Periodically throughout the season we’ll go around the coverage area and give you a football player and/or coach quotes following the games. Here are area newspaper football players and/or coaches quotes from Week #3:
Seven Rivers Christian (Lecanto) coach Rayburn Greene following Williston’s 28-14 win thanks to a school-record 307 yards rushing by Gerard Williams III
“Williston is a good football team. “That kid’s certainly a very talented running back. But it’s Florida, you’re going to see that. Talent’s everywhere. We did the best we could. We knew he was going to take off for some big plays. We told our kids, ‘It’s always next play.’ … I thought we did enough to win the game, with him. But we didn’t. I think our kids are tough. We’re outmatched and out-manned, and that was a football game. It was anybody’s game. They scored one late, but they didn’t come in here and dominate us, by no stretch of the imagination. It shows our kids we can play and hopefully we can come back Tuesday and look forward, not behind.” – Citrus County Chronicle
Vanguard (Ocala) middle linebacker Gavin Pate after the Knights (3-0) defeated county rival North Marion (Citra), 45-0, on Thursday night at Booster Stadium
“It’s pretty fun watching them score points. It’s like a video game. “If (Madden) had a high school version, I would be playing with my team. In my opinion, (our defense) is the best in (the offense’s) eyes, and they are the best in our eyes. We raise each other up to another level.” – Ocala Star-Banner
North Marion coach Willie Offord after his Colts fell to 0-3 after the loss to the state-ranked Knights
“We were definitely not the better football team out here. They’ve got a really good team, and this was a good test for us. Our kids played hard throughout, and they didn’t quit, even when there was a running clock (which began with 9:06 remaining in the third quarter). We tried our best and basically have a JV team playing now. We faced the giant, and we’re still babies. But the kids showed a lot of heart and will continue to get better.”– Ocala Star-Banner
Columbia (Lake City) coach Brian Allen on QB Dylan Blair, who threw three first-half TD passes in the Tigers’ 42-7 win against Buchholz (Gainesville)
“We’re really excited with what Dylan has been doing since week one. He was down on himself after the Gainesville game because he knows the capabilities that he has. There’s a reason that kid is the starter. He’s spent two years learning this offense. Now it’s his turn. For him, it was a huge game tonight.” – The Gainesville Sun
Buchholz (Gainesville) coach Mark Whittemore on the Columbia Tigers
“They’re a very good football team. They’re very good up front. I think that leads them to creating some big plays. Obviously, we didn’t play very well, but a lot of times you don’t play very well against good teams. Brian’s got this thing clicking.”– The Gainesville Sun
Hawthorne coach Cornelius Ingram after his Hornets (2-0) rushed for 245 yards and threw for 167 in a 46-20 win against P.K. Yonge (Gainesville)
“We finally put it together. We’ve had some games where we’ve been close, where we’ve had the right call and we’ve had some drops or missed passes. We still put the ball on the ground too much and have things we need to work on.” – The Gainesville Sun
Ridgeview (Orange Park) second-year coach Cameron Porch on turning the program around to a 3-0 start after beginning the season with an 18-game losing streak. The Panthers defeated Westside (Jacksonville), 51-36, to stay unbeaten
“Our main word, one we use over and over, is complacency. We want the guys to have confidence and expect to win, but don’t prepare thinking, well, it’s just going to happen. That’s the main thing we’re trying to guard against. But we’re proud of them. The main positive talk that we’ve been hearing, and the only one that really matters, is our own student body’s and faculty’s. They’ve really become attached to the team. We’ve had good turnout at games, the student support has been great.”– The Florida Times-Union
West Port (Ocala) coach Matt Franklin following the Wolf Pack’s 41-7 win against Citrus (Inverness)
“All three phases of our team were clicking tonight. I’m happy with the intensity our guys played, and their focus. We knew we were capable of something like this. It’s just about getting a team down and eliminating any hope. We’ve had a couple instances already this season where we get up on an opponent and then just let off. Tonight though, we stayed on them, got to the running clock. It was a total team effort.” – Ocala Star-Banner
