Homecoming Win at the Bears’ Den

BROOKSVILLE — Almost everywhere you looked Friday night, the Central High defense had a star.

But none was brighter — made more impactful plays — than sophomore defensive back Terrell Burton. In the three biggest defensive situations of the night for the Bears, Burton stepped up and made more than a little pop as Central defeated Umatilla 12-0 before a homecoming crowd at the Bears’ Den.

“That’s one very, very special sophomore,” Central coach Jim Pusateri said. “He was our Defensive Player of the Week last week (in a victory against Weeki Wachee). And he just might have been our Defensive Player of the Week this week.”

That might be an understatement. On a night when Central’s entire defense pitched its first shutout of the season, Burton stepped up when it mattered most.

Start with Central holding a 6-0 lead late in the first quarter. With Umatilla going for it on fourth down, Burton placed a big hit on quarterback Josh Wilson and forced a fumble. But Burton wasn’t done with that play. He recovered the fumble to give the Bears possession at Umatilla’s 12-yard line and set up a 9-yard touchdown run by junior quarterback Nick Demos that put Central ahead 12-0.

Central’s defense had no problem protecting the shutout from there and Burton added a couple of exclamation points. Burton added a third-quarter sack that stalled a Umatilla drive. Burton helped preserve the shutout by tackling a Umatilla receiver just short of the first-down marker on a fourth-down play deep in Central territory.

“We had a good defensive game plan and our defense executed it well,” Pusateri said.

The Bears held Umatilla’s leading rusher Dallas Cottle, who came into the game averaging 56 rushing yard per game, to 14 yards on seven carries. Wilson had averaged 196 yards passing in Umatilla’s first four tames, but the Bears held him to 72 yards on nine-for-17 passing.

Demos, who threw a game-winning touchdown pass in the final minutes against Weeki Wachee, was sharp from the start against Umatilla (2-3). With the Bears using an aggressive offense, Demos completed 12 of 18 passes for 166 yards in the first half, including a 33-yard touchdown strike to Alvin Cortes. Demos only attempted five passes in the second half and completed two of them for another 20 yards, but the Bears already were in control. Demos’ rushing touchdown came on a play that was supposed to be a pass, but he took off for the end zone after realizing all his receivers were covered.

“Nick had another good game,” Pusateri said.

The same could be said for the entire Central team, which won its third straight game and now has a 3-2 record. After last week’s victory against Weeki Wachee, Pusateri said the win was huge for the Central program. After the win against Umatilla, Pusateri said it was another big step in the right direction for a team that is made up mostly of sophomores and juniors.

“The whole school was buzzing all week,” Pusateri said. “I think it will be more of the same this week.”

That’s probably safe to say. The Bears will be hosting county-rival Hernando High on Friday night.