Leopards Upset Sharks on Homecoming

On Friday night, the Hernando Leopards (6-4) upset the Nature Coast Tech Sharks (4-5) at the Shark Tank 21-7. The Columbia Blue and Black were celebrating their homecoming, but the visitors played spoiler as they dominated both lines of scrimmage in the victory. Leopards Head Coach John Scargle’s squad bounced back nicely to win their regular season finale.

“We knew we were underdogs,” Coach Scargle said. “We knew it was their homecoming. We had a great week of practice after a huge loss last week that we shouldn’t have lost. Offensive line just came out and just dominated their defensive line. Our defense pretty much had their way with their offense tonight. So, I’d say all three phases of the game we were clicking.”

The Purple and Gold set the tone early and controlled throughout. After both teams went three and out, the Leopards set up shop at their own 26 yard line. They then proceeded to rattle off a balanced 14-play drive that ate up the majority of the first quarter. A 25-yard touchdown pass to RB Gabe Sansone on 4^th and 7 capped off a strong drive for the Leopards.

Nature Coast would put themselves in a great position as they followed up a blocked Hernando extra point attempt with a six-minute drive of their own. Then, Hernando’s defense bowed up as it has much of the season and stalled the Sharks’ drive just outside of field goal range.

Hernando would put together another clock-chewing drive of five-plus minutes, but the home team would give themselves a shot to get back in the game in the second half after holding Hernando to a field goal deep in their redzone.

Coming out of the half, the Sharks got the ball in excellent field position on the Leopards’ 35 yard line thanks to a pair of personal foul penalties by the visitors. After some more back and forth with penalties and a strong 16-yard run by RB Timothy Gaynor, RB LJ Elwin would punch it in from one yard out.

With their lead diminished to 9-7 midway through the third quarter, the following sequence would decide the matchup for Hernando. The Purple and Gold put together yet another lengthy, 10-plus play drive spanning nearly five more minutes of game time.

Sansone had multiple big plays on the drive including a 21-yard rush as he dragged tacklers into the redzone. Then, on third and short, QB Michael Saltsman pitched the ball to Sansone as he had several times throughout the night, and the senior running back took it five yards for the score.

Hernando iced the game on the next handful of plays. On the ensuing kickoff Nature Coast could not get the ball out from under the shadow of their own goal post and started their next drive on the five. On the first play of the drive, Leopards’ LB Keaundre Gavin came flying in and tackled WR/DB Jacorrion Owens in the endzone for the safety.

Things got even tougher for Nature Coast on the post-safety punt as a targeting by the Sharks would give Hernando the ball deep in the home team’s territory. A handful of plays later, the Leopards lined up for a kick and missed it, but a flag was thrown. A personal foul by the Columbia Blue gave the visitors another shot, and they nailed it. 21-7 Hernando.

“That really turned the tide,” Coach Scargle said. “We had the momentum in our favor, but you never know. They could’ve drove down and got a score, but when we got that safety and they had to kick off to us, that kind of sealed the deal.”

A couple of possessions later, Head Coach Robert Kazmier’s Sharks would get one more shot at getting back in the game but, fittingly, Sansone, put the game away. With Nature Coast driving deep in Hernando’s redzone, QB Jackson Hoyt lofted up a pass to the goal line, which Sansone snagged. Coach Scargle’s squad were able to bleed the rest of the time off the clock to secure the season-ending upset.

While the Leopards’ regular season is complete, they are awaiting teams like Nature Coast to make up games they were forced to postpone due to the hurricanes. From there, Hernando will hope to make it into the postseason. The Purple and Gold have “a slim chance of getting in,” according to Coach Scargle. The Sharks will play their make-up game against the Dunedin Falcons on Thursday night.