DeFoor worried about Dixie County's speed all week and his fretting proved to be on the mark. The Bears had speed everywhere, but the most impressive was Chris Corbin, who found a hole in the second quarter and displayed blazing speed on a 71-yard scoring run.

Turnabout

It isn't often that a team outgains Crystal River on the ground. Even more rare is a game where the opposition has nearly twice as many runs. Yet that was the case against Dixie County. The Bears had 252 yards on 53 attempts while Crystal River had 157 yards on 24 attempts.

What scoring slump?

Wildwood scored 12 points against Citrus. Prior to this game the Wildcats had been outscored 122-0.

Balance

Lecanto had four backs with at least 32 yards: Jarvis Patterson (131), Jeff Yearwood (54), Terrence Hollis (47), and Phillip Reed and Mike Perrino (32). The Panthers used nine different backs.

Just an observation

1. Crystal River a passing team? Well, not quite. Yet one would have had a hard time telling Friday night. The Pirates attempted 15 passes against Dixie County -- nearly double their normal output -- for 46 yards and a touchdown. Much of that had to do with the Bears' physical defensive front, which limited the Pirates to a season-low 157 yards rushing.

2. Most expected Will Bleakley to have a solid season, but few could have predicted this. The senior defensive end/tight end/kicker has three touchdown catches in the past two weeks and is second on the team in tackles with 28. He also has a sack, has converted 17 of 18 extra points and kicked a field goal.

3. The Citrus defense gave up 455 rushing yards to Lecanto last week, but held Wildwood to a mere 16 on 21 carries. Coach Larry Bishop said his team was going to work on tackling this week and it was evident it did. If the defense continues to improve, Citrus might be able to turn its season around.

4. Citrus County is going to go 7-2 against Hernando County this year. Neither Central nor Hernando are going to slow Crystal River, and the Leopards aren't going to be a speed bump's worth of trouble for Lecanto. -- Compiled by Carey Freeman, Keith Niebuhr and Brant James.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright