TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Highlands Today

Streaks Brace For Brahman Rush

Brian Gjurgevich/Highlands Today

Sebring's Caleb McGee runs down Tenoroc's Jermaine Jesse earlier this season during the Blue Streaks' 40-6 victory over the Titans in Lakeland.

ADVERTISEMENT

By CHRIS HOFFMAN

Highlands Today

Published: September 19, 2008

SEBRING - One player does not make a team, but during Wednesday's Sebring football practice, there was but one Okeechobee player the Blue Streaks were certainly talking about.

"Lonnie Pryor is a running back that can make an entire defense look foolish," said Sebring senior linebacker Kenny Daniels. "He has the moves to get by the first line of defense and sprint past the secondary.

"We're not just focusing on Pryor, but we have to make sure we know where he is on the field during every snap."

Sebring takes on Class 4A Okeechobee tonight at Firemen's Field - a game that will have the visitors looking for payback.

The Streaks shocked the Brahmans last season in their house with a 13-12 come-from-behind win on an 18-yard field goal by Sam Robinson as time expired, as Sebring escaped with a pair of forced turnovers, blocked two punts and an extra point.

A key interception by JC Howard at the Sebring 28-yard line set up the game-winning drive.

But Sebring head coach Jared Hamlin knows that past glory needs to be put away as both teams have different looks to them this season.

"Okeechobee is a well-coached team," Hamlin said. "But their offense revolves around Pryor and we have to find a way to keep him from beating us."

A swarming defense led by Daniels could be the ticket to containing Pryor and a second-straight win over the Class 4A powerhouse, but that's easier said than done.

"Pryor is a really good athlete, but you can't let that blind you into thinking they're a one-player team," Daniels said. "They've got plenty of weapons that we're going to have to deal with."

In last season's match-up, Pryor lit up the Streaks defense for 170 yards and a touchdown, while making his mark on defense with two interceptions a touchdown-saving tackle in the second quarter.

So the safe bet might be for Sebring to let Pryor get his yards and don't let the rest of the Okeechobee players hurt you on big plays.

"I think we did a pretty good job on Pryor last year," Hamlin said. "He got his yardage, but 75 of those yards came on one big play in the first half."

When asked what makes Pryor so difficult to game plan, Hamlin didn't hesitate to respond.

"It's tough to simulate that type of athlete in practice," Hamlin said. "We don't have a 195-pound tailback with his athleticism on our team. Those types of running backs are rare.

"What makes him hard to defend against is that he cuts real well and his size makes him hard to bring down, not to mention his explosiveness through the hole. Your best option is to hit him at the line of scrimmage and hope that little delay will give the rest of your defense time to react to the ball."

Sebring is looking to rebound from last week's 34-20 road loss to Pasco.

In that game, Blue Streak quarterback Matt Grubb had his best game under center, completing 14 of 22 passes for 305 yards and three touchdowns, while nearly rallying Sebring from a 20-point deficit.

Sophomore receiver Devin Clarke caught nine passes for 231 yards and three touchdowns and likely caught the eye of Okeechobee when they reviewed film of the game.

"Matt has played phenomenally this season," Hamlin said. "He's maturing much quicker than I even thought he would. I've never had a quarterback throw for 300 yards before and what I really was impressed with was he completed 60 percent of his passes.

"He's making the right reads and hitting his receivers in the right spots. But Okeechobee will test him because they're a blitzing team and come at you from different angles."

The Brahman defense shut down Avon Park last week, as they harassed Red Devil quarterback Avierre Conner all night by bull-rushing him off the ends which forced bad passes that led to interceptions.

Brahman defensive back Nate Pollard had two interceptions against the Red Devils and returned one for an 80-yard touchdown to seal the win.

Hamlin believes the keys to a win against Okeechobee will come down to offensive line and special teams.

"Our offensive line has to stay focused the whole game and give Matt and Daniel Burnett time to make plays," Hamlin said. "But we can't get caught biting on the play action on defense because that's an easy way to go down quick against a good team like Okeechobee."

Burnett, Sebring's leading rusher, was held to 52 yards on 17 carries against Pasco and will be asked to carry the load against Okeechobee in the hopes of keeping Pryor off the field.

"If Daniel can get his yards and keep our drives going, then that limits Okeechobee's possessions," Hamlin said. "Pryor can't hurt you if he doesn't get the ball."

Blue Streaks vs. Brahmans

at Firemen's Field

TONIGHT at 7:30

COST $5

Chris Hoffman can be reached at 863-386-5827 or at choffman@highlandstoday.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT