BROOKSVILLE – The past three years, season openers have not been kind to Springstead.
Three years ago, though the Eagles went 11-2 and reached the Elite Eight, they began by getting thumped at Citrus, 42-14.
The past two seasons, Springstead lost 6-0 to Citrus on an interception returned for a touchdown on the final play, then fell 13-7 to Central when the Bears scored off a blocked field goal as time expired.
This time around, things went a little differently. Again facing county-rival Central, the Eagles kept pounding away offensively, pulling away for a 42-21 victory on Friday night.
“It helps. It gives us some momentum heading into Week 2 and hopefully heading into district play in a couple of weeks,” Springstead head coach Mike Garofano said. “I guess as a head coach I haven’t won a Week 1 game, so finally. I just thought about it.
“It’s great to start out like that. It’s great for the guys. They’re going to be happy going in watching film over the weekend. It just makes the coaches’ meeting better tomorrow. Everything, food tastes better, everything’s better after a win. But we need to keep it going.”
In a contest marred by numerous penalties, in part causing the second quarter to last for nearly an hour and generally preventing any real flow, the Eagles built a 21-7 lead by halftime.
Central, though, came out and scored on the first possession of the second half, piecing together a nine-play, 61-yard drive capped by De’Vonta Smith’s 1-yard touchdown around right end.
On the ensuing kickoff, Smith ended up recovering a pooch kick to give the ball back to the Bears on the Springstead 35, and Smith would cash in with a 13-yard scamper into the end zone, tying the score at 21 with 5:35 to go in the third quarter.
Yet the Eagles responded on the next possession, as quarterback Jordan Wright scored on a keeper from 9 yards out less than 10 seconds into the fourth.
A 29-yard touchdown by Nathan Sims and a 6-yard score by Wright – his third rushing touchdown on the night – sealed the win down the stretch.
“I’m just happy to bring this home to the ‘Stead and my family in that locker room right now to be happy. That’s all that matters,” said Wright, who also had a 4-yard touchdown pass to Jon Chase just before the intermission. “That’s what we’ve been doing all week, every day. We rep read option about 1,000 times this year, and we really stressed that we were going to do what we had to do to win this game, no matter what. The scoreboard talks.
“I told the offense sitting on the bench (after Central tied it), I told them, ‘Take a deep breath, and we’re Springstead football. Do what we got to do and we’re coming out with a win.’ And you could see it in their eyes. They had fire in their eyes and they said, ‘Let’s go.’ So we knew.”
Springstead ended up with 301 yards rushing and used several ball-carriers. Randy Morgan ran for a 37-yard touchdown in the second quarter, while Demetrius Barry carried the ball 26 times for 148 yards.
“Everyone contributed, which I was happy with,” Garofano said. “And really, the offensive line, what a job they did tonight.
“We made some mistakes defensively with coverage, with penalties, unnecessary penalties. We’ve just got to clean that stuff up.”
On the Central side, Smith put together another dominating performance on the ground, finishing with 194 yards on 31 carries and three touchdowns, including one for 65 yards in the first half.
“We probably had over 20 penalties today and if you have over 10 penalties in a football game, your chances aren’t very good,” Central head coach Chris Sands said. “We couldn’t get off the field on defense. Offensively, we had to get out of our tree a little bit. We moved the ball up and down the field, but if we can’t get stops on defense we’re not going to win many football games. We have to get back to the drawing board and see what we can do to repair that.
“Obviously it’s not a good way to start, but we’ve got to pick up the pieces and move on. It’s a long season ahead. Our aspirations are still there. It’s a non-district game against a bigger school.”
As for the other county teams, Nature Coast won at Bradenton-Southeast, 33-14. Brian Haygood completed 5-of-10 passes for 108 yards, with a touchdown to Gilbert Delgado and an interception. T.J. Owens and Michael Weston both ran for scores, while Nickinson Sineus returned a kickoff 70 yards for a touchdown and Augustus Carwell recovered a fumble in the end zone.
Hernando defeated Fivay at home, 27-6. David Hale Bronson, quarterback Scott Bierwiler and Ygenio Booker all ran for touchdowns, and Bierwiler threw another to Bronson Tafelski.
Also, Weeki Wachee lost to visiting Ridgewood, 56-34. Alec Cromie threw a 57-yard touchdown to Sebastian Class and an 8-yarder to Shaun Young, Montae Bostick ran for scores of 45 and 5 yards, then added an 85-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
Volleyball season got underway this week, with Hernando and Weeki Wachee renewing their rivalry. The Lady Leopards captured a three-game sweep at the Lady Hornets’ gym on Wednesday, 25-22, 25-15, 25-21.
It was the second match for both clubs, as Hernando downed Central on Tuesday in three games, while Weeki Wachee fell at Crystal River, 22-25, 20-25, 25-19, 25-22, 15-10. On Thursday, the Lady Hornets recorded their first win, 25-8, 25-6, 25-18 over Citrus.
Nature Coast beat Springstead on Wednesday, 25-17, 25-16, 25-23. Sophomore Jennifer Aten had 12 kills for the Lady Eagles, while Elise Crowell tallied 29 assists.
Follow Chris Bernhardt Jr. on Twitter @cpbernhardtjr.