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Hernando Today

Shark Defense States Its Case

Photo by JOE DiCRISTOFALO

NO ROOM TO RUN - Hernando High's James Stephens (5) can’t elude NCT defenders Ju'Juan Story (13) and Howie Williams (23) Friday night at Shark Tank Stadium in Brooksville. Stephens rushed four times for minus-6 yards as the Sharks won 34-3.

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By TONY CASTRO SPORTS EDITOR

Hernando Today

Published: November 1, 2008

BROOKSVILLE - If championships are predicated on defense – then welcome to Shark Tank Stadium.
The Nature Coast Technical Sharks clinched its second gridiron district championship in three seasons Friday night riding Defensive Coordinator Charles Liggett's defense.
The unit, which came in permitting 13.5 points a game, restricted archrival Hernando High to 113 net offensive yards, or 72 below their average.
It permitted Hernando High place kicker Josh Harvey's 30-yard field and nothing else.
All told, the Sharks muzzled the Leopards to 73 rushing yards on 33 attempts and forced the Purple and Gold into a 3-of-11 effort through the air for a quiet 40 yards.
More importantly, for a unit that forced 15 turnovers across six games, Liggett's crew turned up the heat by registering four sacks and generating five turnovers – including scoring three times – to eliminate Hernando (3-5 overall, 1-2 district) from the 3A-6 picture, 34-3.
NCT defenders Gary Myrick, Howie Williams, John "C-Train" Carbone and Alfredo Lindo each recorded sacks on Hernando High's first-year starting quarterback Kall Daniel, who finished with a minus-37 yards rushing.
All-State cornerback-turned-safety, senior Michael Fields, returned a Daniel interception 35 yards for a first-quarter score. It marked the third time Fields has reached the end zone following turnovers – the other two returns this season were on fumble recoveries.
With the Leopards down 14-3 in the second quarter, Daniel tried to force a pitch to halfback Alvin Delaine, but the 6-foot-5, 238-pound Myrick swiped the ball (fumble) in midair and returned it 12 yards for a score.
Delaine was only real threat for the Purple and Gold with 10 carries for 64 yards.
Not to be out done, Williams blocked Josh Harvey's ensuing punt attempt. And before the ball even hit the turf, he collected the ball and waltzed in for the unit's third first-half defensive touchdown.
"Me and (Alfredo) Lindo were there at the same time," admitted the 18-year-old Williams. "I really thought he was gonna block it. I have to admit it feels pretty good to score a touchdown that way.
"I thought defensively we had to step up," he added. "It's not like we give up a lot of points anyway."
Offensively, All-State junior tailback Tevin Drake rushed 18 times for 143 yards and scored twice (1, 6 yards). The touchdowns were his 16th and 17th of the season.
Junior place-kicker Danny Colon closed the books by connecting on 4-of-5 point-after attempts.

Costly win

The win extended Class 3A's 10th ranked Sharks' win skein to school-record tying eight games in a row and sealed its district record at 4-0.
The victory guaranteed the Sharks a Nov. 21 first-round home playoff game at Shark Tank Stadium – probably against Williston.
Though the Sharks celebrated a joyous Senior Night, not all the news Friday night was positive.
First, the NCT offense that came in averaging 419 yards per game, was "held" to 252 yards. It sputtered time after time due to a game-high 17 penalties for 139 yards.
Worse than that, the Sharks lost both their starting defensive ends.
Myrick, who doubles as the team's dazzling punter (behind a 41.3 yard average) suffered a possible broken leg in the first half. Another starter, Justin Murray, suffered a concussion and did not return.
"You're darn straight we're gonna miss Myrick," lamented Coach Liggett. "First of all, he's a great punter. And he makes a lot of plays on defense. He's so big it's hard to pass the ball."
What's the key to the Sharks' district championship defense?
"It's not just me, it's all the coaches have a hand in this (winning)," explained Liggett. "And bottom line, the kids do what we ask them to do. There's no free lancing out there. They believe in what we're selling."
Was he worried tonight?
"I'm always worried," replied Liggett. "We were scrambling to stop them before Myrick broke through. His return kinda got us going."

Coach reacts to flag day

Fifth-year NCT Head Coach Jamie Joyner improved to 3-1 lifetime against the Leopards. He cherished the Sharks second district title, but was disappointed in losing two starters.
"We reached a huge first goal tonight in winning districts. But it was costly. We think Gary (Myrick) has a broken leg," said Joyner. "It really hurts right now. He is a D-I football player. Plus, we lost Justin (Murray) to a concussion. We've got other guys that are ready, they'll have to step up and play."
"Defense wins championships," declared Joyner. "Give Coach Liggett all the credit. He and the defense deserve it. We played great defensively and we had excellent special teams. But we were very ugly on offense.
"We could have played smash mouth with the Tarzan package (utilizing Drake at quarterback), it worked well. But it seemed tonight every time we took one step forward we'd take two steps backward with a penalty."
Why the plethora of yellow hankies?
"It (penalties) was unexpected," he added. "I thought we had cleared up some of that stuff. I'm disappointed with all the holding calls. We want to be a physical football team, but you can't play undisciplined football."
Starting offensive tackle Cory Emerson had a different take on the game. Remember, he transferred from HHS this year.
"We had a couple dumb penalties," expressed the 16-year-old Emerson. "It was frustrating. We kinda beat ourselves (due the penalties). It's something we have to continue to work on."
And beating Hernando?
"Beating my old boys was good," replied Emerson. "Now, we're all still friends off the field, but once we step between the lines, the switch has to get flipped and you've got to bring it. Winning districts is something I've always dreamed of. It's great. A lot of athletes work to win this, I'm living it."

Nature Coast Technical 34, Hernando 3
Qtr. Scoring     1   2   3   4
Hernando     3   0   0   0 --3
NCT 14  13   7   0 --34

Individual Scoring:
NCT – Drake 1 run (Colon kick)
NCT – Fields 35 interception return (Colon kick)
HER – J. Harvey 30 FG
NCT – Myrick 12 fumble recovery (Colon kick)
NCT – H. Williams blocked punt return (Colon kick fails)
NCT – Drake 6 run (Colon kick)
 
    HER NCT
First Downs   10   10
Atts./Rushing Yds.  33-73   44-220
Comp./Pass Atts./Int.  3-11-1 3-6-0
Passing Yds.   276 32
Total Offense   44-113   50-252
Fumbles/Lost   4-3   1-0
Return Yards   4-58   4-80
Punts/Avg.   5-21.6   4-23.2
Penalties   7-37   17-139

Sports Editor Tony Castro can be reached at (352) 544-5278 or online at acastro@hernandotoday.com.

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