VERO BEACH — Vero Beach homecoming was in full effect Friday night at the Citrus Bowl. The Fighting Indians took to the field after their bye week to host the East Lake Jaguars. Vero Beach suffered a disappointing loss to rival Ft. Pierce Central two weeks ago and many players couldn’t wait to get back on the field. Vero Beach quarterback Dalton Stokes said the loss motivated the team for the homecoming game.
“The loss to Central left a bitter taste in our mouths for over two weeks. So we were really motivated to come back out here and get a W,” Stokes said. “There was a lot of skepticism that we lost to a nationally ranked team and we wouldn’t be able to go that far in the playoffs. We decided to come out here and play hard fast football and get that bitter taste out of our mouth.”
Vero Beach head coach Lenny Jankowski said he wanted to see if the three hour trip from East Lake would slow down the Jaguars. “Because they have so many talented athletes momentum in a game like this is important,” Jankowski said. We wanted to get out and jump on them early especially with them traveling.”
In the first quarter Vero Beach scored at the 10:28 mark of their first possession when Dalton Stokes hit Vero receiver Jimmy Williamson for a touchdown. Both teams exchanged punts then with 4:45 to go in the first Vero defensive back Sean Paul scooped up an errant Jaguar pass that set Vero up in Jaguar territory. Vero kicker Karson Dietrich kicked a 27 yard field goal with 2:27 to go that gave Vero a 10-7 lead at the end of the first.
Vero tacked on two quick points with 8:53 left in the second quarter when a Jaguar snap sailed into the end zone for a safety. Vero then scored on 1 yard run by junior running back Jason Pierre with 6:32 to go. Vero’s defense came to life in the second quarter with three interceptions by three different players. Vero defensive captain Cole Ripple tipped a Jaguar pass into the hands of Vero’s Andrew Stirat with 5:41 to go. That pick led to a Stokes to Jamario Lambert touchdown pass and a 25 – 0 Vero lead.
Vero defensive back Jaimie Giampietro picked off the Jags with 1:26 to go in the second and junior defensive back Will Dawkins intercepted East Lake on the final play of the first half. Ripple said our coaches were the difference. “We were the better coached team, Ripple said. “With these coaches you can go against anyone.”
Ripple had to serve double duty Friday night. He was voted as the homecoming king by is classmates. “It’s such an honor,” Ripple said. “I really can’t describe the feelings when they announced my name and I looked up and saw the whole crowd.” Senior cheerleader and Student Government president Allie Schepers was selected as the 2012 homecoming queen.
Vero added to their lead in the third quarter when running back Jason Pierre scored his second touchdown of the game from 19 yards out. East Lake was able to score on a 48 yard quarterback keeper and a 2 point conversion to close out the third quarter 32-8.
Vero Beach added one more touchdown to their tally when Stokes hooked up with Jimmy Williamson on a 9 yard touchdown pass. Coach Jankowski praised the Jaguar’s effort. “They had some really good players and are well coached,” Jankowski said. “We surely had some fits doing some of the things we like to do. All things considered I thought we played pretty consistent and we got the win.”
Vero Beach will travel to St. Lucie West Centennial Friday for their first district game of the season.
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