Nature Coast Technical High School's Senior running back DeShawn Smith has been named the 2015 Florida Dairy Farmers Mr. Football. Smith has already been selected Class 5A Player of the Year.
DeShawn Smith has a simple explanation for his unprecedented success this season. He repeats it like a mantra, game after game; no matter how many rushing yards he piles up, no matter how many touchdowns he scores.
The Nature Coast senior running back has a deal with his offensive line. They block, he scores. That’s it. “A running back’s nothing without his O-linemen,” Smith said. “Every time I score, I run to them first. … They block, they get it open for me, and then I do the rest. So it’s a 50-50 thing.”
No two siblings are alike, some are best friends, some have years between them and others have different interests and goals. Different interests and goals is not the case with the Stone Brothers. They have been side by side throughout their growing life and now shoulder to shoulder in the sport that continues to drive their brotherly bond.
The Central Bears got back to business on Wednesday. But it couldn’t possibly be business as usual. Their season, their lives have been irrevocably changed following a motorcycle accident Tuesday morning that left starting quarterback Sebastian Rivera, 16, in critical condition.
Coltin Siuzdak felt the tug to get back into football. The Spring Hill Christian Academy team is glad he did. The 5-foot-10, 140-pound junior has emerged as a playmaker, along with quarterback/running back Michael Hemstreet, in the early eight-man season for the Wildcats. “Coltin is just a lot of team speed that we have,” SHCA head coach Shawn Fisher said. “He’s very fast and just like Mike he’s a pretty good student of the game, and once we get the ball in either of their hands good things happen.”
Friday night in Hernando County, it was good to be a running back named Smith. A debate could probably go on for days over just who had the superior performance: Nature Coast’s DeShawn Smith or Central’s De’Vonta Smith.
Two weeks into the prep football season, one thing has already become apparent. DeShawn Smith came ready to play. In Friday night’s 46-21 win at Hudson, Smith needed just 13 carries to accumulate 224 yards and four touchdowns.
For Springstead and Weeki Wachee, the second week of regular-season prep football contests offered a welcome change. Central and Hernando likely didn’t feel the same. Both the Eagles and Hornets bounced back from grueling losses in Week 1 with home victories on Friday night.
The Hernando High football squad is in the second year of its rebuild under head coach Bill Vonada, and the veteran mentor will assuredly need to lean on his upperclassmen. That’s where players such as senior defensive end Tyson Libengood come into the equation. “His experience on the defense and in the heat of battle makes him a natural leader,” Vonada said. “He has some of the best physical potential on our defensive front… He works extremely hard in the weight room, and is willing to do the extra things. He is one of our best cover guys on punt.”
If football doesn’t pan out for Manny Scott, perhaps he has a future in psychic readings. Central’s 13-7 victory at Springstead Friday night may have surprised many, but the Central senior called it two days earlier. “When we beat Springstead,” said Scott on Wednesday, stressing he didn’t mean if, “that’s when Hernando (County) is going to wake up. When we beat them is when everyone is going to open up their eyes... We’re hungry. All we’ve got to do is beat Springstead and that’s what will make us dominating this season.”
