VERO BEACH — Rumors of Vero Beach High School Football’s demise were greatly exaggerated, it appears.
Coming off two seasons that ended on bad notes and the firing of five-year head football coach Gary Coggin (35-20 in his tenure) sent shockwaves through the entire Treasure Coast sports community, and a sense of panic spread from through the proud football town of Vero Beach.
Vero Beach lost its leading tackler and leading rusher over the past two years in Dion Holmes and Jormonte Hunter. The offense lost Under-Armour All-American offensive lineman Marcus Jackson to University of Tennessee, and the defense lost several key contributors: safety Larry Franklin to Vanderbilt; defensive ends Cody Horstman and Lars Koht to Florida International University; defensive lineman David Dixson to Butler Community College (Kansas); and linebacker Austin Carter to Choate Rosemary Hall Prep School.
Eight months and a 45-21 win over New Smyrna Beach later, new football coach Lenny Jankowski has the Fighting Indians primed and ready for the big season few thought possible. Their pre-season game Friday against Jensen Beach is something his team is ready for.
“I think our kids are excited, and as a coaching staff we’re excited to see how we match up with an opponent,” Jankowski said. “As a team we really are looking forward to taking the field tomorrow night. I’m pretty optimistic about it. I think some good things are going to happen.”
Jankowski has spent most of his time at Vero Beach High School installing a new offense and defense, and getting the players to buy into a new mentality.
“The competition in practice is great, and our kids really work hard. Our practices have a very high-tempo, and that’s what we really look for. We’ve had few ups and downs as we’ve gone through it, and the work ethic has been what we’re looking for. Our kids work hard and they are very coachable.”
Jankowski’s spread offense guarantees to put the ball into the air 20-30 times per game, which is a big departure from the run-heavy Wing-T offense run by Vero Beach for most of the past two decades. In comparison, last year’s starting quarterback, Todd Fennell, attempted just 90 passes all year.
To run his offense, Jankowski has found two senior quarterbacks – Nick Madden and E.J. Pryor. Madden, who transferred from John Carroll where he would have been the unquestioned starter, has combined Pryor, a converted running back, to form a formidable two-headed monster at quarterback for the Fighting Indians.
“I think we are in a situation where we have two above-average high school quarterbacks on this team, and we’ll play to each one’s talents and abilities when they are on the field,” Jankowski said. “There are things that Nick does well, and things that E.J. does well. I think that gives us a huge advantage, because our opponents have to prepare for both of them.”
“Nick can make every throw in the book,” said Jankowski. “E.J. has a very high level of football savvy, and he can play a lot of different spots. He’ll get a lot of touches on offense, and you’ll see that Friday night and every Friday night after.”
The quarterbacks will not want for good receivers in 2011. One of the biggest question marks for the team going into the season will be the cause of indigestion for many a defensive coordinator this fall.
Jankowski plucked two of the area’s best basketball players in Charlie Miller and Jeremy Bell from Vero’s backcourt and put them at the outside receiver position. He converted running back Nate Pryor into a slot receiver and moved Rakeem Marcelle from outside receiver to the other slot receiver.
What was once Vero Beach’s problem quickly became everyone else’s problem.
“Those four guys can play with the best of them,” Jankowski said. “There may be a game Rakeem has eight or nine catches, and the next game it will be Nate, Charlie or Jeremy. There is just so little drop-off between all of them. Even talking about it now, it gets me excited. I think some good things are really going to happen.”
Rashard Oliver and E.J. Pryor will be the top reserve receivers, giving this group what may be unmatched depth or talent on the Treasure Coast.
At running back, senior Dentist Hall and sophomore Jason Pierre will see the majority of playing time. Hall put on 15-pounds of muscle in the off-season, and is a punishing runner with good speed. Pierre is a diminutive, shifty runner with speed to burn around the corner.
The offensive line is anchored by senior center Joe Hawkins (6-foot-1, 285 pounds) and junior left tackle Connor Moore (6-foot-2, 245 pounds).
The defense is a group headed by 6-foot-3, 230-pound defensive end Dwayne Hoilett. A speedy, physical specimen who will evoke images of Vero Beach legend Kenny Holmes, Hoilett committed to University of Miami over the summer to play football after putting on an MVP performance at one of their camps. 6-foot 290-pound defensive tackle Tracis Espich was moved from left guard to help free up Hoilett to make plays this fall.
Linebacker features three new starters in juniors Josh Gallo, Connor Moore, and Cole Ripple. With Moore sure to attract a lot of attention at middle linebacker, the fast and physical Gallo and Ripple will be free to make plays behind a solid defensive line. Moore will be targeted by defenses due to some off-season accolades he earned at various football camps he flourished at.
The secondary is Vero Beach’s best defensive group, where there is a good mix of size and speed. Junior Garthner “Sean” Paul returns to his starting cornerback position, where he’ll be joined by senior Dravious Wright at the other cornerback spot. E.J. Pryor and Charles Ivory will play safety, with junior Jamie Giampietro and senior Marcus Moore rotating in frequently.
“When we bring Jamie and Marcus into the game, it will allow us to shift Pryor and Ivory to safety if we want,” Jankowski said. “we’ve really re-shuffled the secondary, and from week-to-week it might change up.”
Jankowski has had to be careful not to get his players hurt during practice, where the quarterback is usually off-limits for the defense. After months of having his kids hit each other every day, he says his defense is overdue to hit an opponent.
“Our kids are ready to take any kind of restraints off,” Jankowski said. “The defense will be ready to fly around, and our defensive coaches see this as an opportunity to let them do just that – be physical.
Offensively, Jensen Beach will be a throwback to the old Billy Livings-coached teams of the 1980‘s with their Veer offense. According to Jankowski, stopping the offense will be a challenge.
“It isn’t tough to simulate that kind of scheme in practice, but it is tough to simulate that type of speed from your scout team offense,” Jankowski said. “We’re in South Florida, and every week will be a challenge. Each team is going to have good players and the coaches work hard across the board.”
Friday night’s game at home against Jensen Beach starts at 7:30, and Jankowski will not just coach, he’ll also be part of the 12th Man.
“I tell our players, that on Friday nights I almost become their biggest fan,” Jankowski said. “After all of the work we put in through the spring, summer and fall camp, I think things are going to be very exciting tomorrow night.”
