Performers of the week

By Times staff writer

© St. Petersburg Times, published October 10, 2000

Will Bleakley and Sam Force

Crystal River football

Bleakley and Force sparked a defensive effort that held Hernando to 128 total yards in Friday night's 21-0 win -- the fifth in a row for Crystal River.

Force, a middle linebacker, led the Pirates with 14 tackles and contributed with a first-quarter interception of Leopards quarterback Brad Wyatt.

Force, suspended two games earlier in the season, has bounced back strong. He has 41 tackles, an average of more than 10 a game.

"He just did a good job in his reads, and he ran to the ball," Crystal River head coach Jere DeFoor said.

"He's aggressive, and we don't want to take that away. He's not always the greatest form tackler, but he gets to the ball,"DeFoor said.

Bleakley came up big, registering 13 tackles (31 for the year) and three sacks (one forced fumble), while providing solid blocking at tight end.

"Will has gotten better since last year as has our whole defensive front (Robbie Thompson, Matt Hinman and Eric Grannan)," DeFoor said.

"Will was in the right spot a lot of times and, through the course of the game, did a good job defensively. We also ran to the strong side a lot, and Will did a good job blocking, too."

Honorable mention

SWIMMING: Liz Garrick of Crystal River took first in the 50-yard freestyle and 100 free and was on the winning 200 medley relay in a victory against Citrus.

Ash Preston of Crystal River won the 200 individual medley and the 100 breaststroke, and was a member of the Pirates' winning 200 medley and 200 free relay teams against Citrus.

Duncan Mackie of Crystal River had first-place finishes in the 50 free, 100 free, 200 medley relay and 200 free relay against Citrus.

Megan St. Clair (200 free, 500 free) and Lauren Gaffney (200 IM, 100 breast) of Citrus each won two events against Crystal River.

CROSS COUNTRY: Tony Lyons of Citrus finished 16th with a season-best time of 15:32 in the Florida Runners Invitational.

C.J. Bryant of Citrus placed 19th in the Florida Runners Invitational with a time of 15:37.

Rebecca Thieleman of Crystal River finished fourth in the Bears Invitational in Brooksville with a time of 21 minutes, 4 seconds, despite running with sore knees.

Devin Murphy of Lecanto finished fifth in the girls' competition of the Bears Invitational with a time of 21:18.

GOLF: Brian Wilkerson of Crystal River shot a personal-best even-par 36 to win medalist honors for the Pirates in a victory against South Sumter and Springstead.

VOLLEYBALL: Jill Bandhauer of Lecanto had eight kills in a two-game loss to Hernando, the sixth-ranked team in Class 4A.

FOOTBALL: Citrus quarterback Sam McClain completed 11 of 19 passes for 127 yards and two touchdowns.

Dwayne Lauderbaugh of Citrus caught a 36-yard touchdown pass midway through the third quarter of Citrus' 19-7 win against Springstead.

The catch gave the Hurricanes a 13-7 lead.

Nate Madison, a senior fullback for Crystal River, rushed for 117 yards in a win at Hernando to top the 100-yard mark for the ninth consecutive game.

Madison has rushed for 912 yards in six games.

Citrus linebacker Ryan Garrett had three tackles for loss in the first half against Springstead.

Clayton Trenary, a quarterback, punter and safety for Crystal River, was 4 of 9 passing with one touchdown, but made his biggest impact with his right foot.

He averaged 50.7 yards on three punts, including a 69-yarder that backed up Hernando inside its 10-yard line and eventually led to Crystal River's first score.

Ryan McNally, a halfback and linebacker for Crystal River, had five tackles and one sack and recovered a second-quarter fumble that set up Crystal River's first score.

Michael Jones, a wingback and cornerback at Crystal River, had consecutive receptions of 42 and 2 yards in the final 25 seconds of the first half to give the Pirates a 14-0 halftime edge against Hernando.

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