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Friday night rewind

By CAREY FREEMAN and KEITH NIEBUHR

© St. Petersburg Times,
published October 28, 2001


QUOTABLE

"We haven't seen anything like that."

-- Phil Reed; Lecanto quarterback on playing North Marion, which defeated the Panthers 74-14.

GAME BALLS

JONATHAN DOUGLAS, NORTH MARION: The senior running back rushed for 233 yards and five touchdowns on 25 carries.

RYAN MCNALLY, CRYSTAL RIVER: In the Pirates' 62-0 win over Citrus, the junior fullback eclipsed 100 yards rushing for the eighth time this season and led all players with 134 yards on nine carries. He scored twice.

SCOTT MILLER, CRYSTAL RIVER: The senior receiver/defensive back had a 57-yard touchdown catch and an interception.

CHIANTA SMITH, CRYSTAL RIVER: The sophomore tailback averaged more than 16 yards per attempt, rushing for 114 yards and a game-high three touchdowns. He had a season-best 67 yard run to open the third quarter.

CLAYTON TRENARY, CRYSTAL RIVER: The senior quarterback passed for 72 yards and one touchdown and returned a punt 65 yards for another.

CHAD WEBB, CITRUS: The sophomore running back led the Hurricanes with 43 yards on 12 attempts.

JEFF YEARWOOD, LECANTO: The senior running back rushed for 78 yards on nine carries.

NOTHING TO FEAR

At the 11:11 mark of the second quarter in the Citrus-Crystal River game, the public address announcer told the crowd that bomb threats had been called in to both schools. The crowd was later assured that police had cleared the stadium of any possible danger. There was no delay in the game and the crowd remained seated.

IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCCEED

Scott Miller had what appeared to be his fourth interception of the season in the second quarter but was called for pass interference. No matter, Miller picked off Citrus' Casey Snyder on the next play.

MORAL VICTORY

Give Lecanto credit for this: The Panthers never quit. Trailing 62-0 after three quarters, Lecanto drove 65 yards on three plays and scored on a 9-yard run by Jarvis Patterson. Phil Reed followed with a 2-point conversion run. Later, Reed capped an eight-play, 50-yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown run. For what it's worth, Lecanto outscored North Marion 14-12 in the fourth.

SPEEDING VIOLATORS

Lecanto's Reed called North Marion the fastest team he'd ever seen. So, how fast are the Colts? Well, 18 of their players run the 40-yard dash in 5.0 seconds or better. North Marion had 19 plays of 10 or more yards Friday night.

ODDS AND ENDS

The Citrus and Lecanto coaching staffs were asked by officials if they wanted to go with a running clock in the second half of their respective games. Both declined. ... In the three games in which Lecanto hasn't rushed for 300 yards, the Panthers lost 56-18 (Crystal River), 40-18 (Dunnellon) and 74-14 (North Marion). ... Citrus is off to its worst start since 1996, when it went 0-10. ... North Marion's 74 points were a school record. The previous mark was 69.

JUST AN OBSERVATION

1. Although Crystal River will lose several seniors from this season's team, it's hard to say when Citrus might end its current six-game losing streak in the series. The Pirates, backups and all, were simply bigger, faster and better than the Hurricanes and it showed on almost every play.

2. Lecanto was in the wrong place at the wrong time Friday night as North Marion played its most complete game of the season. The Colts moved the ball at will, were dominating on defense, made big plays on special teams and turned the ball over only once. If North Marion plays like that in the playoffs, don't be surprised if it ends up in the Class 3A finals.

3. Crystal River's pass defense was shabby at best early in the season, but the Pirates have steadily improved. Four players -- Miller, Josh Hall, Michael Jones and Jeremy Cates -- had picks against Citrus and the Pirates held the Hurricanes without a completion until late in the third quarter.

4. Lecanto doesn't have time to cry about Friday's humbling defeat. If the Panthers win next week against Eustis, the team will cap an amazing turnaround (they were 0-10 last season) and post the program's first winning season.

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