Leesburg Celebrates Homecoming With A 45-0 Over Lake Minneola, October 8, 2011

Senior I Back Emmanuel Nelson carries the football for a big gain against Lake Minneola High School at Leesburg Memorial Field at Hubert O. Dabney Stadium (PHOTO BY ASHLEY BEYER/October 7, 2011)

By Gerald Lacey

Staff Writer

Carver Heights Quarterback Club

October 8, 2011

LEESBURG - The Leesburg High School Yellow Jackets returned home to Leesburg Memorial Field at Hubert O. Dabney Stadium last night for the first time in three weeks. It was homecoming and the Jackets were dressed in their all black uniforms for the second straight Homecoming game under second year head coach Randy Trivers. Corey Brinson bought his Lake Minneola High School Hawks into Leesburg for the first district game in the school's history. The Hawks were looking to upset the Jackets on their Homecoming night and pickup the school's first big signature win. The Jackets were simply too much for the Hawks as Leesburg upended the first year school 45-0 last night.

PHOTO BY ASHLEY BEYER October 7, 2011

"We had one district team up to this point which we did not win," said Randy Trivers moments before the game. "We cannot afford to take anyone lightly or overlook anybody or past anybody." "Lake Minneola is not your average first year team, they do some things that are very impressive and they have some good athletes." "They're coach has done a very good job with them, we gotta go out their and play our best football game to win our Homecoming."

"We might take our lumps this year, like all first-year programs do, but we'll all be able to look back and realize these kids and this coaching laid the groundwork for all future successes Lake Min-neola will have on the football field," said Lake Minneola head coach Brinson on his teams youth and inexperience.

Homecoming usually provides a lot of distractions for a high school team and Trivers and his coaching staff wanted their team to stay focus on the task at hand. Lake Minneola a first year program with no seniors located in South Lake County came into the game with a 1-3 (0-0) record.

"Well you know that's the thing the head football coach whenever its homecoming you always have to deal with those distractions and a lot of things you mentioned but the whole key is you as the coach try to keep your team on the task in hand which is the football game," said Trivers. "Yeah there is a dance a parade there is a pep rally a powder puff game there is all of these different events going on." "You can have all those things you want but at the end of the day if you don't win the game none of that is no good"

Noor Davis in 2011Homecoming parade.

The Jackets seem to have no problem with focusing on the task at hand as they took it right to the Hawks in the first possession of the game. On the opening possession on second and 10 after a incomplete pass the Jackets went to the I Formation with three backs in the backfield senior WR/RB/PR Jalen Dozier (Sr., 5-5, 150) took a handoff and went 64 yards for a touchdown. Sophomore PK James Eldridge P.A.T. was good and Leesburg led early 7-0 with 11:39 left in the first quarter.

Lake Minneola took over at 20 after a touchback. The Hawks defense couldn't move the football on its first possession and had to punt. The Hawks had -18 yards on their first possession of the game. Leesburg took over at the Lake Minneola 42 yard line. On first and 10 junior quarterback Undra Mitchem, Jr. hit Dozier with a 11 yard pass down to the Hawks 31 yard line. Three plays later on third and 7 Emmanuel Nelson picked up 21 yards on a carry down to the Hawks 5 yard line. On first and 10 Nelson picked up four yards setting up a second and goal from inside the 1 yard line. On the next play Mitchem went over the center for a quarterback sneak for a easy touchdown .The Eldridge P.A.T. was good giving Leesburg a 14-0 lead with 2:38 left in the first quarter. Leesburg presnap motion and up tempo offense seem to bother the Hawks young defense early. 

Lake Minneola at Leesburg Homecoming game at Leesburg Memorial Field at Hubert O. Dabney Stadium (PHOTO BY ASHLEY BEYER/October 7, 2011)

"We always have a wrinkle or two that we put out there offensively and defensively every week there is always going to be a little something, but I think we plan to just come out and be aggressive on both sides of the ball and really take the fight to these guys."

Trivers knew he had to do something to keep the Hawks defense off balance early in the contest if he the Jackets were going to have any success on offense.

"They have a pressure defense that comes from all angles, they really like to pressure you and blitz you and disrupt you with a lot of different people with different combination blitzes coming into the box, said Trivers. "I like what they are doing with their schemes and they cause you some problems." "I mean they will hit you with a big play on offense and they can hit you with the big play on defense."

Sophomore PK James Eldridge kicks a extra point against Lake Minneola High School in the Jackets 45-0 Homecoming win. Eldridge was 6 of 6 in P.A.T.s and had a 29 yard Field Goal in the game. (PHOTO BY ASHLEY BEYER/ October 7, 2011)

Leesburg's defense forced another 3 and out , after a Lake Minneola punt Leesburg took over on its own 37 yard line. Five plays later Jalen Dozier caught a 13 yard pass from Mitchem. Junior I Back Anthony Miller took a handoff and went 12 yards down to the Hawks 30 yard line. Two plays later on a third and 8 Mitchem scrambled for 18 yards down inside the 10 yard line. The Yellow Jackets couldn't punch it in from there and settled for a Eldridge 21 yard Field Goal. The Jackets lead now was 17-0 with 7:54 left in the half.

The Hawks received the kickoff again and Leesburg's defense wouldn't let them get untracked. 2012 Under Armour All-American OLB Noor Davis was back in the Yellow Jackets lineup after missing the previous three games and his presence was felt immediately. The Hawks could only muster up 4 first downs and two yards of total offense in the first half. The Jackets defense had given up a total of 88 points in the three games with the nations 1 OLB (according to www.rivals.com) Noor Davis was out of action. 

Homecoming King Braxton Bennett and Homecoming Queen Morgan Sellars in the 2011 Homecoming Parade. (PHOTO BY ASHLEY BEYER/October 5, 2011)

"Defensively we are hoping to get back on track, you know we had a week there where we gave up some points and gave up some yards the last couple of weeks," said Trivers on his defensive woes the past two weeks.

With 5:14 left in the half Dozier returned a punt 35 yards for a touchdown that was called back on a clipping penalty. Leesburg started at midfield and went on a nine play drive that was aided by a 15 yard penalty on Lake Minneola on a Juilliard Roberts run. Undra Mitchem, Jr. had the big play on the drive with a 17 yard quarterback scramble down to the Hawks 13 yards line. Four plays later Dozier ran in from 3 yards out the Eldridge P.A.T. was good and now the Jackets had a commanding 24-0 lead with 2:38 left in the half.


 
They were six Leesburg High School Class Reunions at the game. It was a festive atmosphere at Hubert O. Dabney Stadium and there were parade floats located in every corner of the stadium. Even with a large lead the Jackets stayed focus and played a complete game.

"So you got to prepare, keep everything as normal and routine as possible," said Trivers on Homecoming distractions."You go out to play to win the game so its always a concern when you have things that take you out of your routine your preparation which we believe we have done so very much here but we try to keep it as routine as possible and keep our guys focus."

#99 Junior Defensive Lineman Tyler Reed takes time to reflect during the game last night against Lake Minneola High School. (PHOTO BY ASHLEY BEYER/October 7, 2011)

On Lake Minneola's next possession senior safety Zach Mahan picked off a Ricardo Housen pass and returned it 16 yards deep into Hawks territory. It was Mahan's first interception of the year for the "Black Jackets" defense. Three plays later Mitchem hit 2012 University of Miami (FL) commit D'Mauri Jones with a 10 yard back shoulder fade pass in the end zone for a touchdown. James Eldridge P.A.T. was good and with :33.8 left in the half the Jackets were up 31-0 on homecoming night. Mitchem finished the game completing 12 -of- 19 passes for 68 yards and a touchdown.

In the second half Lake Minneola went to its short passing game trying to take advantage of the speed of its skill position players. Noor Davis the nations #17 player according to ESPN150 and the rest of the "Black Jackets" defense were not having it. 

"Offensively they are a shotgun team and a pistol formation team that has a lot of different looks that they can hurt you with," said Trivers. "They attack you with their scheme offensively so you got to be ready for a lot of different things."

#20 Senior I Back Emmanuel Nelson celebrates after a Yellow Jackets touchdown in the game against Lake Minneola High School (PHOTO BY ASHLEY BEYER/October 7, 2011)

Leesburg took over on its 46 yard line and went on a 8 play drive. Jones had a 9 yard carry on a end around and 2 receptions for 22 yards on the drive. Jones finished the game with 5 catches for 29 yards and a touchdown. After a 12 yard pass from Mitchem to Jones the Jackets had first and 10 from the twelve yard line. From their Jalen Dozier went off tackle for a 12 yard touchdown run. Dozier finished the game with 100 yards on eight carries and three touchdowns. The Eldridge P.A.T. was good and the Jackets led 38-0 with 4:02 left in the third quarter.

The Lake Minneola offense could not get anything going against the "Black Jackets" defense. Lake Minneola was held to 48 total yards offense on the night. The Hawks quarterback Ricardo Housen completed 6-of-9 passes for 49 yards and one interception. Marvin Hart rushed for 28 yards on two carries.

Senior Fullback Flint Hicks finished off the scoring with a 6 yard run his first touchdown of the year with 9:58 left in the game.

"Its Homecoming and I never really put stock into that," said Trivers on the Randy Trivers Show Friday before the game. That's for the alumni and all of that, for us its a football game a district football game that's the way we are approaching it that's the way we gotta handle it."

Leesburg second year head coach Randy Trivers trying to keep his Yellow Jackets focused during Friday nights Homecoming game against Lake Minneola High School. (PHOTO BY ASHLEY BEYER/October 7, 2011)

Lake Minneola's record falls to 1-4 (0-1), the loss was the worst in the history of their football program. It was the first time the Hawks have ever been shutout in a game. Leesburg earned a important Class 7A District 4 win is now 5-1 (1-1) and tied for second place in the district with Clermont East Ridge. The Jackets are 5-1 for the first time since 2005 when they finished 8-3 and lost in the first round of the FHSAA playoffs to St. Augustine Nease led by quarterback Tim Tebow.

Trivers understands the growing pains that Brinson faces starting a program from scratch. He did it in Maryland with Germantown Northwest High School and within 5 years won the Maryland Class 3A Football State Championship. He knows the issues that you face when bringing kids in from different schools but knows that with the talent in South Lake County that the Hawks will be in title contention in the near future.

#44 senior MLB Chase O'Donell wraps up a ballcarrier

"It's definitely a situation where you are trying to create a new culture and that's challenging and you are trying to start new traditions, new ways of doing things," said Trivers. "You have folks coming out of different programs, you are trying to bring people together so it takes a little bit of patience and perseverance when you are doing that." "Its getting those kids over that hump because sometimes you are going to have your growing pains particularly when you don't have the senior leadership in that first season that they don't have right now." "If they keep fighting and persevering they can have some real positive things happening to them and hopefully they will happen after we play them not during our game."

The Yellow Jackets are 4-1 against Lake County schools this season. Next Friday the Jackets will travel west to Sumter County to face perennial high school powerhouse Bushnell South Sumter High School. Game time is 7:30 P.M. 

Resources
Photos by:
Ashley Beyer
Freelance Photographer
Class of 2001 Leesburg High School

Ashley Beyer is a freelance photographer who will be working with the Carver Heights Quarterback Club this season. She started photographing as a hobby when she was 13 with a manual SLR Canon film camera. In 1998 she received her first automatic Canon SLR camera. In the begining as a hobby photographer her cousins and friends babies were her favorite subjects. Now, she is getting the chance to share her Leesburg High School football pictures with many people through Facebook and the Leesburg Yellow Jackets Football blog.

"It makes me happy to do that because I know there are families out there that would love to have pictures of their boys playing football and can't get to the games or don't have the means to record those memories."

Article written by:
Gerald Lacey
Staff Writer
Carver Heights Quarterback Club
October 8, 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 online.