ST. LUCIE — The Fighting Indians took to the road for the second and final time of the regular season and the trip was rewarding. Vero Beach positioned itself for the playoffs with the win by defeating the Eagles who had lost to the third piece to the district puzzle – Treasure Coast – earlier this month.
Prior to Friday’s opening kickoff Centennial Coach Ron Parker said it wasn’t going to be an easy game.
“Vero has a high paced offense and we don’t want to play their game,” Parker said. “We want to ground and pound the football and chew up the clock. Our best defense might be to keep Vero’s offense off the field as long as possible.”
Parker’s strategy seemed to be working in the first quarter. Vero Beach was unable to generate any offensive momentum which was uncharacteristic according to head coach Lenny Jankowski.
“It was a tight game, we were a little bit out of synch,” Jankowski said. “I think the first three offense drives we were three and out which is a little uncharacteristic of what we have done at this point.”
Just nine seconds into the second quarter it was Centennial who found their offensive groove scoring on a 37 yard touchdown pass that put the Eagles up 7-0.
Vero running back Jason Pierre answered the Centennial score when Vero went for it on a fourth and one from the ten yard line. Pierre lunged into the endzone with 9:25 left in the first half to tie the score at seven. Vero Beach moved the ball well in the final minutes of the second quarter but kicker Karson Deitrich could not connect on a 39 yard attempt to finish out the half.
Vero Beach started the third quarter on defense and defensive end Josh started the second half with his second sack of the night.
“I didn’t think their offensive line played very aggressive,” Ealy said. “When I see a guy who isn’t going to play his block I’m going to take advantage of that. I was able to get in the gaps and get some pressure.”
With 5:44 to go in the third Vero was on the scoreboard again on a 19 yard pass from quarterback Dalton Stokes to receiver Jimmy Williamson in the deep left corner of the endzone. Williamson was happy to create the spark for the offense in the third quarter. “It was a great play. Dalton threw a great pass,” Williamson said. “It felt good to come in and get some work done.”
Stokes threw his fifteenth touchdown of the season in the fourth quarter when he connected with receiver Jamario Lambert down the far sideline for the 21-7 lead with 7:48 to go in the game. Lambert said he wasn’t getting many looks during the game.
“They were playing me pretty well and I wasn’t getting that many looks,” Lambert said. “I knew I would get some as the game went on and in the fourth I got a big big look for a touchdown.”
Vero had the game put away but with under five minutes to go the Fighting Indians were flagged for a roughing the kicker penalty on fourth down that gave the Eagles new life. Centennial scored with 3:53 to go in the game on a one yard run that cut Vero’s lead to seven.
On the next series Vero’s offense moved kicker Karson Dietrich within range for a 30 yard field goal that put the game out of reach for good for the Eagles.
Coach Jankowski said it wasn’t pretty but a win is a win. “We didn’t get any style points with this win but I’ll take it,” Jankowski said. “The bottom line is I was really proud the effort. I thought we made the plays we needed to down the stretch on both sides of the ball. All in all it’s a big win for us, a big district win and it puts us in position to win a district championship at our place in a couple of weeks.”
