LECANTO – Hernando quarterback Scott Bierwiler came into Friday with a grand total of 137 yards and two touchdowns as a rusher in 12 career games.
So his performance on a slick field at Lecanto in the Class 5A, District 7 opener for both teams could certainly represent a breakthrough for the senior signal caller.
Expertly helming the Leopards’ veer option, he ran 16 times for 149 yards with three touchdowns, all career highs by a wide margin, guiding the visitors to a 33-7 victory.
“Forget my stats, the scoreboard is what matters. That’s all that matters to me,” Bierwiler said. “Just running our same stuff, just blocking it right, running, everything we usually do. If they can’t stop it, we’ll keep pounding, that’s it.
“They were coming hard inside, so I’m just pulling it, reading my key, and the blockers were doing their job, opening holes.”
Overall, Hernando (2-1) amassed 334 yards on 60 rushing attempts, an impressive 5.6 yards per carry. Jacob Butts ran 23 times for 98 yards, and David Hale Bronson chipped in a 1-yard touchdown run in the second quarter that made it 20-0.
But the star of the game was clearly Bierwiler, whose previous best rushing output was last week’s 10 carries for 72 yards against South Sumter.
“For the most part offensively, just a methodical effort from the guys,” Hernando head coach Bill Vonada said. “It looked like early on they were determined to take David Hale Bronson out. So it opened things up for Jacob, who did a great job. Quarterback (Bierwiler) obviously making some great reads for us on the option attack.
“He checked to some things that were good. He just continues to progress, and he understands that some of the times it’s going to be him, some of the times it’s going to be someone else. Just make good decisions with it and he’s doing that.”
On the Leopards’ second possession and his first rushing attempt, Bierwiler went 45 yards untouched to the end zone at the 7:21 mark of the first quarter. His 8-yard score capped an 11-play, 80-yard ensuing drive that made it 14-0 10 seconds into the second quarter.
Lecanto (1-2) faked a punt in the final minute of the half, only to fumble the ball away and give Hernando possession 10 yards from pay dirt. Three plays later, Bierwiler rolled right and found Ryan Barber open in the end zone on the only pass by Hernando all game.
“I had three guys. Just chose one and knew he was going to catch it,” Bierwiler said.
Though the Leopards missed a point-after try for the second time on the night, they still went into halftime up 26-7. Bierwiler tacked on a 3-yard scoring run with 3:35 to go in the third.
“It means everything, first district game. But we’re going to enjoy it tonight and then get ready for Citrus next week,” Bierwiler said. “This is a big win to get us going next week.”
Rudy Holton rushed 11 times for 145 yards to pace the Panthers, scoring their only touchdown on a 3-yard run in the second quarter. Otherwise, there were few highlights for the hosts.
“We didn’t make enough plays,” Lecanto head coach Greg Harper said. “Hernando did a really good job coming out and executing their offense in the first half. We gave up too many yards in the first half and didn’t execute when we had opportunities to put points on the board on our side. Obviously I didn’t have them prepared enough and we’ll fix that next week during our open week.”
In knocking off last year’s 5A-7 runner-up in such dominant fashion, Hernando made a statement that it can be a factor in what’s already playing out to be a very competitive district.
“Big district win, absolutely, and we knew coming into it that that was critical. That’s why we told them, ‘All hands on deck,’” Vonada said. “There was a mix of 29 guys that were getting in there and seeing meaningful contribution. And that’s important because they know, first district game, it’s so important to get off to a good start. Of course, now tomorrow the most important game is Citrus.
“We feel like we’re getting better and we’re going to compete. We’re not going to come here and say, ‘Oh, we’re going to do this and we’re going to do that.’ We’re going to play one game at a time. Our goal is to get better every week and then be in the hunt.”
Follow Chris Bernhardt Jr. on Twitter @cpbernhardtjr.