BROOKSVILLE – For Jacob Nagy and Michael Hemstreet, the timing proved just right. Last season, Spring Hill Christian Academy made its first foray into eight-man football through the Florida Christian Association of Private and Parochial Schools. That allowed Nagy and Hemstreet, both juniors, to strap on their pads and helmets, and lead the Wildcats through an inaugural 2-9 campaign last fall.
The pair essentially split time at quarterback, with Hemstreet throwing for 420 yards but also leading the squad with 67 carries for 830 yards.
“With our offense, I think what we do is a lot of misdirection, who’s got the ball?” SHCA head coah Shawn Fisher said. “That’s what we want the defense to guess about.” That was on display Thursday when the Wildcats visited Hernando Christian Academy for a spring exhibition, which they won, 21-7.
Though Nagy took most of the snaps under center while Hemstreet lined up at running back, it was Nagy who scored on a 1-yard quarterback keeper and Hemstreet who completed a 26-yard touchdown pass to Coltin Suizdak for the ‘Cats first two scores.
Hemstreet finished with 70 yards on 12 runs and also hauled in three passes for 40 yards. Nagy went 3-of-5 passing for 40 yards with an interception, and defensively recovered a fumble that set up SHCA’s second touchdown.
The duo came inches away from connecting on a potential 29-yard scoring strike on the final play of the first half, as Hemstreet corralled a Nagy toss while falling out of bounds inside the Lion 1-yard line. “Mike is one of my best players,” Fisher said. “He’s an excellent student of the game. He’s always talking to me about football on and off the field. And he runs it so naturally, I don’t have to tell him much of what to do. In regards to Nagy Fisher stated, “Jake is one of my best quarterbacks we’ve had. He’s a natural thrower. Wish he’d get just a little faster but we’re still working on that there. But my leaders, my seniors on this team and they do a great job for me.”
After Thursday’s contest, both players were understandably happy with the outcome. “We worked as a team, good blocks, got it down the field,” said Nagy, adding that in the fall the team would have to, “work harder, get better as a team, work as a team. “Both admittedly relish the opportunity to represent their school on the field. “It’s a great learning experience,” Hemstreet said. “Get to be with my brothers and have a good time.” As for the next season, all their talk was about the team. “Just get more wins and have fun,” Hemstreet said.
