Leesburg rally falls short at Hernando

published: Saturday, October 17, 2009

C.J. Risak
Staff writer

HERNANDO -- Leesburg coach Charles Nassar wasn't about to sugarcoat his team's performance Friday at Hernando.

Asked what his team might have gained from a strong second-half performance that saw the Yellow Jackets trim a 27-0 deficit to a single touchdown, Nassar replied, "Nothing. We lost. There's no moral victory to be had.

"You just can't dig a hole that deep. We had to be perfect in the second half and couldn't do it."

No, they weren't perfect, one reason they fell to the Leopards, 41-28, a loss that left them 4-3 overall, 2-2 in 3A-6. Hernando is 4-2 overall, 3-1 in 3A-6.

But there wasn't just the hole. It's who dug it for them.



Like Hernando's Alvin Delaine III, the main cog in the Leopards' three-man attack. Delaine gained 205 yards rushing on 20 carries, scoring two touchdowns, and caught two passes for 18 yards and another TD. He added a two-point conversion pass reception to cap a spectacular evening.

But he was only part of Leesburg's problem. As Nassar explained when asked what his team did differently in the second half, he simply said, "Nothing. We started blocking, that's all."

Between their opening drive of the game and their first drive of the second half, the Yellow Jackets could not even get a first down. Hernando drove 55 yards in the first quarter, Delaine going the last 27, to get its first score, then added three more in the second, the first following an interception by Derek Wilson tha tled to Kall Daniel's 8-yard pass to Delaine, the next a 66-yard drive capped by Marlin Smith's 2-yard run, and the last after a fumble on the kickoff return that turned into an 11-yard Smith TD run.

Prospects for a long second half for Leesburg seemed good. But the Yellow Jackets went 55 yards in just six plays, Luther McDowell -- who did not touch the ball in the first half -- going 42 yards to the Leopards' 5, then scoring on a 3-yard run to make it 27-7.

Hernando answered with a 57-yard TD drive, Smith getting his third touchdown from 4 yards out, to put it at 35-7.

But then it really got interesting.



Leesburg drove 58 yards for a score, Malcolm Belton diving in from 2 yards out, trimming the deficit to 35-14 with 44.6 seconds left in the third quarter. Then the Yellow Jackets' Austin Sellars recovered Ben Rizzo's onside kick at the Hernando 37, and on the next play McDowell tossed a 37-yard scoring strike to Sellars. In an 8-second span, Leesburg had scored twice to make it 35-21.

It wasn't over yet. Hernando fumbled on its very next play from scrimmage, Leesburg recovered, and eight plays later Belton pushed his way in from a yard out to make it 35-28 with more than nine minutes to play.

Leesburg had one last go at it, recovering another fumble at the Hernando 27. But that was it. Delaine added a 12-yard TD run with 2:07 left to cap it for the Leopards.

"We were trying to look for a way to give it away," said Hernando coach John Palmer. "Our defense set the tone early and I can't say enough about our offensive line."

For Leesburg, Belton had 92 rushing yards on 16 carries and McDowell gained 82 on eight tries, getting all his yards in the second half.

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Leesburg chalks up almost 300 yards on ground to beat South Lake

published: Saturday, September 19, 2009

FRANK JOLLEY

Staff Writer

LEESBURG -- As a coach, Charles Nassar always looks for a perfect game from the Leesburg High School football team.
He nearly got it Friday night.

The Yellow Jackets rushed for nearly 300 yards, including 130 by quarterback Efrain Negron, to earn a 21-7 victory against South Lake at H.O. Dabney Stadium.

"This was the closest we've come to a perfect game this season, including our preseason games," Nassar said. "We committed a couple of turnovers and had a few penalties, but we did of things right (Friday). We have some execution issues to clean, like the exchange between our quarterback and running backs, this was a very good performance by our kids."


Leesburg (2-1) took a 7-0 lead midway through the second quarter on a six-yard run by Malcolm Belton, and added to its advantage when Jalen Dozier capped a three play, 33-yard drive with a 10-yard run following a South Lake fumble.


Dozier took an inside handoff off a direct snap to running back Luther McDowell and outraced the Eagles defense to the end zone.

The Yellow Jackets gained 146 yards in the first half, all of which came on the ground. For Nassar, an advocate of the option, Leesburg's success on the ground was a highlight.

In the second half, the Yellow Jackets did not attempt a pass.

"Last week (against Mount Dora), D'Mauri Jones, our best receiver, was banged up but he was healthy for this game," Nassar said. "He was healthy for this game, but South Lake did a good job defending him, so we stayed on the ground and had of lot of success. Our running game was working, so why change?"

South Lake (0-3) was its own worst enemy at times, particularly in the second half. The Eagles fumbled on their first possession in the third quarter, their second of the game, and were whistled for two equipment violations on defense -- the first of which occurred on a fourth-and-four, giving the Yellow Jackets a first down.

Even though Leesburg eventually punted the ball away, South Lake watch the game clock become its enemy, as the Yellow Jackets took two additional minutes off the clock.

"We're continuing to beat ourselves with silly mistakes," South Lake coach Walter Banks said. "It's like giving yourself a self-inflicted wound. We digging ourselves into a hole that we can't get out of and it's really frustrating.

"Our kids are leaving everything on the field, in terms of effort and desire, but we have to find a way to cut out the mistakes."


 
South Lake's lone offensive highlight came in the third quarter when quarterback Stanley Evans hit Nick Wiasome in stride and the junior wide receiver outraced Leesburg's secondary to the end zone on a 69-yard score. For the game, Evans completed four of eight passes for 127 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Evans also rushed for 41 yards on 14 carries.


South Lake's ground attack was led by Steel Stewart, who picked up 67 yards on 10 carries.

In addition to Negron, Leesburg's running attack included Dozier (74-yards rushing), McDowell (59), Belton (20), James Asibey-Bonsu (10) and Kamonte Philips (2).

For South Lake, the road doesn't get any easier Friday, when perennial Class 6A powerhouse Apopka makes its first-ever trip to Groveland, while Leesburg opens district play against Citrus in Inverness.

"For us, the real season starts next week," Nassar said. "District games are the ones that count. We're going to spend next week trying to get better, like we do every week. This win was nice, but the important games on our schedule begin (Friday)."

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Leesburg squeezes Citrus

published: Friday, September 25, 2009

ED RIZZO

Staff Writer

INVERNESS -- Quarterback Efrain Negron scored three touchdowns Friday to lead a resurgent offense as visiting Leesburg outscored Inverness-Citrus, 34-7, to improve to 2-1 on the new season.

The Yellow Jackets offensive line dominated the line of scrimmage to enable running back Luther McDowell and the rest of the backfield to compile 265 rushing yards on the night.

Negron scored twice in the first half, on runs of 27 and 65 yards and had a 42-yard touchdown reception from McDowell called back on an illegal motion penalty.

Leesburg held the Hurricanes to just 12 rushing yards in the first half and limited Citrus to just two big plays for the evening. On one, a 42-yard pass from quarterback J.J. White to wideout Hayden Kelly, the Canes advanced to midfield. But two plays later, they fumbled and Ryan Rivera recovered to end the drive.



As the first half came to an end, Leesburg's Ben Rizzo attempted a 37-yard field goal which hit the crossbar and bounced back onto the field and the Yellow Jackets went into the locker room with a 14-0 advantage.

On the opening kickoff of the second half, Citrus attempted an onside kick, but the Leesburg front five pounced and recovered on their own 48-yard-line. Eight plays later, Negron ran in from the 1 to open a 21-point lead.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Jackets again recovered a fumble. Five plays later, Jalen Dozier ran it in from the eight to put the game away.

Citrus managed its only score of the night with a march down the length of the field. With 15 seconds remaining, they fumbled. But the Jackets fumbled right back, giving White the opportunity for find A.J. Woythaler in the back of the end zone from four yards out.

Leesburg (3-1) hosts Brooksville Central at 7:30 p.m. Friday night.

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