SPRING HILL — If you were looking for the perfect example of a workhorse running back, look no farther than Springstead’s Daniel Wright.
Riding their senior back the entire game, the Eagles came back to beat rival Nature Coast 23-20 Friday night at Booster Stadium.
“(Nature Coast) did a good job of switching up their schemes,” Springstead coach Mike Garofano said. “The extra week to prepare (following their bye) really helped.”
Springstead (2-1) grabbed momentum early behind its stellar defense when Robert Holdway forced a fumble in the back of the end zone by Jamison Carnegie for a safety.
The advantage was stretched to 16-0 in the second quarter after Wright scored from 1 yard out on the drive following the safety. A Conor Ross forced fumble on Sharks tailback DeShawn Smith (five carries, 28 yards) was recovered by Brian Rae. Wright followed with another 6-yard touchdown run to cap that drive.
Nature Coast (0-2) fired back with a vengeance, scoring 20 unanswered points. Carnegie went no-huddle, hitting Cameron Syblis on a 22-yard pass to set up a 2-yard keeper for the touchdown, cutting the lead to 16-6 before halftime.
On the first drive of the third quarter, Carnegie broke a 49-yard touchdown run to make it 16-13. The Sharks quarterback ended up with 10 carries for 73 yards and two touchdowns to go with 3-of-6 passing for 34 yards.
The big scare for Eagles fans on hand came to start the fourth. Nature Coast linebacker Dylan Miller forced a fumble out of T.J. Owens. Matthew Robinson scooped up the ball and took it 67 yards to the end zone, giving the underdog Sharks a 20-16 lead.
Already with 24 carries, Wright went to work, driving Springstead down the field. After Nature Coast backup punter Gilbert Delgado shanked a nine-yard boot, Wright’s two-yard score and the following clock-draining drive gave him a career-high 40 carries for 147 yards. The numbers even surprised himself.
“I carried it that many times?” Wright said. “I’m proud of myself for working hard and not giving up.”
The star running back’s brother, Jordan Wright, got his first varsity start for the Eagles at quarterback. The sophomore was efficient, playing mistake-free ball in front of a large home crowd.