High Flying East Lake Football Unafraid to Ground and Pound

The East Lake High football team is well known for its passing game.

Senior quarterback Pete DiNovo and his go-to receivers, senior Artavis Scott and George Campbell, are arguably the best triumvirate in Pinellas County. But although a high-flying passing game will put points on the board and loosen up defenses, without a run game to complement, it can leave a team on the losing side more often than not.

"We always want to be balanced," Eagles head coach Bob Hudson said. "How much we run or pass is based more on the opposing defense's gameplan."

While the East Lake passing game is undoubtedly the team strength, last week's loss to Countryside demonstrated what a power run game can do to a team. The Cougars rushed for more than 300 yards, occupied the game clock and came away with a 27-14 win over the Eagles.

"Nothing is more demoralizing than when a team runs right at you and you can't stop it," Hudson said.

The Eagles were on the other side of that equation in their opener against Clearwater Central Catholic. The Crusaders jumped out to a 21-3 lead they held until just before halftime, when the East Lake run game took over. The Eagles cut the lead to 11 on a run-dominated drive and then came out with more of the same in the third quarter. The lead was cut to four points after another run-heavy Eagle drive, and then CCC just buckled and fell 36-21. East Lake outscored the Crusaders 26-0 in the second half.

"Third quarters are always important in my mind," Hudson said. "You can get into that third quarter and see light at the end of the tunnel, or you can think, 'Oh, brother, there's still one more quarter to go.' "

Running Game Question Marks

Passing strength was going to be a given coming into the 2012 season. DiNovo threw for 2,426 yards and 19 touchdowns in 2011. Scott gained 1,158 yards on 54 grabs with 12 touchdowns. The emergence of Campell strengthened the passing game. However, the loss of four starting offensive linemen, along with 1,500-yard rusher Tyler Lane, left some question marks in the rushing department.

"In the playoffs, you need both aspects of the game," DiNovo said.

The Eagles were out-rushed by the Plant Panthers 225 to 109 in a regional final battle that ended their 2011 campaign.

Another blow to the run game was the hamstring injury to senior Jacob Miller. According to Hudson, Miller injured the hamstring in summer 7-on-7 competitions and was cleared to play in the CCC game but re-aggravated it, pushing his comeback date back by two or three more weeks.

The Eagles are still confident they can establish a run game with who they currently have — junior running back Weston Fordham and sophomore fullback Dillon Reneker. Also factoring into the mix will be senior Chris Depaolo, who will run jet sweeps but line up more as a receiver.

The tandem of Fordham and Reneker, behind a gritty effort from the offensive line, simply took over the CCC game. Fordham gained 125 yards on 15 tries, and Reneker added 31 yards. They both scored rushing touchdowns.

"(Fordham and Reneker) put the team on their backs in that game," DiNovo said.

Hudson likes the dynamic the two backs offer.

"They complement each other well," Hudson said. "It's kind of weird though, my fullback is lighter than my tailback."

Hudson likes Fordham's "balance" over his other skills.

"There's times when he's knocked off balance, and he's able to get his feet back under him," Hudson said.

Fordham weighs in at just more than 200 pounds and has a a huge upside.

"There are cuts he might not be making now that he will be making by the end of the season," Hudson said.

Reneker, while the lighter of the two, is certainly cut from the fullback mold.

"He's a tough wrestler that has great leverage and can really grind it out," Hudson said.

Reneker also has a huge upside. He's just 15 years old and has "good feet and will sacrifice it all for a block," according to Hudson.

The Eagles sit at 1-1 but they have still not played a district game and don't until October. They have plenty of time to get the ground game in sync before they square off against North Port on Oct 5.

Meanwhile, they face three stout tests in the next three weeks, starting with crosstown rival Tarpon Springs this Friday, then Class 3A regional finalist Trinity Catholic, and finally Largo. The Eagles have beaten the Spongers the last three years running and hope to make it four in a row.

If You Go

What: East Lake at Tarpon Springs, high school football

When: 7 p.m. Friday

Where: Tarpon Springs High, 1411 Gulf Rd.