By Michael Bielecki
VERO BEACH – Despite suffering two losses in their first two games, Vero Beach Coach Gary Coggin says the West Boca Bulls will provide a difficult test for his Fighting Indians.”They’re a quality football team,” said Coggin. “Their two losses are against elite programs, and by no means are we taking these guys lightly.”
West Boca (0-1) is coming off a physical 21-6 loss against cross-town rival Boca Raton, while Vero Beach (1-0) pitched a shutout against an outmanned Okeechobee team. Game time is 7:30 p.m. at the Citrus Bowl. Vero Beach, in return, will be a tough matchup for the Bulls. Jormonte Hunter is coming off a 131-yard, 4-TD performance, where the Fighting Indians gained a total of 334 yards rushing. The defense was flawless, allowing only 16 yards of total offense to an undersized Brahman squad.
Coggin says his team had a great practice on Wednesday and is focused on this week’s opponent and what type of football they play. “West Boca has shown offensive balance,” said Coggin. “They have a decent QB and good receivers. They will try to keep us spread out, and either run or throw to our weakness.
“We have to go there, execute our assignments, and play mistake-free football beat to West Boca.”
The Bulls offensive leader so far is Aspha Smart, who rushed for 106 yards on 19 carries last week. He’s rated as a three-star prospect (Rivals.com) and has scholarship offers from Ole’ Miss and Florida Atlantic University.
Coggin is looking forward to the game, and he’s happy with the way his defense looks so far. “Good things will happen when you pursue the football,” said Coggin. “We’re blessed with pretty good speed, even though we aren’t huge. Dion Holmes stepped up last week, and David Dixson the week before that. I hope it’s somebody different this week. We aren’t developing a superstar here; we play with 11 guys that swarm to the football.”
West Boca is, indeed, an early test for the Fighting Indians. Both teams have good size on the offensive line, and speed on defense. Due to home field advantage, VBHS has the edge here but not by much. If VBHS can cut down on the 88 penalty yards they had last week, it will make a huge difference, and they should control the game.