Highlights of High School Sports for the week of November 30th to December 4th, 2015
Highschool Basketball
If anyone suspected this might be the year Nature Coast finally slipped from its status as the top boys basketball team in the county and district, so far that hasn’t been the case. After winning at Crystal River on Tuesday, 54-47, the Sharks hosted Central on Friday, with both teams entering the night unbeaten.
In a dominating 76-41 victory, Nature Coast (5-0 overall, 4-0 in Class 5A, District 7) received a balanced effort, playing stifling defense while moving the ball around and shooting effectively from the perimeter.
“If you look at our team, we don’t really have that dominant scorer,” Nature Coast head coach Dave Pisarcik said. “We got to execute. We’ve got to run our plays and run our sets and be able to execute what we’re trying to accomplish. The guys did a good job. They know where the ball is supposed to be moved to, and if they do this, we do that type of thing. But we work hard in practice all year long.”
Junior forward Kaine McColley led the way with 27 points, 10 rebounds and four steals. “We knew that they were having a good year so far,” McColley said. “We just wanted to come out and perform.”
That game notwithstanding, the Bears (7-1 overall, 3-1 5A-7) have gotten off to a strong start. On Monday they topped Springstead, 74-47, and on Tuesday they defeated Lecanto, 69-49. Through the team’s first five games, sophomore Caleb Johnson was averaging 12.0 points, while senior Axel Wisniewski-Mendoza contributed 11.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.4 steals. Another senior, Brandyn Smith, posted averages of 11.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.4 blocks.
Hernando remained undefeated when it downed Citrus on Tuesday, 58-52, then suffered its first loss on Thursday, 61-60 at Springstead. Senior Joel Wilson, averaging 25.0 points, 7.4 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.6 steals, had 28 points, nine boards and five assists for the Leopards (4-1). Donta Manuel added 16 points and 12 rebounds, and Dustin Bailey hauled in 10 rebounds and blocked six shots. For the Eagles (3-1), Danny Rivera tallied 17 points, and Michael Flores chipped in 16 points and four steals.
Hernando Christian Academy’s boys started their season Tuesday with a 58-55 win over Riverview-Bell Creek Academy, getting 24 points, 15 rebounds and two steals from Joe Jackson, plus 17 points and five assists from Raymond Tibbs and 12 points from Gaige Farish. The Lions fell to First Academy-Leesburg on Thursday, 78-19, and Tampa-Carrollwood Day on Friday, 62-25.
The HCA girls began their season 5-0, downing Lakeland-Santa Fe Catholic on Tuesday, 37-14, and First Academy-Leesburg on Thursday, 47-12. But Carrollwood Day got the best of the Lady Lions on Friday, 50-36. Senior point guard Mary Jackson is averaging 10.6 points and 3.0 steals, while her sister, freshman forward Milly Jackson, contributes 9.8 points, 9.0 rebounds and 4.5 steals. Lauren Zappone has averages of 8.0 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals.
After taking their first loss of the season on Tuesday to Weeki Wachee, 48-41, the Springstead girls bounced back with a 68-49 triumph over Gulf on Wednesday and 55-53 victory against Sunlake on Friday to improve to 7-1. Weeki Wachee, which had lost to Springstead on Nov. 10, 53-18, has already set a team record for wins after it beat Fivay on Thursday, 37-35. The Lady Hornets (6-5 overall, 1-4 5A-7) lost at Lecanto on Friday, 58-37.
High School Soccer
In boys soccer, Nature Coast enjoyed a sweep of three county rivals this week. First it was Weeki Wachee on Tuesday, 3-1, then Springstead on Thursday, 2-0, and Hernando on Friday, 7-1. The Sharks, who also snagged a 5-0 win over Wesley Chapel on Monday, are now 8-1-1 overall, 6-1-1 in 3A-7. The Hornets additionally lost to Pasco on Friday, 4-1, and fell to 3-3-3 overall, 2-3-3 in 3A-7. The Eagles (6-4-1 overall, 5-1-1 3A-7) had previously beaten Hernando on Monday, 6-2, and Zephyrhills on Wednesday, 3-2.
Central collected a huge 2-1 win over Springstead on Friday in girls soccer, after tying The Villages on Tuesday, 2-2. The Lady Bears moved to 9-1-2 overall, and 6-0-1 in 2A-6.
Nature Coast (9-4-1 overall, 6-3-1 3A-7) lost at Wesley Chapel on Monday, 3-0, then beat Weeki Wachee on Wednesdayand Hernando on Friday, 6-0.
