Story-book start

Ja'Juan Story's 2009 numbers hardly scream Division I prospect. As a wide receiver, he finished his junior season with 13 catches for 423 yards and three touchdowns.

In Friday night's season opener against Central, Story reminded everyone at Shark Tank Stadium why he already has a verbal commitment to play for the University of Florida next fall.

The 6-foor-4, 195-pound senior, now the Sharks' starting quarterback, ran nines times for 224 yards and four touchdowns - each seemingly more impressive than the last.

That paved the way for the hosts to rout the county-rival Bears for the second year in a row, 44-8.

"Some day when I'm old and gray, I get to say I coached Ja'Juan Story, because he's truly a special athlete," said Nature Coast Head Coach Mark Nash, making his regular-season debut with the Sharks.

"Words can't describe what this kid can do. It's breathtaking. It's everything and more. And the neat thing about Ja'Juan Story is he's humble and grounded and truly a good kid."

Bolting out the gate

It took all of one play from scrimmage for Story to put his extraordinary talents on display. Central opted for an onside kick to open the game, which Nature Coast recovered on its own 46.

The advantageous field position likely didn't matter. Story probably could have scored from the school bus depot next door as he ran around left end and zigzagged through tacklers for a 54-yard touchdown.

After Central went three-and-out on its initial possession, the Sharks' senior running back Isaac Bailey III took his team's second play from scrimmage 68 yards to the end zone.

Story followed with scoring runs from 33 and 46 yards out in the opening quarter. By his third touchdown, which came with 3:27 still left in the first, he had already rushed for 136 yards.

"I refused to go down," said Story, who for the most part simply shook off would-be tacklers in the open field.

Nature Coast added a safety in the second quarter as Central's punter voluntarily ran out of the back of the end zone when a fake attempt didn't pan out. That provided the Sharks with a 29-0 halftime edge.

Early in the third quarter Story produced perhaps his most impressive play of the night, again knifing through the Bear defense for a 91-yard touchdown run.

"In the first game there's always excitement," Story said. "We came out there and did what we had to do as a team. That's what happens when the line keeps each other up. We keep each other up, in good times and bad."

Bailey turned in his own standout performance, carrying the ball 16 times for 137 and two scores. His 10-yard touchdown in the third quarter exhibited particular skill, as he cut back through traffic.

Better toward the end

Central's play improved considerably over the final three quarters, and the Bears eventually dented the scoreboard on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Josh Burkhart to Deontray Jackson.

They also committed just two turnovers, one on an interception by Brenton Nuby of a ball tipped in the air as Matt Breida tackled a receiver. The other was a botched quick kick that turned into a fumble.

That decrease in giveaways - although Central still fumbled five times - represented progress after five turnovers in last week's preseason classic versus Pinellas Park.

Still, Story was the obvious focal point of conversation from both coaches after the game.

"He's good," said Central Head Coach Mike Einspahr, who like Nash made his first official appearance with his new club. "And they are a solid team. They have good kids. Mark (Nash) does a solid job over there.

"... We tried to put our kids in the best spots; we try to coach them up as best we can. We may have a lot of seniors, but a lot of these kids haven't played and game experience is golden."

The Bears will move on to a home contest against Crystal River next week, while the Sharks host another county rival in Springstead.

"I try not to let the pendulum swing too much in either direction," Nash said. "We'll take it one game at a time, come back next week and take our best shot."

NATURE COAST 44, CENTRAL 8
Qtr. Scoring 1 2 3 4
CEN 0 0 8 0 - 8
NCT 27 2 15 0 - 44

Individual Scoring:
NCT - Story 54 run (Callaghan kick blocked)
NCT - Bailey 68 run (Callaghan kick)
NCT - Story 33 run (Callaghan kick)
NCT - Story 46 run (Callaghan kick)
NCT - Safety
NCT - Story 91 run (Callaghan kick)
NCT - Bailey 10 run (Poole pass from Carlucci)
CEN - Jackson 5 pass from Burkhart (Bailey run)

CEN NCT
First Downs 11 8
Atts./Rushing Yds. 27-56 34-431
Comp./Pass Atts./Int. 10-19-1 1-5-0
Passing Yds. 111 9
Total Offense 46-167 39-440
Fumbles Lost 5-1 1-0
Return Yards 7-89 3-21
Punts/Avg. 5-30.4 2-34.5
Penalties 7-55 12-135