Leopard upswing continues, 46-0

The 57th lifetime meeting Friday night at Tom Fisher Memorial Stadium between U.S. 41 rivals Citrus and Hernando served as a check-off list of sorts.
The Leopards (6-2 overall, 5-1 3A-6) celebrated a joyous Homecoming Game by finally solving the Golden Hurricanes (2-7 overall, 1-5) in record fashion, 46-0. It was HHS' first win at home against Citrus since 2000 and snapped a five-game series losing skid.
"We had a great trifecta tonight on offense, defense and special teams," smiled the Leopards' second-year Head Coach John Palmer, who evened his record at 9-9 and 1-1 against CHS. "We executed well on offense. Kall (Daniel) made some nice reads when he really needed to and our offensive line made good adjustments against the Citrus' blitz packages."
Overall?
"Alvin (Delaine) was again unbelievable. On his third touchdown, he made a cut and left a guy frozen in his tracks," said Palmer. "And we finally got a shutout at the house. I feel for Citrus. They're going through what we went through last year with a new coach and a new regime. They have to stay diligent to get the results they want."
What about next week's game against archrival Nature Coast?
"We're right where we want to be," Palmer said. "We challenged the kids after the Dunnellon game. They've answered the bell. They understand what's at stake. We told them that this game would be crucial in getting to next week. Well, now it's here."
The Purple and Gold's fourth straight win stood out for many reasons. Conversely, the 'Canes can only look in the mirror in suffering their sixth consecutive loss.

HHS scored a season-high 46 points - its highest amount of points in one game since its last playoff appearance in 2005.
Offensively, Hernando County leader, junior Alvin "Chubbs" Delaine III, who came in with 1,090 yards, gashed the Inverness crew with eight carries (only two in the second half) for 113 yards and two rushing touchdowns (34, 73 yards).
Besides tallying his 17th and 18th touchdowns on the ground, Delaine snared senior quarterback's Kall Daniel's 15-yard fade pass in the first quarter for his third touchdown catch of the season - his 21st overall. Daniel, who was sacked twice for minus-17 yards, completed 2-of-7 passes for 23 and his fourth touchdown pass of the season against zero interceptions.
Sophomore L'Tevin Williams complimented Delaine with 11 carries for 107 yards while he added second touchdown of the season (11 yards).
Junior fullback Marlin Smith chipped in 11 rushes for 71 yards highlighted by a 23-yard touchdown scamper to punctuate an 18-0 third-quarter run.
The third quarter had been the Leopards' Achilles' heel all season as HHS had been outscored and outplayed, 55-31.
All told, the Leopard offensive line, which greeted left tackle Joe Bristol back into the starting lineup, churned out a game-high 303 yards of offense, including 280 (or 8.24 yards per snap) on the ground.

HHS defensive heroes

On defense, Defensive Coordinator Mark Latsko got his wish. The Leopards hadn't posted a shutout at home since 1999's 55-0 swamping of archrival Springstead.
The Purple and Gold defenders stuffed the young Hurricanes (who started only one senior on offense, four freshmen on defense) to the tune of 28 net yards on 44 plays, or layman's terms, less than one yard per play.
Up front, HHS D-linemen Malcolm Hudson and Robert Huggins practically lived in the 'Canes backfield. Defensive end Matt Johnson had back-to-back sacks in the third quarter and senior Chad Woods enjoyed perhaps his best-ever game with two caused fumbles (he's caused a team-high five this year) and two fumble recoveries off sophomore quarterback J.J. White.
"I was just pursuing the ball, but once it hit the ground, I went for it," recalled the 17-year-old Woods, who had never played football until this year.
How crucial was the win?
"It's big because we're trying to make the playoffs," answered Woods. "I feel like we're ready for Nature Coast. They're just another team and I want to beat 'em because they talk too much trash."
White typified Citrus' frustrations with 11 carries for a net 17 yards while completing 1-for-4 passes for 10 yards plus an interception (by Derek Wilson, his team-leading third of the season).
The 'Canes leading ground gainer was freshman fullback Brandon Brooks with eight carries for 22 yards.

Stout special teams' play

Even HHS' much maligned special teams played exceptionally well.
Woods helped the cause with several solo tackles. Johnson helped by tackling CHS punter A.J. Woythaler for a third-quarter safety.
Wilson chipped in by returning Woythaler's fourth-quarter 27-yard punt, 63 yards for a touchdown. It was his first score for HHS since transferring from Hernando Christian Academy.
"I was so nervous when I was back there, all I wanted was to make sure I made the catch," recalled 17-year-old Wilson. "Then I got a bunch of good blocks and kept going."
What were the highlights?
"Delaine is something," described Wilson shaking his head. "You give Chubbs one block and he'll make a big play. On the last touchdown he left a guy frozen. It was amazing.
"And the shutout meant a lot to Coach Latsko," added Wilson. "We finally finished a game. We came out of the third quarter banging.
"This (win) sets us up perfectly for Nature Coast," said Wilson. "We're ready. We'll celebrate maybe tonight and tomorrow and then its back to work against Nature Coast."
Sophomore place kicker Andres Pinzon probably had his best all-around game going 3-for-4 in point-after kicks, besides connecting on his only field goal try from 32 yards out in the third quarter while drilling three touchbacks into the end zone on kickoffs.
Perhaps, the lone blemishes on the night for the Leopards' was its game-high nine penalties for 72 yards (including four for lining up offside on defense) and C.J. Clark's fumble with two minutes left that was recovered by the Hurricanes' Kyle Tobin.
Perhaps senior linebacker Josh Parnell summed up the game and Leopards' current status the best.
"This (winning streak) is hard to describe," admitted the 17-yaer-old Parnell. "A few of us have been here for four years and have worked our tails off and have nothing to show for it until Coach Palmer arrived. All of a sudden, everything has begun to click.
"He's an amazing coach," added Parnell. "He doesn't say we can't, he trains us to believe we can. This is so sweet, it's kinda like waking up on Christmas morning."

Hernando 46, Citrus 0
Qtr. Scoring 1 2 3 4
Citrus 0 0 0 0 --0
Hernando 7 14 18 7 --46

Individual Scoring:
HER - Delaine 15 pass from Daniel (Pinzon kick).
HER - Delaine 27 run (Townsend run fails).
HER - L. Williams 11 run (Delaine pass from Daniel).
HER - Delaine 73 run (Pinzon kick).
HER - M. Johnson tackles Woythaler in end zone for a safety.
HER - Pinzon 32 FG.
HER - Smith 23 run (Pinzon kick fails).
HER - Wilson 63 punt return (Pinzon kick).

CIT HER
First Downs 9 8
Atts./Rushing Yds. 40-18 34-280
Comp./Pass Atts./Int. 1-4-1 2-7-0
Passing Yds. 10 23
Total Offense 44-28 41-303
Fumbles/Lost 4-2 3-1
Return Yards 5-61 3-11
Punts/Avg. 6-27.7 2-23.5
Penalties 6-37 9-72