Celtics blast Chiefland
OCALA - There's no question who the workhorse of this year's Trinity Catholic football team is.
After three seasons of John Brantley's arm and Dion LeCorn's feet taking center stage, Derrick Dempsey has effectively carried the weight of the Celtic offense in 2007.
The senior running back did it again Friday night, running for 205 yards and three touchdowns on just 16 carries to lead the host Celtics to a convincing 37-13 win over 2B-4 rival Chiefland.
Dempsey went over the 1,000-yard mark for the season with his effort, pushing his area-best tally to 1,167 yards and 16 touchdowns. He did it with a badly bruised right hand that required additional padding after taking a helmet to it in the loss at Daytona Beach Mainland last week.
"It swelled back up tonight but I had to fight through the pain," said Dempsey, who also caught a pass for 27 yards. "It's a great season. I have to thank my coaches, my teammates, offensive line, and the defense for holding it down and allowing us to get the ball."
The Celtics scored the first 21 points to start the game with Dempsey going in from 34 yards in the first quarter and 50 midway through the second. Quarterback Rob Henry scrambled 5 yards for the third score after Chiefland (2-5, 0-2) fumbled the ensuing kickoff.
The Indians responded with a 13-play drive that covered 61 yards just before half when Daniel Galpin found fullback Tommy Sheffield for the first of his two TD grabs on the night.
Problem was, Chiefland left 25 seconds on the clock.
An Indians squib kick gave the Celtics the ball at their 44 and Henry found a streaking Khiry McDonald for 44 yards down to the Chiefland 12-yard line. Henry then hit tight end Tanner Barron for the score to push the lead back to 21 with 5 seconds on the first-half clock.
Henry finished a modest 8 of 20 for 119 yards with a TD and an interception.
But it was enough to give head coach Ricky Nattiel some options for next week's district showdown at undefeated Newberry.
"We're definitely gonna throw it some more, because teams are trying to defend the run now against us," Nattiel said. "(Newberry's) gameplan is obviously gonna be to try and stop (Dempsey). So we've got to be able to have more options and Rob is throwing the ball a lot better. He's starting to feel more comfortable going downfield."
Zach Williams blocked an Indian punt for a safety to start the second half and the Celtic defense, which allowed just 184 total yards on the night, stayed fresh as Nattiel substituted liberally all night.
Linebacker Sean Major led the unit with nine tackles, including three for loss and cornerback Johnny Lawroski added seven tackles, defended a pass and recovered a fumble.
Dempsey, who only logged four carries in the second half, saved his best run for last. Facing a third and five at the Chiefland 10, Dempsey took the handoff and was immediately smacked in the face by two blitzing defenders. The 5-foot-8, 160-pound back absorbed the blow, spun out of the tackle and raced around the left end for the TD.
"He's been carrying us all year," Nattiel said of Dempsey. "There's been times when he's come to me and just said 'I got you coach.' He puts the team on his back and he just goes out and makes plays."
Trinity (5-3, 2-1) got some help from P.K. Yonge, who knocked off Union County 24-14, setting up the clash at third-ranked Newberry next Friday that should decide the district title.
Dempsey, for one, is ready.
"I think Newberry might be coming out underestimating us," he said. "We're gonna go in as the underdog, but we're gonna surprise them. We're gonna come out ready to play."
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