LEESBURG, Fla. — Leesburg High School’s offense put on a clinic Friday night, steamrolling past University High School from Orlando with a commanding 54-0 victory. Leading the charge was freshman wide receiver Lamar Garrison, who was named Offensive Player of the Week after an electrifying performance.

Garrison hauled in four catches for 133 yards and found the end zone three time. Garrison is one of the top freshman wide recievers in the USA. All eyes were on him and he certainly lived up to the hype. All of his touchdowns came in the first half. He put on a showcase alongside quarterback Xavier Irizarry.

(Xavier Irizzary won his first first regular season game as a Leesburg Yellow Jacket. He’s been very impressive in the off-season and he came out throwing despite the downpours during the game.)

Irizarry, a senior who has become known for his calm presence in the pocket, was equally impressive. Irizzary completed 7 of 12 passes for 172 yards, all in the first half, connecting with Garrison for all three of his touchdown passes. The duo’s chemistry was on full display. These two have been very impressive in pre-season.

“We’ve been working hard all week, and it’s great to see it pay off on the field,” Garrison said. “Xavier put the ball in the perfect spot every time. We were just in sync tonight,” said Garrison after the game.

(Nothing but green grass in front of him. Lamar Garrison celebrates on his way to the endzone. He would have 3 touchdowns in the 54-0 win against University.)

Leesburg’s ground game was also in top form. Carlos Villalongo, another senior, powered through the University defense with 79 yards on nine carries, adding two touchdowns to the rout. Muscles Patterson chipped in with six carries for 48 yards and a touchdown. I spoke with offensive line coach Anthony Dicunto after the game “These boys deserve so much credit. They have worked so hard this off-season and I am so proud of these guys. We have to clean some things up but overall this is a solid group who’s primed for big things in 2024!” said coach Dicunto.

(Leesburg High celebrate after their first win of the 2024 season. This was also head coach Frank Scott’s first win with the program.)

“It was a complete team effort,” said Leesburg head coach Frank Scott. “Lamar and Xavier were outstanding, but we also ran the ball well, and our defense gave us great field position all night. We’re looking forward to the year,” says coach Scott. I also asked coach Scott how it felt to get his first victory for Leesburg High “It feels good to at Leesburg! Go Jackets!” said coach Scott.

Leesburg’s defense was equally dominant, keeping University off the scoreboard. Sylvester Dority made 6 tackles, Don’yea Johnson also made 3 tackles with 1.5 tackles for a loss. Camden Blackburn had 2 interceptions in the victory and James Benton also had an interception. I also have to give a huge shoutout to freshman Micah Alsean Lambert who had a huge impact on special teams and had made two onside’s kickoff recoveries which helped Leesburg’s offense. He was outstanding and I can’t wait to watch him develop the next few years.

(The Offensive-Line does not always get credit but they played an impressive game on Friday night. This group of young men allowed Xavier Irizzary protection all night long.)

With Garrison, Irizarry, and the rest of the offense firing on all cylinders, Leesburg looks like a team poised to make a deep run this season. This team looks as good if not better than last year’s team.