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Heroes and happeningsBy CAREY FREEMAN, GREG AUMAN and BRANT JAMES © St. Petersburg Times, published November 5, 2000 NOT YOUR ORDINARY BATH Crystal River's players have never been fond of the passe, so when the Pirates give their coach a bath of Gatorade -- or, in this case, water -- it's usually for a good reason. Count Friday's 33-7 win over Central as appropriate for two reasons: It clinched the Pirates' fifth consecutive district title and was the first won under first-year coach Jere DeFoor. MADISON BACK ON FORM After being held to his lowest total in two years in last week's loss at Belleview, Nate Madison found the form that has led him to the top of the area's rushing stats. The senior fullback rushed for 128 yards and three touchdowns on 22 attempts, bringing his season total to 1,096 yards and 19 touchdowns. TURNOVERS THE REAL STORY Crystal River and Central played dead even until the first turnover turned the tide dramatically. Tied 7-7 early in the second quarter, Central's Kashif McCormick fumbled at the Bears' 9-yard line, and the Pirates scored three plays later on a Madison run. If the Bears had thoughts of a second-half comeback, they were all but erased when the Bears coughed up their third fumble early in the third quarter. Crystal River quarterback Clayton Trenary and wideout Scott Miller hooked up for a 38-yard touchdown three plays later, giving Crystal River a 27-7 lead. RUSHING WOES Though Central rushed the ball three more times than Crystal River (41 to 38), it was outrushed by nearly 100 yards (242 to 161). Tim Gaynor led the Bears with 59 yards and a touchdown on 10 attempts. Quarterback David Egan -- who earned high praise from Crystal River coaches -- was next with 36 yards on seven attempts. WHO'S THE STARTER? Lecanto Sophomore Phil Reed played well enough in practice to earn the start at quarterback, but after fumbling snaps on back-to-back drives in the first half, coach Dick Slack turned to junior Jeff Yearwood, who put the Panthers ahead 8-7 with a 9-yard run and the ensuing 2-point conversion from Terrance Hollis. "If we're going to make those kinds of mistakes, then I'm going to make a change," Slack said. "Phil earned the starting position in practice this week, and when he had to go back in when Jeff was injured, he did a fantastic job." When Yearwood injured his leg late in the game, Reed returned and accounted for another turnover as his pitch went behind Hollis and was recovered by Springstead. Down 12 points with 1:29 to play, Reed completed three passes -- including a 25-yard touchdown to Fred Simmons -- on Lecanto's final drive to pull to within 20-16. STAT BOOK Terrance Hollis led Lecanto with 73 yards on 13 carries, taking over the team rushing lead from Jarvis Patterson, who did not carry the ball until the fourth quarter, rushing three times for 18 yards. With Central's Jerry Daniels rushing for 33 yards in the Bears' season finale, he finishes with 810 yards, with leads the county ... for now. Hernando's Dee Brown, who rushed for 115 yards in the Leopards' win against Citrus, has one game remaining and has totaled 798 yards. The senior shouldn't see too much action against a 1-8 Tavares team Friday, but he'll probably have enough to keep the county rushing title at Hernando.
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