Carrollwood Day Can't Stop HCA

Hernando Christian Academy returned home to Ernie Wever Youth Park Friday night and kept its surprising early-season run going.

Playing in front of Tampa Bay Buccaneer Head Coach Jon Gruden, the Lions disposed on Sunshine State Athletic Conference Southern Division rival Tampa-Carrollwood Day School, 29-6.

With the win, HCA improved upon its school-record start, moving to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in divisional play. The Patriots fell to 1-3 overall, 0-1 in the division.

"Big, big, big," HCA Head Coach David Raley said. "The kids, they even poured Gatorade on me. Big game for us. We knew the only way we'd get to the championship game was through this game. And this was a good team. They have the best quarterback (Billy Embody) I've seen in years.

"...This was a very well-coached team. One of the best coached teams in fundamentals that I've faced in a long time. They just don't have the horses."

Another good Knight

Once again, junior Jeremy Knight led a stout rushing attack that tallied 345 total yards. Knight carried the ball 19 times for 107 yards and scored three times.

After Daniel Keyes started the scoring by tackling Patriot running back Deuce Gruden, the son of the Bucs coach, for a safety in the first quarter, Knight scored from 13 yards out in the second.

Knight added a 6-yard scoring dash in the third and a 3-yard touchdown run in the fourth. This comes two weeks after his 218-yard, two touchdown performance against Orlando-Central Florida Christian.

"It always comes down to the fact that I have a good, strong offensive line and they knock people off the ball," Raley said. "Jeremy has real good eyes. He runs hard, finds the hole. That seems to be our niche right now."

The running game doesn't stop with Knight. Sophomore Nate Kautsky actually outgained his teammate with 108 yards and ran in a 2-point conversion following Knight's first-quarter score.

This win, coupled with Bishop McLaughlin's 41-28 victory over St. Petersburg-Canterbury School of Florida, leaves HCA as the only undefeated team left in the four-team division.

The Lions won't face Canterbury until Nov. 1, their final game of the regular season. The two division winners advance to the conference championship game.

"Their confidence gains by the day, I've just got to make sure they don't get a big head," Raley said of his players. "They're very special. They're playing well together. They're playing well above anything I could have dreamed it could be.

"For these kids that have hung with this school and have hung with me, to be 4-0, these kids deserve it."

HERNANDO CHRISTIAN 29, TAMPA-CARROLLWOOD DAY 6
Qtr. Scoring 1 2 3 4
CWD 0 0 0 6 - 6
HCA 2 8 7 12 - 29