This week, the Oviedo Lions faced off against the Lyman Greyhounds, winning their third straight in the season 49-14. The Lions’ defense continued its crowd-exciting run, only giving up two touchdowns to the talented Lyman offense. Starting linebacker and captain Joey Gioia knew even after the defense’s slow start, they possessed the talent and the coaching to succeed; it was just about execution.
“After Bishop Moore our coaches made sure we locked into practice and started pushing us harder,” Gioia said.
The Lions offense has continued evolving under head coach Greg Odierno, scoring 40-plus points in the first four games of the season, something not even Coach O had accomplished prior to this season.
Starting running back Chance Nixon had another stellar performance against the Greyhounds, rushing for 138 yards and two touchdowns on just three carries. The Lions have displayed one of the fiercest rushing attacks in all of Florida averaging 215 yards per game on the ground thanks to not only a plethora of talented running backs but an extremely tough O-line.
It was assumed by fans that the Lions offensive line would have to take a step back after graduating bookend tackles Tye Hylton and Bryson Ford, but the Lions have only continued to improve.
Starting center Micah Thorpe believes the improvement of the O-line is due to the work and effort the coaches have put into them.
“Over the past three years, the coaches have been huge in our growth on the field. They’ve provided constant feedback, made drills to address specific weaknesses, and focused on both physical and mental aspects of the game,” Thorpe said.
The Lion’s defense, while not managing their third straight shutout, did manage to largely control the Greyhound offense by only allowing 263 total yards and holding them to 14 points. While multiple Lions did stand out on the defensive side of the ball, none had more of an impact than senior safety Brady Manning.
Manning not only led the Lions in tackles with 12, a personal best, but also caught his second career interception, blocked a punt, and scored his first-ever varsity touchdown. Manning feels that not only this game, but this season as a whole is the result of the hard work he’s put in throughout his four years as a Lion.
“I’ve put in a lot of work throughout my career to get to this moment,” Manning said.
This upcoming week the Lions will have a well-deserved rest on their bye week before they face their toughest test of the season on homecoming nonetheless, division rival Wekiva in a game that holds playoff implications.