Correction: Jormonte Hunter scored four touchdowns during the game against Okeechobee. The original article was mistaken on this point.
VERO BEACH — Jormonte Hunter ran for 124 yards and four Tds Friday night to help the Vero Beach Fighting Indians open the regular season with a 36-0 victory over Okeechobee.
Dion Holmes led the defensive charge with several tackles and an interception as Vero Beach avenged last week’s Kickoff Classic loss to Sebastian.
“I just got behind my offensive line and followed my blocks,” said Hunter. “We just executed great tonight.”
Coach Gary Coggin was expecting a better performance from his team and was pleased with what he saw.
“We knew we needed to come out with intensity,” said Coggin. “Our team picked up the tempo in practice, and it helped our execution tonight.”
Vero Beach opened the game with an 85-yard, 11-play drive, paced by Hunter who carried the ball four times for 56 yards. Hunter scored his first TD of the night with a 3-yard dash with 1:06 left in the first quarter.
The second quarter was filled with mistakes and penalties, but a 20-yard interception return to the Okeechobee 10 led to another TD for Hunter from the 5-yard line. Three minutes later, at the 3:13 mark, Hunter scored another touchdown with a 15-yard blast up the middle. Pat Baker missed the extra point to make the score 27-0 at halftime.
Vero Beach opened the scoring in the third quarter with a safety, when Okeechobee quarterback DJ Washington fell on a bad snap in his own end zone. After fielding the ensuing kickoff, Vero Beach marched down the field 49 yards in six plays. The drive ended with a TD run to make the score 36-0.
Coach Gary Coggin began to substitute at that point.
“I’ve been on the other end of these kinds of games, and I know how their team feels,” said Coggin. “I don’t want to make their kids enjoy the game that I love any less by running up the score.”
