Leesburg escapes with win over Eustis, September 12, 1992

By Gary White
Daily Commercial Staff Writer
September 12, 1992

LEESBURG - The score remained the same - but the reaction to it.

One year after Leesburg thwarted Eustis 7-6, the Yellow Jackets escaped Friday night with the same score. But where as the Panthers were bitterly disappointed a year earlier, this time Coach Kevin McClelland admitted it was a moral victory.

On the Leesburg side, it was a victory. But not a happy one.

"I thought we were a much more mature football team than for that to happen," said first-year head coach Ed Hofffman. " We made too many - in capital letters - mistakes."

But the Yellow Jackets, 10th ranked in Class 4A, won their opener behind a defense that limited Eustis to 93 total yards. After closing to 7-6 on Oliver Longley's 37-yard run late in the third quarter, Eustis failed to move past its 36-yard line again.

Leesburg, meanwhile, moved the ball well throughout the game but consistently bogged down in Eustis territory.

In the first half, Leesburg completely dominated, accumulating 202 yards of offense and nine first downs to 2 total yards and no first downs for Class 3A Eustis. Yet the Class 4A Yellow Jackets led just 7-0, thanks to six penalties.

Leesburg finished with 10 penalties for 100 yards. Worse yet, penalties negated two touchdown runs by Oran Singleton.

"I guess they (the linemen) thought if they didn't get the block Coach would be mad at them," Singleton said. "But Coach says if you make a mistake, make it at full speed."

Mistakes slowed Leesburg's speed throughout the game. Fullback Nick Williams capped a 91-yard drive by bulling in from 3 yards out on Leesburg's second possession. Brian Rausch's kick made it 7-0.

But from there, Leesburg had problems. The Jackets had first-and-goal on two separate subsequent drives but came away pointless. In both cases, penalties moved the Jackets back
and Rausch missed attempted field goals.

"I'll have to see the film, but I don't think our offensive line did diddly," Hoffman said. "I know we've got a good offensive line, but tonight it didn't seem like it. Unless they're that good defensively, I don't know what happened."

Eustis finally woke up in the third quarter after Maurice Hayes replaced starting quarterback Chessie Pyatt, who had been knocked dizzy. The Panthers picked up their initial first down with 3:50 left in the quarter. Four plays later, Longley broke a tackle at the line and bolted 37 yards for a touchdown.

But Leesburg's Herbert Ellis made a crucial play, sweeping in from the right side to block Ryan
LaMere's extra point.

After a slow start, Longley finished with 93 yards on 16 carries to lead Eustis. Singleton, who had 125 yards rushing at halftime, finished with 148. He had 57 yards negated, including a nifty 38-yard touchdown late in the game.

"I'm happy, but I'm upset we couldn't get going in the first half," McClelland said. "The second half, the kids finally woke up. They realized they could play with Leesburg."

Despite the penalties, Leesburg showed signs of a dominant offense. Williams, a compact 205-pounder, rammed his way to 62 yards. Quarterback Steve Gooden, a third-year starter, ran the option offense well and gained 57 yards on 10 carries.

And the Leesburg defense, led by Ty Lawrence, Lee Simmons, Beau Young and Jayson Nobles, allowed only three first downs.

"The bottom line is we're 1-0" Hoffman said. "We know our defense performed well enough to win the game, and we know we've got to work on our offense the next week a lot."

Singleton, who seemed frustrated at not scoring despite twice reaching the end zone, agreed.

"We've got to stop getting so many penalties, that's the key right there," he said. "When you get down to the 10-yard line and you get penalties, you just keep going back."

The result was a throwback to last season that the Jackets obviously had difficulty appreciating.3

 

LEESBURG 7
EUSTIS 6

 

at Leesburg
Eustis          0 0 6 0--6
Leesburg     0 0 0 0 --7

Lee--Williams 3 yard run (Rausch kick)
Eus--Longley 37 yard run (kick blocked)

                                        EUSTIS                         LEESBURG

First downs                         4                                      15
Rushes-yards                 26-86                               47-282
Yards passing                    7                                      29
Passes                            2-6-1                                 1-7-0
Punts-Avg.                       5-34                                   3-30
Fumbles-lost                    1-1                                     2-0
Penalties-yards               7-65                                10-100

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING--Eustis: Longley 15-93, Pyatt 2-(-9),
Thomas 5- (-5); Leesburg: Singleton 17-148,
Gooden 10-57; Williams 15-62; Keith 4-10; Nieford
1-5

PASSING--Eustis: Pyatt 1-4-1, 9 yards; Hayes 1-2-0,
(-2) yards; Leesburg: Gooden 1-7-0, 29 yards

RECEIVING--Eustis: Thomas 1-(-2); Leesburg Keith
1-29

Resources

Gary White
Daily Commercial Staff Writer
September 12, 1992
www.dailycommercial.com


Article provided by:
Gerald Lacey
Staff Writer
Carver Heights Quarterback Club
www.leesburgyellowjacketsfootball.com

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 online.