The Hernando Leopards will stay at home for another week and welcome the Springstead Eagles at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.
Hernando's offense might be in the hot seat on Friday considering what happened against Crystal River on Friday. They fell 9-0 to the Pirates. Having soared to a lofty 54 points in the game before, the Leopards' shutout was a dramatic turnaround.
Meanwhile, Springstead put another one in the bag last Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They blew past Pasco 51-0 on the road. Given the Eagles' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida football rankings (they are ranked 151st, while the Pirates are ranked 433rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Connor Mccazzio had a dynamite game for Springstead, rushing for 110 yards and three touchdowns on only nine carries.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Springstead was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 264 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in October of 2023.
Springstead's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged three passes before it was all said and done. Leading the way was Xylus Pastrana and his an interception.
Hernando now has a losing record at 1-2. As for Springstead, their win bumped their record up to 3-0.
Friday's contest might be decided in the trenches. Hernando has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 154.7 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Springstead struggles in that department as they've been averaging 184. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Hernando ended up a good deal behind Springstead in their previous matchup back in October of 2023, losing 28-13. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Mccazzio, who rushed for 205 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 7.1 yards per carry. Now that Hernando knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
