![Springstead, 4, Connor McCazzio looks to elude the tackle attempt by Fivay High School, 13, Antwon Brown Friday at Booster Stadium. [Photo by Joseph DiCristofalo]](https://www.hernandosun.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/DSC_9744-Enhanced-NR-1.jpg "DSC_9744-Enhanced-NR")
The Springstead Eagles kicked off the 2024 academic year with a preseason tilt against the Fivay Falcons. Head Football Coach Michael Garofano and company handily defeated the Falcons 30-13 at home on Friday. It was a bit of a chippy affair as the teams racked up a total of 38 penalties, but the visitors gave way as the game wore on and the Red, White and Blue pulled away.
“I felt like, in the second half, we were starting to wear them down a little, so we wanted to just get downhill,” Coach Garofano said. “We could see they were getting a little tired, had a couple guys cramping, but then at the end when they had 9, 10 guys in the box […] we had to take a couple of shots at the end just because of the situations […] Sloppy game, but we’ll take it.”
Preseason fall classics are a useful tool for coaching staff to tune up their squads before getting into the teeth of their schedules, and Friday was no different. The first quarter began with the teams feeling each other out and getting their 2024 legs underneath them. The Eagles opened the night with a solid drive that breached the Falcons side of the field, but Springstead ultimately stalled as they turned the ball over on downs at the 40. The next three possessions (two by Fivay, one by Springstead) resulted in three-and-outs. The longest play of the frame was a 12-yard run by Senior RB Connor Mccazzio that netted the home team their first first down of the evening.
Things heated up quickly in the second, though. Mccazzio took a handoff from QB Gio Martinez on the first play of the quarter and bolted 75-plus yards to pay dirt. The offensive line opened up a crease and he flew past the secondary for the game’s opening score. An encroachment penalty on the PAT opened the door for a Mccazzio two-point conversion as the Eagles jumped out to an 8-0 lead. Throughout the night, Mccazzio was the cudgel the offense utilized to tenderize the Falcon’s defense to the tune of 200-plus yards on 23 carries.
“He’s always one play away,” said Garofano. “He could take any play to the house, kind of like how Barry Sanders was and guys like that where it was like okay 1 yard, 2 yards, -1, 70. He’s got that breakaway speed that teams got to respect. Then, they start crowding the box like they were. Nine guys in the box. We took advantage with a couple of touchdown throws. We got to be able to do that. You got to be able to keep teams honest. So, he’s definitely explosive.”
The threat of his presence allowed Garofano’s crew to pull away late as the defense crept up to stuff the run in the final 4:33 of game time. Martinez lofted a pair of touchdown passes of 13 and 31 yards to Chadiell Echavarria and Tyree Davis, respectively. Before these scores, though, there was a bevy of miscues by the Falcons that opened the door for the offense’s heroics.
Several poorly timed penalties and a pair of turnovers that directly led to the Eagles’ points would also be the visitors’ undoing. Besides the aforementioned encroachment, Fivay roughed Springstead’s kicker on what would have been a botched field goal attempt to end the first half. Instead, the Eagles were given another much closer opportunity that sailed between the uprights for an 11-0 lead at the break.
After the Falcons’ offense had cut the lead to one score on the opening drive of the penultimate period, a pick-six by Senior DB Xylus Pastrana would re-extend the home team’s advantage to 11. The Eagles would tack on their final score of the night on a one-play touchdown drive (to Davis) following a Kavion Brown fumble in the fourth quarter. Despite the three-score victory, Coach Garofano knows there is some room for improvement regarding penalties.
“Got to clean it up,” Coach Garofano said. “Fivay had a ton of penalties. Towards the end there, we kind of didn’t respond or handle adversity very well. That’s not what we’re about. Just got to tell them to turn the other cheek. […] It was just really sloppy and chippy, and it’s not good football. We don’t teach that stuff.”
The Eagles’ head man was pleased, however, with his offensive line’s run blocking and his quarterback’s decision-making. Garofano will look for fewer penalties and better pass protection from his squad next week as they open their regular season on the road against the Zephyrhills Bulldogs (1-0) on Friday.
