By Michael BieleckiVero Beach – Okeechobee comes to town to take on Vero Beach Friday to open the high school football season and Vero Beach Coach Gary Coggin is looking to give fellow Florida State University alumnus Myron Jackson a season-opening loss.After getting in trouble with the state for holding Sunday practices, Okeechobee brought Jackson in from North Carolina A&T University to shore up the program. Jackson, a defensive line guru, has the difficult task of stopping a powerful Vero Beach running attack. “This week our kids have practiced, and executed on both sides of the ball in spite of challenging practice conditions,” said Coggin. “We’re going to try to play good fundamental football against an opponent we don’t know a whole lot about.”
Okeechobee brings freshman quarterback PJ Washington to Vero Beach against a fast and talented defense. Coggin insists he’s not planning anything special, but he’s filled some of the holes that led to a 17-10 loss in last week’s pre-season game against Sebastian River High School. “We’ve looked at the tapes and solved some of our problems,” said Coggin. “Our coaching staff and kids have worked hard this week.”The fighting Indians will rely on a steady dose of Stevie Wallace and Jormonte Hunter running the ball to wear Okeechobee down. On defense, Vero Beach should be able to take advantage of playing against a freshman quarterback and make him make some key mistakes.
With both teams coming off a preseason loss, it’s hard to favor one team or another. However, Vero Beach has the “12th man” (home field advantage), and that may be enough to win.
