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| Second Year Leesburg High School Coach Randy Trivers |
By Gerald Lacey
Staff Writer
Carver Heights Quarterback Club
September 26, 2011
LEESBURG - Leesburg faced its first 7A opponent of the season Friday night at Clermont East Ridge. The score was tied at the end of the third quarter 21-21, the Jackets seem to run out of gas in the fourth quarter on the road against a much larger East Ridge team and lost 38-21. Leesburg is the smallest school in Class 7A District 4 and normally would be playing in either Class 5A or 6A football. East Ridge has dropped from just over 3,000 students last year to 2,318. South Lake is down about 400 to 1,765, and Leesburg is virtually unchanged at 1,674. First-year Lake Minneola, which has no seniors, has a count of 1,285. The problem is that they are no other schools that size in Lake County forcing Leesburg to play its road games a hour to a hour and half away. This keeps it form forming rivalries with local teams. Can they compete with the larger schools? Second year Leesburg head coach Randy Trivers thinks so.
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"We need to step it up." said Trivers before the game Friday against Clermont East Ridge. "We are the smallest school in our district that might apply a little bit but there are only eleven guys playing on the field at the same time. So regardless of how many thousands of kids that you got or hundreds of kids you have, all that stuff. I mean you only field eleven so they are going to have eleven and we are going to have eleven."
East Coach Bud O'Hara likes the idea of having Leesburg in it's district. He will get to play them annually now, the last time the two schools met was in 2008 despite being only about 25 minutes down the road from each other
"It really makes for a good situation," said Bud O'Hara, who is 76-26 as the only head coach East Ridge has known. "These are bragging rights games and they really mean something now."
After East Ridge's win over Leesburg Friday, some in the Jacket Nation started wondering if the Jackets will be able to compete for a championship on this level. Leesburg would have been playing a 5A or 6A schedule but school administrators petitioned the FHSAA to move up to Class 7A this past year. This was done so Leesburg could play most of its games in Lake County saving travel costs. It also allows the Jacket fan base the opportunity to travel short distances for road games.
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Some in the Jacket Nation believe that playing in a lower classification would give them the best chance to win their first playoff game since 1992. Coach Trivers is building a program for the future. He has plans on putting Leesburg on the national stage. He understands what it takes to build a program from scratch. Trivers wants to play the very best every week. Under Trivers leadership the Jackets may see offers to play on national TV in the near future. Trivers believes his program should be able to compete with anybody in the state no matter the classification. He sees no problem with playing Lakeland, St. Thomas Aquinas, Dr. Phillips and Miami Northwestern to name a few.
"So the whole 6A, 7A, 8A all of that stuff, we really don't think about all that stuff," said Trivers on his pregame show on Friday before the East Ridge game (Randy Trivers Show). We just need to go out there and execute the plan that we put in place. Hopefully our coaches will coach well and our kids will play well"
Trivers was as a graduate-assistant coach at Rutgers University in 2009, where he worked with the Scarlet Knights' running backs. Prior to that, Trivers spent two seasons as a running backs coach at Syracuse University. He runs a college style program at Leesburg modeling the program after the ones at Syracuse, Rutgers and Northwest High.
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| ( JOSHUA C. CRUEY, ORLANDO SENTINEL / September 23, 2011 ) Leesburg's Bryant Benton breaks up a pass intended for East Ridge WR Brandon McCall during first quarter action of a high school football game against East Ridge in Clermont, Fla. on Friday, September 23, 2011. |
Trivers a graduate of the College of Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. and the University of Maryland, where he earned a master's degree, Trivers was head coach at Northwest High School in Germantown, Md. from 1998 to 2006. The school's first head coach, Trivers built the Northwest program into a powerhouse, leading the Jaguars to the state quarterfinals in his second season.
In 2004, Trivers guided Northwest to a 13-1 record and the Class 3A state championship. During his nine seasons at Northwest, Trivers compiled a 73-27 record with three regional and five district championships.
Trivers wants the big game atmosphere in the city of Leesburg every week of the season. His blueprint for building a program comes from his previous successful coaching stops. He welcomed the challenge of playing a perennial power like East Ridge.
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| ( JOSHUA C. CRUEY, ORLANDO SENTINEL / September 23, 2011 ) Leesburg's Jalen Dozier runs the ball for yardage during second quarter action of a high school football game against East Ridge in Clermont, Fla. on Friday, September 23, 2011. |
"There is no reason to compete in sports and athletics other than to be able to compete against the best and that's what those guys are the best." Trivers said of East Ridge winning tradition. "So we are looking forward to just stepping up and taking on that challenge of going against the program that has been for several years the top program in Lake County."
The Jackets still have to face traditional power Orlando Maynard Evans at newly renovated Double EE Stadium in Orlando. They will face Groveland South Lake at home. If they secure a playoff spot they will ready for a deep run in the playoffs after playing this rugged schedule. The Jackets will be playing the third game of a six week stretch where five of the games will be on the road.
"The way things are done around here is we have got to win in the district to get to the postseason and that's everybody's goal" said Trivers. It is also important in terms of for Leesburg High School and for our program to be able to step up and win a big football game.
Resources
Randy Trivers
Randy Trivers Show
Daily Commercial
September 25, 2011
Gerald Lacey
Staff Writer
Carver Heights Quarterback Club
September 26, 2011
Gerald is a professional Internet marketer and social media marketing expert. His online business ventures and websites generate multiple streams of income annually. His consulting clients include best selling authors and international speakers.
Gerald is the CEO/President of Lacey LLC and OmariWholesale, Inc. He runs his entire business from his home where he is able to spend quality time with his family and friends. He is passionate about helping individuals to build and monetize their personal brand
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