SEBASTIAN — Viera’s Cody Dentmon threw at will Friday night, but his teammates on defense played just as important a role as the Hawks trounced Sebastian River 38-7 in the Class 7A, District 12 football opener for both schools.
Trevor Merritt intercepted a pass from Sharks quarterback Sloan Drummonds and returned the ball 60 yards for a touchdown with 10 seconds to play in the second quarter as the Hawks (4-0) extended their lead to 28-7.
“I thought we were moving the ball well on offense,” Sebastian River first-year coach Kevin Pettis said. “When we gave up that interception, you could tell it deflated us. It was hard to recover from that. When you throw three picks like that (in the first half), you lose confidence in your ability to throw. You can’t play football like that.”
The Sharks (1-3) moved the ball well on the first possession behind the running of Nick Cooper, who rushed for 106 of his 110 yards in the first half. But, the Sharks turned the ball over on downs at the Viera 34-yard line when Reed Woolridge was stopped for a 2-yard loss on a reverse.
Dentmon then threw a 66-yard scoring strike to Tre Nixon, who caught the ball in the middle of the field with no defender within 25 yards of him as he coasted untouched to the end zone with 6 minutes, 22 seconds to play in the first quarter. Jacob Kutcher kicked the first of his five successful extra-point conversions as the Hawks led 7-0.
“We’ve got new defensive backs in their each week,” Pettis said. “We’re fighting the injury bug.”
Sebastian River recorded a couple of first downs on its next possession before Jamison Boyd intercepted a pass from Drummonds at his own 35 and returned it 27 yards to the Sharks’ 38.
Dentmon, a versatile left-handed senior quarterback, ran 12 yards on first down. He then found Nixon wide open on the left side at the Sebastian River 20. Nixon then dodged two defenders to score his second touchdown of the game as the Hawks extended their lead to 14-0 after Kutcher’s PAT with 11:42 to play in the second quarter.
“We spend a lot of time in practice trying to defend ourselves,” said Viera coach Kevin Mays, who is in his third season as the Hawks coach. “I think (Matt Jones) is a great receiver. We would have had to make some major adjustments in the second half to stop the run if we hadn’t gotten that late interception. … That kid (Cooper) as tough running back.”
Cooper ran 23 yards for a first down and he later caught a 9-yard pass from Drummonds for another first down as the Sharks moved the ball to the Hawks’ 25 on the ensuing possession. After Jones ran for 3 yards, Viera was penalized for a late hit as the ball was moved half the distance to the goal (11 yards) to the Viera 11. Jones then ran 3 yards to the left, 6 yards to the left where a second effort was the key to the hard run and then 2 yards for Sebastian River’s lone score of the game. Ignasio Severino kicked the extra point to narrow the margin to 14-7.
Viera quickly lost the ball on a fumble, but Kutcher intercepted a pass by Drummonds at his own 35 and ran 33 yards to the Viera 32.
Nathan Hartnett made a nifty over-the-shoulder grab for a 22-yard reception from Dentmon on first down, and Zach Blanch followed that with a 10-yard scoring run to the right. Kutcher’s extra point extended the Hawks’ lead to 21-7 with 5:24 to play in the second quarter.
“The kids have really bought into what we’re trying to do,” Mays said. “All the hard work over the summer has paid off. But, once Coach Pettis gets his system in, Viera will have a good team.”
Cooper ran the ball for consecutive gains of 5 and 13 yards to the Viera 38, and a pass interference penalty against Viera advanced the ball to the Hawks’ 47. Cooper ran for 8 yards, but Drummonds was intercepted on the next play by Merritt. That interception and the nifty run by Merritt after it proved to be too much for the Sharks to overcome.
Kutcher added a 23-yard field goal with 7:40 to play in the fourth quarter, and Doyle Scott scored on a 1-yard run to account for the final margin. On the play before the final scoring run, Scott ran 22 yards to the Sharks’ 1.
Dentmon completed 7 of 12 passes for 156 yards and two touchdowns. Nixon caught three passes for 99 yards and two touchdowns. Blanch added 44 yards rushing and one touchdown on eight carries. The Hawks had 125 yards rushing on 31 carries.
Cooper led the Sharks with 110 yards rushing on 24 carries. Drummonds completed 6 of 13 passes for just 8 yards. He was intercepted three times.
Sebastian River was penalized seven times for 62 yards, while Viera was whistled for six penalties and 66 yards.
The Sharks will travel to Fort Pierce next Friday to face perennial state power Central.