Vero Beach High School whipped Fort Lauderdale 35-7 on Homecoming Night at the Citrus Bowl under strange circumstances last Friday. The expansive home grandstand was empty after the discovery of structural defects that caused the venue of this game to be in doubt until mid-week. Grateful local fans enjoyed the festivities and outcome from temporary bleachers.
It was the Fighting Indians’ (6-0) last regular season home game with dates at undefeated Treasure Coast and struggling Fort Pierce Central to determine how the postseason shakes out. The season finale is at Sebastian River.
Senior quarterback Carson Proctor had an underwhelming night against Fort Lauderdale, completing just 9 of 22 passes for 80 yards. He connected with Chris Larsen from 16 yards out early in the third period to make it 28-0 and put the game out of reach.
Carson directs an offense that has contributed to a nearly 42 ppg scoring average, although some of those points have come off spectacular special teams play. Nevertheless, Proctor has done his fair share behind center through six outings. He has completed 58% of his passes for just under 1, 200 yards and 12 touchdowns.
This is Proctor’s third year at VBHS after starting his promising football career at St. Ed’s. At one point it looked like a Proctor family dynasty at quarterback for the Pirates. Older brothers Collier and Anderson were signal callers for St. Ed’s before Carson became the starter there as a freshman.
An uninterrupted Proctor decade at quarterback for St. Ed’s never materialized when Anderson was injured. Then Carson made the decision to transfer across town to VBHS for the start his sophomore year.
“I just really liked what they were doing throwing the ball over here at Vero,” Proctor said. “So I just wanted to take a chance and come here.”
For a high school quarterback with the desire to throw the ball, Vero has been the place to be over the past few seasons. The numbers on the board have been eye-popping. The competition at the quarterback position was always among friends, but it was also fierce at times. Proctor didn’t secure the starting role until this year.
“I was hurt my whole sophomore year with a back injury,” Proctor said. “But Dalton Stokes, my good friend, was quarterback. And in my junior year Carter Stanley, who is also my good friend, was quarterback. So I’ve learned a lot from watching those two guys. Now to finally have the chance is a lot of fun.”
Looking at the stats generated by Stokes and Stanley, it becomes evident how difficult it might have been for anyone to break through.
“Sitting out for two years was a little frustrating because obviously I wanted to play,” said Proctor. “But I knew that all I could do was just keep working hard because you never know when you are going to get your chance.”
He almost got that chance last year before Head Coach Lenny Jankowski made a difficult decision that arguably turned out okay.
“We’ve had some very good quarterbacks and I’ve been blessed in that department, no doubt about that,” said Jankowski. “When I think back to last year when we broke a lot of offensive records that had existed for a long time, Carter Stanley had an unbelievable season. But as a backup Carson got a lot of valuable snaps behind a very good quarterback.
“They battled for the starting position all through the summer. Carson is a very talented player and he has really done a great job with the offense. Defenses have decided to load up the box on us to stop the run, and that has opened up some big opportunities for Carson and the experienced receiving corps we have. We have been able to take advantage of that.”
Proctor has been able to spread the wealth around. In addition to being experienced, his receivers have game-breaking wheels. Seven different players have scored on the other end of a pass. M.J. McGriff is by far Proctor’s favorite target. Sean Harvey, Chris Larsen and Tyrrell Washington also have multiple six-pointers.
Proctor is listed at 6’ 4” 205 lbs. and has the prototype physique for a quarterback. His arm strength was never in question, even going back to his days at St. Ed’s. He can zip the ball from sideline to sideline and fire it downfield to stretch any secondary. If teams continue to load up the box against Vero, they will pay a price.
It would seem that Vero Beach High and Carson Proctor are a perfect fit. The passing attack developed under Jankowski is tailor-made for the likes of Stokes, Stanley and now Proctor.
Despite the sub-par numbers vs. Fort Lauderdale, the ups this season outweigh the downs. Proctor peaked with a near-flawless 350-yard, four-touchdown performance against Palm Beach Central. He was a cool 18 for 20 that evening.
“I just want to be able to win all of our games,” Proctor concluded. “That’s the only thing. I think if we do that, all the other stats will take care of themselves.”
The QB expressed extreme confidence in his coaches, particularly Jankowski. “It’s great because you know you can trust what he says. All I’m going to worry about right now is this season one game at a time. I know that if I follow what he coaches, it is going to work. And that’s nice.”
Carson’s brother Collier was converted to a receiver for four years at Middlebury College in Vermont. He is currently interning in commercial real estate back in Florida.
The family QB tradition lives on however. Anderson can be found on the University of Florida football roster. He is listed at QB and wears #17, making it as a walk-on.