Venice head coach John Peacock was confident his team had the ability to compete with the sixth-best team in the country prior to last Friday’s game, and the Indians backed up that confidence with a really impressive game plan and performance against IMG Academy.
Here are some takeaways from that game, along with what Venice’s future may hold as the regular season continues to wind down.
NOT OUTMATCHED IN ANY PHASE
During the previous four meetings with IMG’s national team, Venice simply wasn’t as talented and it didn’t have the size and speed to keep up with all of the athletes the Ascenders were trotting out at will.
This time, though, that wasn’t the case at all.
Yes, IMG shot itself in the foot numerous times with the double-digit penalties it earned — including a handful of costly personal fouls — but that shouldn’t take away from what the Indians were able to accomplish.
Venice offensive and defensive lines matched up with the Ascenders well, with each unit playing a physical brand of football that lasted for all four quarters.
The Indians offense didn’t reach its usual offensive output obviously, but Venice consistently moved the ball — in the air and on the ground — throughout Friday’s contest.
Defensively, Venice held an IMG offense that had averaged a little over 40 points per game coming in to just 21. Consistent pressure from players like Asharri Charles, Eli Jones and Dillon Bryant gave way to sure tackling by Landon Marsters, Tanner Ruh, Cole Wetherington and others.
A defense that hasn’t been able to stop much of anything prior to the Lehigh game has clearly turned some kind of corner, and that bodes well for Venice’s quest to get over that state championship hump that’s haunted the Indians over the past two seasons.
Kicker/punter Brunno Reus also did his thing, hitting a 45-yard field goal, making his extra points and consistently forcing touchbacks on kickoffs.
The bottom line here is that IMG was fortunate to leave Venice last Friday with a victory.
MORE METHODICAL ON OFFENSE
As everybody knows by now, Venice’s offense operates at a cheetah’s pace.
The name of the game during every drive is speed, speed and more speed to wear down the opposition, so Venice can eventually outlast teams in the second half.
Going into this game, the script was flipped, and it probably came as a surprise to the Ascenders.
From the opening drive to the final one, Venice sat and watched the play clock dwindle below 10 seconds nearly every play. It was an adjustment that was genius in allowing the Indians to limit the game’s possessions and focus on each play against a team that had deep and talented depth.
For instance, Venice’s first touchdown drive in the first quarter lasted nearly seven minutes. That’s unheard of for an Indians’ offensive attack.
Slow and steady nearly won the race for Venice.
MISSED CHANCES HIGHLIGHTED DEFEAT
There were three possessions in Friday’s game that looked like they’d yield points for the Indians, only for the home team to come up empty every time.
The first was a turnover on downs inside the IMG 30 midway through the second quarter. Winston Watkins Jr. was stuffed on a fourth and two, leading to an empty possession with the Ascenders holding a 14-7 lead at the time.
In the third, Watkins Jr. again was called on to run it in from a yard and half out on a fourth and goal. This time, the four-star wideout was stopped once again, which held the deficit at 21-10 just a couple of minutes before the start of the fourth.
Even with the missed chances stated above, Venice still controlled its own destiny midway through the fourth.
A promising drive that saw the Indians moving the ball well was eventually bogged down by costly penalties. Eventually, a third and 22 was too much to overcome, and Venice was forced to punt the ball with 3:30 left.
With Venice down its timeouts, IMG picked up a single first down and secured the win.
Moral victories obviously don’t count, but the Indians really showed the caliber of team they really are last Friday.
VENICE ON TOP IN 7A
The Indians are the clear favorite in 7A come December.
This Venice team is as well-rounded as the program has had arguably ever, and with the defense starting to show signs of playing very good football, it’s becoming hard to imagine another time in Venice’s class that will be hoisting a trophy at the end of the year.
The Indians are the top team in 7A in both the FHSAA and MaxPreps rankings currently, with teams like Seminole (6-0), Dr. Phillips (6-0), Columbus (4-2) and Lake Mary (4-2) rounding out the top five.
While all of those teams would be quality opponents for Venice, none of them have played the caliber of schedule the Indians have.
Venice should be sitting at 9-1 heading into the postseason with games against Riverview, Clearwater Central Catholic (ranked 14th in Florida on MaxPreps) and Sarasota remaining.
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