LHS wins war of the wasps

BENJAMIN ROODE

Correspondent

published: Saturday, September 05, 2009
 
LEESBURG -- The Leesburg Yellow Jackets' only field goal in their second-half battle with the Bishop Moore Hornets came just secondbefore the final whistle sounded. Luckily, that kick by Ben Rizzo with 1:10 left in the game was enough to give the Yellow Jackets a 35-34 win over the Orlando prep powerhouse.

Leesburg's kicker stepped up to the occasion after some missteps earlier in the game. One of Rizzo's four PAT attempts was blocked when a porous line let a Hornet defenseman through the middle to bat away the try. Rizzo's final attempt -- after a Leesburg hook-and- lateral touchdown to close the first half -- was not touched but fell well short of the uprights.

Yellow Jackets head coach Charles Nassar said he was confident when he sent Rizzo in with the game on the line.

"(Defensive Coordinator) Tom Valenta worked a lot this week with (Rizzo)," Nassar said. "I knew he could get it in. What we didn't know was if we could keep (the defense from blocking the kick)."

Despite the last-minute heroics, most of the fireworks of this game came in the first half.

Leesburg scored on a 74-yard touchdown run by senior quarterback Efrain Negron after Bishop Moore drove 81 yards in six plays to put the first touchdown on the board.
The Jackets switched up their offense on the next drive. Negron when 3 of 3 passing in a spread offense, finishing with a 24-yard fade to junior wide out Jake Cavender to take a 14-7 lead.
The Jackets' defense also chimed in. Bishop Moore had taken a 21-20 lead late in the first half and were threatening to add to their advantage when Leesburg senior nose guard Andre Water stripped Hornets quarterback Eric Connolly. Cavender, who also plays defensive back, scooped up the loose ball and returned it for a touchdown.

Leesburg reached into its bag of tricks when Bishop Moore's next drive stalled at the Leesburg 40 yard line with :56 remaining in the half. A 58-yard hook-and-lateral pass from D'Mauri Jones to junior running back Luther McDowell put Leesburg up 32-21 at the half.

The Jackets sputtered in the third and most of the fourth quarter, allowing Bishop Moore to put two scores up and take a 34-32 lead with about 10 minutes left in the game. Sputtering drives for both sides led Leesburg to the winning points with just over a minute left.

"When you're an option team, you have to stay on schedule," Nassar said of several second half drive-killing penalties. "We knew we weren't able to sit on a lead, that we would need to score more points.

"Luckily, three was enough," he said.

Bishop Moore coach Matt Hedrick said poor tackling by the Hornets kept Leesburg in the game and let them win in on the last-minute field goal.

"We were prepared (for the option offense)," Hedrick said. "But we need to tackle a lot better."

Leesburg's next game comes on Friday at Mount Dora.

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BENJAMIN ROODE

Correspondent
Daily Commercial

Article provide by:
Gerald Lacey
CEO/President
Lacey LLC and OmariWholesale, Inc.