Hernando Drops Key District Contest to Crystal River

BROOKSVILLE – Coming into the season, the consensus thinking pointed to Hernando as the favorite in the newly realigned District 3A-7.

But one game into their district schedule, the Leopards find themselves significantly behind the 8-ball. Crystal River came into Tom Fisher Memorial Stadium on Friday night and thanks to some stellar special teams plays and a stout defense, handed Hernando a 9-0 defeat.

“It was a battle. If you were here, it was a battle,” Hernando head coach John Scargle said. “Both offenses struggled big time. Both defenses were stepping up to the plate and playing really well. Our defense played well but not well enough to win. Their defense played magnificently.”

Bill Vonada, Hernando County’s winningest head coach in a career that includes a four-year stint at Hernando from 2014-17, earned his 100th career coaching victory in his first year at the helm of Crystal River.

What the Pirates (3-1, 1-0 3A-7) exhibited in his return to Brooksville likely felt familiar to the home crowd. A lot of running between the tackles with multiple backs, chewing up clock and yardage. Despite completing just one pass for 10 yards in the game, Crystal River drove into Hernando territory in six of its seven possessions.

Yet the Leopards (1-2, 0-1 3A-7) were up to the task, holding the Pirates to just a field goal until late in the game.

“It was a responsibility-type defense,” Scargle said. “You had your responsibility, dive, quarterback, pitch man, and we basically played our responsibility all night. Going against a double wing-type team that plays the shell game, you’ve got to make sure that you take care of your responsibility.”

Issues in the kicking game proved to be the undoing for the Leopards. Crystal River forced a three-and-out on the opening series, and then Breck Petty rushed the punter and tipped the ball in the air.

That gave the Pirates possession on the Hernando 24-yard line. Though they eventually had a first down from the 1, they ended up going three yards backward and had to settle for a 21-yard field goal by Lane Stringer.

Incredibly, that score held nearly the entire way. The Leopards were limited to 132 yards of total offense and only once made it into the red zone. That didn’t happen until early in the fourth quarter, on a double-reverse flea-flicker where Michael Saltsman found Nate Blomberg on a 34-yard pass down to the Crystal River 11.

Hernando was called for being offsides on a fourth-and-2 from the 3-yard line and opted for a 25-yard field goal try. Cade Wentworth rushed up the middle unblocked and easily swatted down the kick.

“We saw something on film and felt like we could get a block, and it worked out,” Vonada said.

Then the Pirates went 85 yards in seven plays, including two runs for 41 yards by Savaunn Samms and a 16-yarder by Kyler Loderbauer, before Wentworth went up the middle for 5 yards into the end zone with 5:08 to play.

Hernando got a few yards past midfield on its final drive but no closer, and Crystal River used a pair of long gains on third down to run out the clock.

“They just were running to the ball. They were relentless,” Scargle said of the Pirates’ defense. “They had a good game plan on defense to shut down our run and when it was time to pass, they dropped into coverage and took care of that, too. We made a couple of plays, a couple of splash plays but we couldn’t finish.
“… We had some breakdown in blocking on the field goal. We had one kick return that was not great. And then a blocked punt. That’s how they got their first points, on a blocked punt. You can’t have that. They block a punt, you’re not going to win the game.”

Though it was the first district game for both teams, it might be the most decisive outcome when it comes to who wins the district title.

“We have to win out the rest of the game in our district and then hope that Crystal River gets beat by somebody,” Scargle said. “But really, we thought that they were the next best team in the district with us. So it’s really theirs right now.”