Spring football ends with a few bangs

PALM BAY – The biggest need for Heritage High in spring football practice was building a new offensive line.

After a 55-12 win over Titusville in Friday's spring game, Panthers head coach Mark Ainsley wasn't sure if his line was that good or if his ball carriers were that fast.

"Titusville is very big, so I thought our young kids played tough if nothing else," he said.

Quarterback Daeshawn Mills and running back Josh Gaines played as if they were still in the midst of last November's Class 6A playoffs. Mills scored from 26 yards out on the game's second play. After Titusville punted the ball back, he scored again on the second play, this time from 69 yards. He scored from the 23 just before the end of the first period.

Mills added a 30-yard score on a fourth-and-5 in the second period, a pass to Gaines for a 32-yard touchdown play and a pitch to Gaines on an 18-yard scoring run.

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The Terriers were without injured quarterback Yusuf DeReese, and, for the first half, running back Jaleel Davis. Even then, the score wasn't what Titusville coach Wayne Lawrence expected at halftime, 48-6.

"This is not the team we'll field come the fall," he said. "We'll get it fixed."

Davis entered the game after halftime, and he scored on a 64-yard run in the fourth quarter. He had led the Terriers down the field on the previous possession, but Gaines intercepted a pass into the end zone.

Ainsley had hoped his defense would have handled the second half better.

"We weren't in the shape I thought we should be in," he said. "Other than that, we did a pretty good job on the ball."

Davonte Bartley scored for Heritage on a 38-yard second-half run, and Kentrill Smith ran back a kickoff for a touchdown. Titusville's first score came on a pass from Chace Gadapee to Dontavious Marcus.

At Astronaut, the War Eagles scored first but then ran into turnover problems in a 27-14 loss to East River. The running game showed promise. Javian Hawkins went 70 yards to the end zone on the game's first play.

Rockledge was the only other team in action on the final night of spring football. The Raiders played an intrasquad scrimmage.

Contact McCallum at 321-242-3698 or bmccallum@floridatoday.com. Follow him at www.facebook.com/FLtoday.brianmccallum and on Twitter @Brian_McCallum.