![Weeki Wachee Running Back, 5, Joshia Davis had this hard tackle near the goal line remove him from the ball which was recovered in the end zone by Michael Schmidt resulting in a touchdown for the Hornets. [Photo by JOE DiCRISTOFALO]](https://www.hernandosun.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/DSC_0791-Enhanced-NR.jpg "DSC_0791-Enhanced-NR")
The Weeki Wachee football team has shown it knows how to conduct itself respectfully on the field. On Friday night, the Hornets proved they can win on it, too.
Recently, the FHSAA received an exemplary sportsmanship report regarding the Weeki Wachee football team and coaching staff. As a result, the Hornets are automatically nominated for the Fred E. Rozelle Sportsmanship Award.
A letter the school received from the FHSAA read, “The FHSAA takes great pride in promoting good sportsmanship through athletics. And your student-athletes, fans and administration are outstanding examples of what it means to be ‘good sports!’ For that, we thank you and congratulate you and your program on being recipients of this outstanding report! It’s always nice to hear good things about good people! We sincerely appreciate your dedication and commitment to Florida high school sports. And we look forward to hearing more great things about Weeki Wachee High School in the future!”
Weeki Wachee also added to the win column by hosting Dixie Hollins, pulling out a 48-12 victory. Leelan Wright ran for 80 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Hornets (4-2).
Richard Hanshaw completed 4 of 7 passes for 120 yards and threw a touchdown to Michael Schmidt. Eryk Marcuccio paced the defense with 14 tackles, while Alex Wilson, Hoschky Destine and Brock Rosario all had interceptions. Daniel Young recovered a fumble.
In other county football action on Friday, Central lost 63-0 at New Smyrna Beach. Josiah Ojeda had five receptions for 35 yards for the Bears (3-4).
On Sept. 30, the Hernando High boys’ golf team became the county champion by claiming the Hernando County Cup by 50 strokes. Mason Morgan was the medalist with 73. Palmer Looper shot 76, Cotton Jackson and Austin Knierum both had a 77 and Rhett Williams shot 94.
Then, on Saturday, Hernando captured the Gulf Coast 8 conference volleyball tournament held at Central. The Leopards defeated Lecanto in the final, 25-13, 25-23, behind Kaiya Ward’s 14 kills and 10 digs. Brooke Hart, who recorded her 1,000th career assist during the tournament, had 17 assists against the Panthers.
Nature Coast hosted the Nature Coast Shark Invitational cross-country meet on Saturday. The Nature Coast girls were third with an 85 team score, behind Sunlake (23) and St. John Lutheran (50). Nature Coast’s Addison Cunane was the highest county placer in 14th (25:05), just ahead of teammate Xianni Smith in 15th (25:08) and Hernando’s Jaxin Helton in 16th (25:50).
The Nature Coast boys were fourth (100), behind Sunlake (30), Belleview (59) and King (92). Noah Carpenter came in fifth for the Sharks, in a time of 17:23. Hernando’s Aaron Wingfield was 10th (18:27).
Weeki Wachee’s boys cross country team placed second in the Crystal River High Invitational on Saturday, behind only Forest (20). The Hornets had a 55 team score, Tyler Boucher came in second (19:12.70), Jean Cintron was sixth (20:53.90) and Vindell Bridger took eighth (20:59.20).
