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Pirates: Can't Apply Brakes To Drake

Photo by JOE DiCRISTOFALO

NCT junior tailback Tevin Drake rushed for a game-high 254 yards and four touchdowns to help derail the defending 3A-6 champion Crystal River Pirates, 48-27.

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By MARTY MILLER

Hernando Today correspondent

Published: September 27, 2008

CRYSTAL RIVER - In the end, Nature Coast Technical junior running back Tevin Drake ran over, through and around the Crystal River defense Friday for 254 yards and scored four touchdowns to lead the Sharks to a pivotal 47-28 win over the Pirates.
For the Sharks, who lost last year to the Pirates, 18-15, on a last-second field goal that ended up costing them the Class 3A,District 6 title, the win Friday night could not have come at a better time.
With the Sharks in a 5-team district, the win is a major step toward winning a district title.
"Offensively, we felt we came out and did what we wanted to do," said winning coach Jamie Joyner. "We controlled the ball and controlled the clock and we were excited by that."

New leader

On the night, the Sharks began the game with junior varsity quarterback Ju'Juan Story calling signals because starting signal caller C.J. Baker missed a practice during the week.
But with Story calling signals for the entire first half, that did not stop the Shark offense as they scored touchdowns the first four times they had the football.
Drake was the star for the 3-0 Sharks. Drake scored four times (32, 4, 9, 80 yards) along with adding a two-point conversion as he now has 556 yards rushing and eight touchdowns on the year.
Complimenting Drake was Story, who added a 50-yard touchdown run and a 43-yard scoring pass to Michael Fields in the first half.
Fields later scored on a 55-yard fumble recovery in the third quarter as the Sharks defense held Crystal River to just 65 yards rushing.
NCT did have two problems in the game, stopping the Pirates passing attack and getting called for a bunch of penalties. CR quarterback Macon Newcomer completed 15-of-27 passes for 222 yards and three touchdowns.
Nature Coast also had trouble with penalties as they were called for 22 for 213 yards while Crystal River had three flags for 25 yards.
When he was asked about the enormous amount of penalty flags, Joiner just smiled. "You asked about that, I didn't say anything. Yes, we have to clean those up. But we're an aggressive defensive team and we're going to get aggressive penalties."
On the night, NCT finished with 398 yards rushing, an average of 9.5 yards per carry. "The offensive line came out and established themselves," added Joyner. "And Drake did a great job and had a great game."
With the win, Nature Coast now prepares for a difficult game next week at Dade City- Pasco. "They are a really good team, but I think if we clean up some things, it will be a good game."

Nature Coast Technical 47, Crystal River 28
NCT 13 13 15 6 -- 47
CR 0 14 7 7 – 28
Individual Scoring:
NCT - Drake 32 run (Colon kick)
NCT - J. Story 50 run (Colon kick failed)
NCT - Fields 43 pass from J. Story (Colon kick)
CR - Pierce 1 run (Atkins kick)
NCT - Drake 4 run (Drake run failed)
CR - MacDonald 6 pass from Newcomer (Atkins kick)
NCT - Fields 55 fumble recovery (Colon kick)
CR - Beatty 57 pass from Newcomer (Atkins kick)
NCT - Drake 9 run (Drake run)
CR - Beatty 16 pass from Newcomer (Atkins kick)
NCT - Drake 80 run (Colon kick failed)

NCT CR
First downs 21 23
Yards rushing 42-398 37-65
Yards passing 91 222
Passes 3-5-0 15-27-1
Punts 1-41.0 3-33.0
Return yards 98 157
Fumbles-lost 6-3 1-3
Penalties 22-213 3-25

Individual statistics
RUSHING (Attempts, Yards, Long gain)
NCT: A. Story 6-26, 16; Drake 28-254, 80; Colon 1- (-4), -4; Baker 4-27, 14; E. Williams 3-19, 18; J. Story 5-76, 50. CR: Brooks 18-69, 9; Newcomer 14- (15), 18; Pierce 5-11, 3.
PASSING (Completions, Attempts, Interceptions, Yards, Touchdowns, Long gain)
NCT: E. Williams 1-1-0, 33, 0, 33; J. Story 1-1-0, 43, 1, 43; Baker 1-3-1, 0, 15. CR: Newcomer 15-27-1, 3, 57.
RECEIVING (Catches, Yards, Touchdowns, Long gain)
NCT: H. Williams 1-15, 0, 15; Fields 2-76, 1, 43. CR: J. MacDonald 7-47, 1, 17; Brooks 2-24, 0, 13; Beatty 3-84 2, 57; Piklon 3-67, 0, 37.

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