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Eagles Continue Mastery

Staff photo by DAVE CASEY

Springstead High senior quarterback James Mahla (11), who scored twice (9,1 yards) and hurled his fourth touchdown pass of the season (56 yards) against the Rattlers, is tackled by Belleview High’s Roosevelt Mitchell (46) Friday night at Booster Stadium in Spring Hill.

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By TONY CASTRO SPORTS EDITOR

Hernando Today

Published: September 20, 2008

SPRING HILL - Fortunately for Spring Hill fans there was no carryover in the Springstead High locker room following Sept. 12's heart-breaking, last-minute 20-15 setback at jam-packed Nature Coast Technical.
The Eagles blew a golden opportunity to remain unbeaten against the Sharks when senior quarterback James Mahla fumbled on the Shark 1-yardline with less than 70 seconds remaining.
The question going into Friday night's game was how the Eagles would respond emotionally to their next non-conference, non-district meeting at Booster Stadium against winless Belleview.
The answer arrived early.
On Springstead's initial offensive snap, Mahla hooked up with wide-open senior wide receiver Ben Noury for a 56-yard touchdown pass.
Mahla, who rushed six times for 35 yards and scored twice (9, 1 yards), clicked on 7-of-14 passes for 145 yards, no interceptions and his fourth touchdown pass of the season to Noury, highlighting the Eagles' (2-1 overall) 33-0 triumph over Belleview (0-3).
"What's done is done," commented the 17-year-old Mahla about last week's loss at NCT. "Tonight, we started great. We received great blocking and Ben (Noury) ran a super route. Those guys made it easy for me."
What about Belleview?
"They're a decent team," he added. "They've got size and speed. It seemed like they were confused at times."
How huge was the win?
"This gives us some motivation going into next week's big game at Land O'Lakes," said Mahla, referring to Sept. 26's 4A-8 tilt at "The Swamp."

Other heroes

Noury, who snared two passes for 67 yards, added 11 rushes for 61 yards.
Senior fullback Mike Greco rushed nine times for 48 yards and notched his first touchdown of the season (32 yards) with 42 seconds remaining.
"That first touchdown tasted sweet," smiled the 17-year-old Greco. "I need to get a few more of them. Last year, I had a big game against them, but this time they were keying on me."
Completing the scoring, senior place-kicker Nate Schafer connected on two fields in two attempts (32, 27 yards) and chipped in 3-of-4 extra points.
SHS handed Belleview its sixth consecutive loss dating back to last season. The Rattlers, who had not been shutout before last Friday's game to North Marion in almost six years, have now suffered back-to-back shutouts.
The Eagle defense restricted the 4A-6 Rattlers to 111 yards on 38 plays and forced five punts, including four in a 17-0 first half.
SHS' All-County cornerback, Bryce Hollingshead, also recovered the game's only fumble off Marcus Mitchell six plays into the fourth quarter.
"Our defense was great tonight," chimed the 17-year-old Schafer, a returning All-County linebacker. "There was no give up on any play tonight. A shutout means a lot. Belleview was not a bad team. They just didn't seem to get hyped for the game."

Vonada: sets school mark

The victory was also a personal milestone for SHS Head Coach Bill Vonada, who surpassed Bill Browning as the school's all-time wins leader with 50.
The only sour note arrived in the fourth quarter when junior WR Caleb Shellabarger was bayflighted from the nearby Springstead practice field after apparently suffering a head injury on special teams. He left the field conscious but on a gurney.
"Any head injury is serious," explained Vonada afterward. "He was hit on the head and came out (of the game) on his own. Then he started getting some symptoms, so we did what was necessary. Our prayers are with him."
Keys to the game?
"We saw something on film and on our first play we went for it. It kinda fired us up right away," described Vonada. "I thought James (Mahla) really put last week's game behind him. He was clicking right away."
What about passing Browning as school's wins' leader?
"It's humbling," remarked Vonada. "This (50 wins) isn't about me. I had no preconceived notions going in 11 years ago. My family, the administration, coaches and players have allowed me to be in the position I'm in. Tonight was nice because its home. I'm very fortunate to stick around and be a part of something like this."

Springstead 33, Belleview 0
Qtr. Scoring     1   2   3   4
Belleview   0   0   0   0 --00
Springstead     14   3   9   7 --33

Individual Scoring:
SPG – Noury 56 pass from Mahla (Schafer kick)
SPG – Mahla 9 run (Schafer kick)
SPG – Schafer 32 FG
SPG – Mahla 1 run (Schafer kick fails)
SPG – Schafer 27 FG
SPG – Greco 32 run (Schafer kick)
 
    BELL SPG
First Downs   7   14
Atts./Rushing Yds.  35-114   36-230
Comp./Pass Atts./Int. 1-3-0 7-14-0
Passing Yds.   (-3)   230
Total Offense   38-111   50-375
Fumbles/Lost   1-1   1-0
Return Yards   7-99   2-13
Punts/Avg.   5-26.8   0
Penalties   4-32   3-25
 
 

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

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