Quon Lambert rushed for 222 yards and a pair of touchdowns as Riverview battled back from an early 13-point deficit to roll past Strawberry Crest. Del Mecum @ DelMecum.com photo
Lennard sophomore Jalen Harrison (25) reaches for a pass from quarterback Devin Black. Jacob Council photo.
The Lennard Longhorns’ remarkable season continues, with the team now 6-1 after beating perhaps their toughest opponent of the season, Jefferson, 39-34.
“It was big but there was some excitement in that game,” said Lennard coach Keith Chattin. “We were up 24-7 after the first quarter, and then, Jefferson being Jefferson, they came back and it was a dogfight for the rest of the night.”
The Longhorns did not get complacent, they just ran into a very good team, Chattin said. “I told their coach I think they are the best team we have seen all year. They just came back and made a game out of it when they could have easily thrown in the towel, but our kids had resolve and they played pretty good defense in the second half.”
Chattin predicted this run of four games against Hillsborough (a 32-26 loss), Robinson (a 41-23 win), Jefferson and this week, Armwood, would be the real test for his young team.
Putting two tough seasons behind them, the players now have a taste of winning and a little confidence in their abilities, Chattin said. “They understand what winning is about now. The last couple of years it wasn’t that way, but now they have had some success and won a number of games in a number of different ways, and they expect to win. The kids believe in themselves now.”
Lessons of summer
Staying the course, working out in the weight room and following the directions of the Lennard coaches would pay off, Chattin told his team in the summer.
“A lot of people don’t believe this, but back in the summer I told them, ‘If you guys get us to Armwood with six wins, you have a chance to make the playoffs,’ and they have kept up their end of the bargain,” Chattin said.
Next up for Lennard is a trip to Brandon powerhouse Armwood, who is 6-0 and coming off a 62-3 thrashing of Leto.
“Everyone knows how good they are, but we are not going to approach it any differently,” Chattin said. “We are going to go in there and give it our very best shot and see what happens.”
While Lennard may have surprised teams in Tampa, closer to home local coaches knew the team would be much improved this year.
Lennard WR Dionte Johnson (3), returns a kick-off for a touchdown in the Longhorns’ win over Jefferson last Friday. Jacob Council photo.
“I expected them to be better this year, but I did not expect them to beat Jefferson,” said Riverview coach Mike Thornton. “Absolutely they have surprised some people. Call Jefferson and ask if they are surprised,” joked Thornton. “But I think down here in this part of the county, I knew it and Frank LaRosa at East Bay knew that they were going to be better. But they play in that Tampa district and some of those schools in the city are shocked right now.”
Riverview romps
Riverview also enjoyed a good week on the gridiron with a 48-26 homecoming win over a tough Strawberry Crest team.
“That was probably one of the bigger ones that we have won,” said Thornton. “[Strawberry Crest] is a good team even if their record doesn’t show it because they have had some tough losses. They were a quality opponent. It was nice to score that many points. I got to enjoy it for a couple of hours, and then it’s back to looking ahead to the next game.”
Next up for Riverview is Bloomingdale, a team that, like Lennard, is off to its best start (5-1) in school history.
“It’s a district game, so to keep our playoff hopes alive we have to win,” said Thornton. “They have one of the most dynamic quarterbacks in the area,” Isaiah McIntyre, who ran for a touchdown and threw for six more in Bloomingdale’s last game against East Bay.
“We will try to put some pressure on him and contain him. Stop the running game first, and bend but not break on their passing game,” Thornton said.
Points, but not enough
East Bay put up some points, but at the final whistle they lost to a powerful Bloomingdale, 49-21.
“We just struggled with containing the big plays,” said coach Frank LaRosa. “Their quarterback made some big plays and we couldn’t stop those.”
East Bay did make some good plays on offense and will take a 3-4 record home Friday for their game against Strawberry Crest.
“They are a well-coached team and they play hard,” said LaRosa of their next opponent. “We just need to regroup and focus on getting a win on Friday, but more importantly, we just need to play well with some passion and enthusiasm and let it all fall into place. It will be a fight, that’s for sure.”
Lennard coach Keith Chattin shares inspiration with WR Deshawn Barnes (6). Jacob Council photo.