Leon football start season 3-0 for first time in 38 years | Big Bend football week 3

Party like it's 1985.

Leon football is off to a 3-0 to start the season for the first time in 38 years.

The Lions beat FAMU DRS 63-0 on Friday night, the team's second consecutive shutout victory after blanking Gainesville 21-0 last week. Leon head coach Tyrone McGriff said it was a good moment for the team to start the year like this, but he doesn't want it to lose focus on the rest of the season.

"I think everybody understands what the process is like now, we are nowhere where we want to be yet though," McGriff said. "Our season is broken up into legs. We got the first leg down, and now we're about to go into the second leg."

The Lions have now won four straight games dating back to the final game of last season, when it beat New Smyrna Beach 21-19. Now in his second year as head coach at Leon, McGriff feels his system is in place. He believes players are understanding the way he wants to run the program with everyone buying into his coaching style.

McGriff told his players to enjoy the victory. He also reminded them they play visiting Panama City Mosely Thursday, Sep. 14 for arguably Leon's toughest test of the season so far.

"They're just starting to lock in, and you know success breeds success," McGriff said. "Hopefully we can keep this going. We can't go back and play the same teams over and over again, so it's just about getting prepared for the next week."

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"Dominating the process"

Since taking over the Leon program, McGriff was aware that turning the program around was going to be a process. Now the second-year head coach wants his players to not only buy into the process of turning the culture around but dominate it.

"The message is the process," McGriff said. "We have standards on how we go to class, we have standards on what we wear to school, we have standards on all those things, and if you can't do those small things, I know you can't come out here and dominate the process in a game."

One of the players buying into McGriff's philosophy of dominating the process is junior quarterback Kemp Peoples. He threw for six touchdowns in the win over FAMU DRS, two to senior Isaiah Bighem, one to Elijah Bighem and three to Kamari Jones, and he feels the relationship with his receivers is at an all-time high.

"My receivers are always open," Peoples said. "I feel like I could just throw that thing up anywhere and they will run under it for a touchdown almost every time."

Peoples wants Leon to remain focused on the rest of the season. For the junior quarterback, he feels like keeping this run going starts with the little things.

"The process is simple, it's just about the little things," Peoples said. "We just want to do the little things correctly, we want to be able to tackle everything at 110 percent."

Keeping the momentum going

Coming into the week three matchup with FAMU DRS, McGriff told his players he wanted them to keep their feet on the gas and dominate.

"For us to dominate, it's just about playing at the highest you can play all the time, and that's what coach McGriff said in the pregame," said junior offensive/defensive lineman Austin Powell. "That's what we did tonight."

Powell, who was part of last season's 1-9 Leon team, said that the turnaround has come in part because of McGriff's style of coaching. The junior said McGriff keeps the team focused on the task at hand, be it at practice, in the weight room or after a game.

"It's very important," Powell said about McGriff keeping the players focused. "We got to keep our minds focused because a lot of people might think, oh yeah we started out 3-0, but we still got seven more games to go."

Powell said the only thing he wants to see from the team the rest of the season is no change in attitude. He said if the team stays disciplined like McGriff wants them to be, it will be a good year for Leon.

"I want to see them stay the same," Powell said about the team. "I like how we still kept the foot on the gas, that's very important to the whole team because that keeps everybody going. When a team is showing discipline, they are usually gonna be a good team."

Leon will host Mosely on Thursday, Sep. 14 at Gene Cox Stadium. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. kickoff.

Scores from the Big Bend

Thursday: Lincoln 28, Niceville 14

Lincoln picks up its second win of the year, the Trojans host

Friday: Madison County 30, Fitzgerald 16

The Cowboys take the field for the first time since Hurricane Idalia and pick up a big win over Fitzgerald. The Cowboys host Columbia next week.

Wakulla 49, Munroe 7

The War Eagles keep's its perfect start to the season, quarterback Haden Klees threw for five touchdowns. Wakulla host Seminole County next week. Munroe travels to Suwanne next week.

Florida High 38, Lecanto 7

The Seminoles bounce back from a one-point loss to Ponte Vedra last week with an emphatic win over Lecanto. Florida High travels to Gadsden County next week.

Aucilla Christian 48, Trinity Christian Academy 0

The Warriors blanks Trinity Christian Academy, quarterback Landon LaRosa threw for 76 yards and one touchdown, rushing two touchdowns as well. Ethan Bass rushed for a touchdown and led the Warriors in tackles with six, and senior Aiden Gray recovered a fumble and returned it for a touchdown.

Gadsden County 52, Bay 15

The Jaguars keep up its momentum with a big win over Bay. Gadsden County host Florida High next week.

North Florida Christian 46, Jefferson County 12

The Eagles picked up their first win of the season in a blowout victory over Jefferson County. NFC is now 1-2 and hosts Taylor County next week. Jefferson County falls to 0-2 and hosts Fort White on Monday in Monticello. The game was rescheduled due to Hurricane Idalia.

True North Classical Academy 41, Maclay 13

Maclay host Cambridge Christain next week.

Navarre 45, Rickards 18

A road loss for Rickards, the Raiders will look to bounce back next week against Godby.

Cairo 51, Godby 20

Godby loses its first game of the season, the Cougars face Rickards next week.

Hollis Christian at St. John Paul II (canceled)

Liam Rooney covers preps sports for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at LRooney@gannett.com or on Twitter @__liamrooney

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Leon's 3-0 start highlights Tallahassee high school football Week 3