LECANTO – Two of the better Gulf Coast 8 conference teams took the field on Friday night in Lecanto, and Nature Coast showed off its all-around talent.
The Sharks used big scoring plays on offense and key turnovers on defense to win a battle of 2-0 teams, taking down the host Panthers, 37-21.
“Offensively, they looked impressive on film. They got three big plays on us which is great. We hunkered down and got some big stops,” Nature Coast head coach Rob Kazmier said. “That’s a big win for us. We knew they were a good team, well-coached. They’ve got a great coaching staff over here. They’ve got some dynamic talent. (J.T.) Tipton is a great quarterback, a dual-threat kid that can hurt you with his feet and his arm.
“We knew we had our work cut out for us. Coach (Charles) Liggett and the defense came up with a great game plan. We did a lot of stuff to try to get pressure on them. We were successful in that phase of the game. And then, offensively, our O-line had a great night. Our backs had a great night. We were able to bully them. But Jackson (Hoyt), another night of him making plays.”
Lecanto (2-1) delivered a quick blow with an explosive opening drive. On the first play from scrimmage, Tipton found Nathan Vonderhaar for a 62-yard pass down to the goal line. On the next snap, Caden Moore punched in a 1-yard touchdown.
The ensuing possession was in sharp contrast. Nature Coast (3-0) used 16 plays to go 71 yards, the last being a 3-yard rush up the middle into the end zone by Jasir Harvin to cap a drive that ate up over six minutes of clock.
Xavier McCullough ripped away the ball on a running play on the very next play from scrimmage and this time, the Sharks needed just three plays to score on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Hoyt to Jacorrion Owens. Suddenly, Nature Coast led 12-6 with 2:57 left in the first quarter.
A block in the back penalty stalled out the next Lecanto drive and Hoyt threw his second touchdown pass; this one a 55-yarder that running back Timothy Gaynor took to the house. At that point, the Sharks were in front 20-6 less than a minute into the second quarter.
An 8-yard touchdown run by Moore cut the deficit to 20-13 with 7:54 to go in the first half. Braylynn Moore then picked off a pass to give Lecanto a chance to tie or take the lead. The Panthers got as far as the Nature Coast 26-yard line, but penalties pushed them back before an eventual turnover on downs.
Matthew Chancalay hit a 35-yard field goal as time expired in the half to make it 23-13 at intermission. The second half started on a bizarre play where Lecanto’s Raheim Rushing caused a fumble that was recovered by Eli Pace, only for Gaynor to take the ball away and turn it into a 26-yard gain.
The Panthers had another drive end later in the half when the ball was taken away from a running back by Tyrae Jackson on a long run deep into Sharks’ territory.
“Their guys were fighting for extra yards and our kids were ripping the ball out. Two times that happened. That’s huge. Any time you get turnovers, that’s big time,” Kazmier said. “Defensively, they’re doing a good job getting the ball for us in big situations. And both of those, they were on the plus side of the field. Getting turnovers there is keeping points off the board. That’s really big.”
Nature Coast would eventually go up by as much as 37-13, with Harvin running in another touchdown, this one from 2 yards out with 16 seconds left in the third quarter. He also threw for a touchdown off a direct snap, finding Grant Lanning on a 14-yard toss late in the fourth.
“I feel like I could have played better, but I felt like I played really electric this game,” Harvin said. “I felt I could have run the ball a little bit smarter. I felt like I didn’t get as much yards as I wanted to. But we got the ‘W,’ so it is what it is.
“… We had to run the ball a lot. We saw that they realized that we were trying to pass the ball, so they backed up. So we decided to run the ball. We ran the ball and scored.”
Lecanto scored with just 1:56 to play on a 44-yard pass from Tipton to Vonderhaar, one of the few blemishes for the Nature Coast defense following the game-opening drive.
Harvin finished with 64 yards on 16 carries, while Gaynor ran 17 times for 94 yards. Hoyt completed 12 of 23 passes for 256 yards with the two touchdowns against one interception.
“I feel like we’re pretty good,” Harvin said. “We’ve just got to stay disciplined, keep working. We can’t give up. We’ve still got a whole season.”
This Friday, the Sharks will start their District 3A-9 schedule by hosting winless Hudson.
“Hudson, you can’t overlook them,” Kazmier said. “I know they’re a young team and they’ve graduated a lot. But they always play us tough. They’ve got a great coaching staff, too. So we’ve just got to go out there and execute.
“Our biggest district game is arguably the first one. So we go out there and we can kind of stamp that right away. First district game; make a statement there. So, hopefully, we can keep rolling.
“District champs, GC8 champs, that’s the goal this year. I’ve told the kids from Day 1 if they keep clicking, staying together, getting better week by week we could be undefeated. So we’ll see what happens.”
