If you like scoring, the Tee Pee was the place to be on Friday night.
Venice (2-0) outlasted Miami Northwestern (1-1) in an overtime thriller at home 48-42 in a game that saw the Indians and the Bulls have eight different players add something to the scoreboard.
None had a bigger score than Dorian Irving-Jones, who punched in the game-winning touchdown for Venice from 3 yards out in overtime.
“All I could think was get in the end zone so we could take it home,” Irving-Jones said. “We played a great game, played a great football team, I’m looking forward to the next season when we play them again. Hopefully, we have the same outcome next time.”
In a game between two top-15 teams in the USA Today Super 25, the game lived up to the billing.
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The Indians started the game with a bad snap and turnover on their first play from scrimmage but came up with a blocked field goal to get the ball right back.
USF commit Tywan Cox reeled in a tip-drill interception, and Tarvial Mathis Jr., and broke the ice with a 16-yard touchdown carry for Northwestern.
Venice responded with back-to-back scores. First, Brunno Reus booted a 53-yard field goal, then Irving-Jones struck with a 9-yard touchdown run that gave the Indians their first lead of the contest. He fittingly scored Venice’s first and last touchdowns of the game.
The two squads traded blows for the rest of the game. We wouldn’t even see a punt until midway through the third quarter.
Jamrice Wilder dominated the ground game all night for Venice. The James Madison commit tallied around 300 yards rushing with a pair of touchdowns on 26 touches, including several stick-moving carries on fourth-down tries.
“He’s a touchdown waiting to happen when they hand the ball to him,” Peacock said. “Give my man his fourth star, please. Please!”
Five-star junior Calvin Russell Jr. was the spoon that stirred the Bulls’ drink all night. With less than three minutes to play, he caught a ball near the line of scrimmage and took it more than 50 yards for a house call that gave Northwestern a 42-39 lead.
But the Indians responded how they had all night, with carries that moved them down the field 4 or 5 yards at a time. They worked down the field until they put Reus well within his range for a field goal to force overtime.
Reus lined up from 42 yards out and put up a kick that looked true from the second it left his foot.
But Russell Jr., standing at 6-foot-5, got a hand on the kick at the line of scrimmage. Northwestern could only watch as the ball fluttered six inches above the post.
“[Brunno] is unbelievable,” Peacock said. “He’ll be kicking on Sundays, for sure. He’s a weapon, for sure.”
The Bulls had the ball first in overtime, but on third down, Kyni Branley got a toe-dragging interception on a pass intended for Russell Jr. that ended Northwestern’s attempt. Irving-Jones sealed the deal with his touchdown.
“The game is fun, but stress-wise, it’s not worth it,” Winston Watkins Jr. said. “Yeah it’s fun, but it’s too stressful for a team like us. We’re too good to be going to overtime.”
Winston Watkins Jr. had his fingerprints all over this game
The four-star senior saw snaps at wideout, running back, quarterback, cornerback, and kick return. He finished with over 100 all-purpose yards including special teams, a touchdown run, a touchdown reception, and a two-point conversion. When he was in at cornerback on pivotal series, he kept gains to a minimum on his side of the field.
“I’m a playmaker,” he said. “I make plays no matter where I’m at. Defense, offense, kick return, punt return, I’m going to make a play. That’s what it shows.”
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The top-3 receiver in the nation finished with three touchdown catches and did everything in his power to keep Northwestern in the game. He likely would’ve finished with more, but around half of his targets were just too far out of reach, even with his incredibly long frame.
Venice is still as good as it gets in Florida high school football
Over their last eight quarters and overtime, the Indians have hung 112 points on the board. And they weren’t against schools that nobody has heard of. Both Tampa Bay Tech and Northwestern started the season in the USA Today Florida Super 25, and both fell victim to the whirlwind that is the Indian offense.
With Watkins, Wilder, and Irving-Jones, there’s no shortage of athleticism on Venice’s sideline. And if any one of them can’t quite get to the end zone, Reus is there to make sure the Indians rarely leave a drive empty-handed.
Northwestern proves a point in defeat
It’s a three-hour, 208-mile drive from Miami Northwestern, and the Bulls made the trip under first-year head coach Teddy Bridgewater. Northwestern is coming off of a 4-6 season, is under a new regime, drove halfway across the state, and still pushed Venice to the absolute brink. All this with a Bull going down with cramps seemingly every fourth-quarter play while simultaneously struggling with self-inflicted penalties on both sides of the ball all night. Most coaches will tell you that there are no moral victories in football. But if there ever was one, it was the Bulls’ in this loss.
Leon Strawder, despite throwing two interceptions, pieced together surgical drives that kept Northwestern in the game when they needed it most. He finished 19-of-32 and connected with six different receivers.
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Publish date : 2024-08-30 18:17:00
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