By Andy Villamarzo
Hernando Sun sports reporter
BROOKSVILLE- Coming off their first loss of the season, Springstead wasn’t exactly happy about seeing the mark on what was a perfect record.
The team that would end up being the ones to face an angry Eagles’ bunch? Central Bears. Springstead made sure to win and come away dominant heading into the postseason. Central was no match for the playoff-bound Springstead, as the Eagles rolled to a 56-0 victory at the Bears Den last Friday night.
With the victory, Springstead finishes the regular season at 9-1 and the Florida High School Athletic Association did its final RPI rankings last Sunday and the Eagles made it into the postseason and will face a very familiar foe: Lake Minneola. The Hawks were the very team that handed the Eagles their lone loss of the year and now Springstead will look to return the favor.
Leading the way for Springstead in the win against Central was running back Anthony Alexis, who had one of his best performances on the season. Alexis, who had one catch for 39 yards, rushed for a game-high 133 yards on just a mere eight carries and scored two touchdowns. Fellow teammate Toby Rahman rushed for 51 yards on seven touches and scored a touchdown as well.
Quarterback Max O’Rourke had an efficient day throwing the ball, completing 4-of-7 passes for 86 yards and adding a score. Also getting in on the action in the ground game was Cross Licht, who rushed for 42 yards on two carries for Springstead. Springstead for the game ended with 286 yards on the ground.
Now Springstead will shift its focus from the regular season to the postseason, as they now have Lake Minneola on tap for Friday night on the road. The Eagles set their sights on avenging it’s lone loss of the season to the Hawks, 26-21. The winner of the matchup between Springstead and Lake Minneola will then play the winner of Largo and Clearwater Countryside in the Class 6A, Region 2 semifinals.
Andy Villamarzo can be reached at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @avillamarzo.
