SPRING HILL — Quarterback Jamison Carnegie had the best seat in the house for Nature Coast’s game against Pasco last year. Problem was, Carnegie didn’t want a seat.
A week before, Carnegie broke his hip against Central and was forced to miss the rest of his sophomore season. He could only watch from the press box as the Sharks rallied from 19 points down to beat the Pirates 29-28.
“It hurt a lot because it felt like I let down my team,” said Carnegie, who recovered in time to play point guard for the basketball team. “I felt like there was nothing I could do for them. But everything happens for a reason. I just accepted it and prepared myself for this season.”
Now fully healthy, Carnegie is ready to face Pasco for the first time. He is off to a good start for the 1-2 Sharks. While he hasn’t had to throw much this season, he has hit 12-of-17 passes for 160 yards and a touchdown. He’s also rushed for 176 yards and four scores.
“I think he’s been playing really, really well,” Nature Coast coach Justin Worden said. “We were pretty conservative in our first two games and last week got out of hand so quickly (56-7 win over district foe Central) that we didn’t throw the ball that much. He’s completing 70 percent of his passes and he hasn’t been sacked yet. He’s doing everything we ask of him, and the more we ask the more he’ll be able to do.”
Worden knew what to expect from junior running back DeShawn Smith, who has gained 242 yards in three games and scored two touchdowns. Last season, Smith gained 719 yards and nine touchdowns through 10 games, both team highs.
It also helps to have South Carolina commit Christian Pellage (6-foot-7, 290 pounds) on the offensive line creating big holes.
The Sharks will need everyone healthy and playing well Friday to defeat Pasco (2-1). The Pirates are playing their first Class 5A-6 game tonight and have won two straight. Nature Coast has played Pasco three previous times and won all three — by a combined five points. Two of the wins were by one point.
It may only be the fourth game of the season for both schools, but Worden sees it as perhaps the most important.
“It’s a murderers' row, district-wise,” Worden said. “You lose this one and you’re in bad shape. You have to deal with South Sumter and Zephyrhills. It’s not just that it’s Pasco, but this could be an elimination game even though it’s early in the year.”
Worden is in his first year as Sharks coach so he wasn’t around for last year’s thriller. Nor was he there for what came after the Pasco game. The Sharks lost four straight games to finish the season 4-6.
Carnegie wasn’t a part of that either. Now a month into the season, he believes the team has settled into a good grove. And a win over district rival Pasco could be the springboard to a playoff season.
“We started off the season pretty rough and this would be big for us,” Carnegie said. “It would put us in a great spot for our district. We’ve beaten Pasco every time we’ve played them so to keep that going would be big. But most of all it would give us momentum.”
Contact Rodney Page at @page@tampabay.com. Follow @RodneyHomeTeam.