The second week of the regular season is now in the books for the Venice Vikings youth football teams, and there was a lot to be happy about on Saturday at Letson Stadium.
Naples Gators 20, 6U Venice Vikings 0Uncommon mistakes paved the way for a loss on Saturday for the 6U Venice Vikings. Venice hosted the Naples Gators this past weekend, and six offensive penalties and a crucial turnover stopped three Venice drives deep in Naples territory.
The offense moved much better this week, compared to last week, which was possible behind the running by phenomenal running backs Nakari Currington, Easton Morales and Kayson Hicks. The offensive line created holes for the running game, and players like Luke Braswell, Logan Braswell, Greyson Reese, Chase Miller and Marshall Seidel helped pave the way.
The Vikings started the second half only down by six points but just couldn’t keep up down the stretch. The secondary — led by Kaitlin Goodwin, Nowlan Kowalczik and Oliver Martinez — did all they could, making multiple touchdown-saving tackles throughout the game.
Next, the Vikings travel down to Fort Myers on Saturday to face the Firecats.
8U Venice Vikings 13, Naples Gators 0
The 8U Venice Vikings continued their winning ways as they defeated the Naples Gators, 13-0, in a battle of 8U heavyweights. The defense once again led the way, only giving up two first downs all game against the Gators. Bennie Adams and Chase McCord each had an interception to help stifle the Gators offense. Brantley Eplin, Boston Adams, Wyatt Hrovat, Jordan Wolvington and Azion Williams all made big plays with tackles for loss, helping slow down any momentum the Gators tried to muster up.
The Venice offense was led by Noamel Martinez with two touchdowns on the day. Additionally, Karson Richardson helped the Vikings convert an extra point for the final score of the day. In the backfield, Williams helped the team with hard, strong runs throughout the game, and the bulldozers up front made those runs possible. They were led by offensive linemen Cooper Guilfoyle, Brady Adams, Nathan Varvell, Sammy Green, Lorenzo Spazialetti, Levi Gendron and Anthony Rojas.
Next weekend, the Vikings travel to Fort Myers to face the undefeated Firecats in another 8U battle for first place.
10U Venice Vikings 36, Naples Gators 0The 10U Venice Vikings played host to the Naples Gators on Saturday at Letson Stadium, beating down the road team at home. The Vikings dominated the Gators all game, led by Dadrian Richardson with a spectacular four touchdown performance. Jaeden Charles and Zakari Bell added touchdowns as well.
The Venice defense was lights out as the Gators had minus 43 yards on offense and did not convert a single first down all game. Players like Jude Jones, Hank Harris, Bryden Jones, Jackson Shinsky and Hudson Stough controlled the defensive line all game long.
Next, Venice will travel to Fort Myers next weekend to take on the Fort Myers Firecats.
11U Venice Vikings 18, Naples Canes 7Venice 11U pulled out a tough, hard-fought win against the Naples Canes on Saturday.
Venice started on defense, coming up with an interception from Colton McCord on the first drive to give the ball to the Vikings offense. The first play on offense was a Carter Steinhoff 32-yard touchdown run to get Venice on the board. Later, Steinhoff earned his second touchdown on a 70-yard run putting Venice up, 12-0. The defense was stout with a goal-line stand and a couple of interceptions courtesy of by TJ Zehr and Bowen McDermott during the game. The final Venice score of the day was by Colton McCord on a five-yard rushing TD.
12U Venice Vikings 44, Naples Gators 12The 12U Vikings hosted the Naples Gators for their second game of the season on Saturday, taking care of business. The Vikings started out on defense, forcing a fumble on the first play of the game. Venice started to move the ball on the ensuing drive before throwing an interception that turned into a touchdown for the Gators. That touchdown would be the only time the Gators held a lead.
Following the pick six, Venice drove down the field and tied the game at six early in the first quarter, then, after forcing another fumble, the Vikings started taking over the scoreboard. Venice’s fast-paced offense showed to be too much for the Gators, as running backs Anthony Alexander, Caiden Goodwin, Chance Larose and Nicholas Stough all carried a heavy work load in dominating the Gator defense. Quarterbacks Mason Polly and Owen McCord showed great leadership, moving offensive drives up and down the field with both their arms and their legs. Also, Nate Arena grabbed some important catches to keep drives alive and put the Vikings in position to score.
Venice’s hard-hitting defense was led by a great group of athletes on Saturday. Rylan Bannan, Peyton Richardson, Gage Wolvington, Cade Swafford, Wyatt McCord and Chris Keisel were just a few of the names that were called out for massive impacts on the defensive side of the ball. The defense as a whole only gave up one touchdown drive, which didn’t come until late in the third quarter.
The Vikings looked very impressive in the win and are now headed into a tough stretch of competition as they take their 2-0 record on the road against the Fort Myers Firecats on Saturday.
13U Venice Vikings 26, North Fort Myers Knights 0The Venice Vikings 13U team hosted Week 2 of the regular season against the North Fort Myers Knights for a 6:30 p.m. kickoff on Saturday. Venice received the ball first and marched right down the field, scoring on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Noah Wireman to Kendrick Murray. Curtis Bowdre had a 40-yard touchdown run and a couple of big gains throughout the day. He had nine rushes for 118 yards, in addition to a couple of receptions from Wireman in the pass game. Bryce Bigelow had 13 rushes for 130 yards, plus a 65-yard touchdown catch. Offense linemen Alex Duff, Ryan Weimer, AJ Yaniero and Cooper Bolan had a great day at the line of scrimmage.
The defense was led by Alex Duff, who had several big tackles in the game. Defensive back Dain Kanteh had an interception in the contest as well. Defensive linemen Ryan Belvin and Colson McDermott had a good night on defense too. Additionally, Justin Gonzalez and Austin Bowman both had multiple tackles on the night. Lastly, Aiden Leitzen came up with a forced fumble in the win.
With the win, Venice improved to 2-0 for the season and now travels to Naples this weekend to face the Naples Canes.
Local News
Comments / 0