BROOKSVILLE – Willie Coffey never anticipated he’d end up leading a potential game-winning drive under center Friday night. Recording a go-ahead safety with a sack in the end zone wasn’t a likely scenario, either. Yet the Nature Coast Technical freshman found himself in the middle of both situations in a 34-32 victory over Palm Harbor University. He threw Hurricanes’ quarterback Dylan Whitman for a 5-yard loss in the end zone with 1:18 remaining to put the host Sharks in front during the spring classic. “All night (the quarterback) was beating me when he pulled it from the running back,” Coffey said. “I kept going after the running back. And I was just telling myself read the quarterback this time because that’s my assignment. I saw him pull it. I dragged him down.”
It was his second sack of the night to go with a tackle for a loss earlier in the fourth quarter that led to a turnover on downs deep into Nature Coast territory. Not bad for a defensive lineman/outside linebacker about to embark on his first full varsity season after getting a call-up from JV last fall.
“That’s the 100 percent when you do your job. We’re putting them in the position to do that,” Nature Coast head coach Justin Worden said. “When he played and did his job, he played well. When he got a little overzealous and was a little green, that’s when they got their yards on the ground. “He’s just a very multiple kid. He can do a lot of things. He can play 2-3 spots on both sides of the ball, so we’re real excited to kind of find where he’s going to help us best.”
The 6-foot, 205-pound Coffey appeared in two varsity games in 2014, recording two tackles and also returing two kickoffs a total of 13 yards. Coffey’s previous offensive experience had come as an H-back, primarily as a blocker. But he had never played quarterback, though he said Worden had jokingly mentioned the possibility. It was no joke when starting signal caller Jamison Carnegie cramped up in the second half and did not return. With no legitimate backup, Coffey was called into action.
Over the Sharks’ final four possessions, he ran the ball 14 times for 64 yards and completed 1-of-2 passes for 15 yards. “He’s a physical kid, he’s a sharp kid,” Worden said. “We gave him the opportunity to carry the ball to see what he did and he did about what we expected from him. “After the ‘Canes tied the game with 5:14 left, Coffey posted runs of 14, 24 and 19 yards, helping Nature Coast reach a third-and-1 on the Palm Harbor University 5-yard line. However, he was stuffed on two straight plays, giving the ‘Canes the ball with 1:24 to go. On the next snap he recorded his decisive sack.
“I just got to read my keys a little bit better,” Coffey said. “I wasn’t going flat a lot. I missed a couples plays I should have made. But it feels good to get those plays at the end. “It feels good. I give most of it to the (offensive) line because they’re blocking for me, and (on) defense my coaches coaching me up.”
In the county’s other spring games, Springstead lost to Anclote on Thursday, 63-32. On Friday, Weeki Wachee won at Wesley Chapel, 26-16, Central defeated St. Petersburg Catholic, 35-28, and Hernando fell to Sunlake, 10-0.
