VERO BEACH — Jupiter High School comes to the Citrus Bowl Friday night looking to avenge last year’s loss to Vero Beach. The Warriors, 0-3, have been outscored 92-30 by three quality teams so far this year, and the Fighting Indians may prove to be their strongest opponent yet.
Vero Beach, 3-0, has outscored opponents 82-35 this year, and appears to be improving every week. Coach Gary Coggin was happy with the effort he saw out of his team last week as 12 of his players battled the flu.
With a healthy club heading into the encounter with Jupiter, expect to see even better execution from the Fighting Indians. “In practice, you want to try to improve everything you are doing,” said Coach Gary Coggin. “We’ve found some things on each side of the ball we do well, and we’re going to keep on doing it.”
With a powerful offensive line and a workhorse fullback, Coggin’s offense has ground out 694 yards rushing so far this season. With college level talent like Trevonte’ Boles and Marcus Jackson opening holes for the hard-running Jormonte Hunter (380 yards rushing, 6 TDs), it’s going to take a truly great defense to stop Vero Beach. “Jormonte makes things happen out there, and he runs really hard,” said Coggin.
Jupiter hasn’t shown much on either side of the ball, but they do have some offensive talent. Senior running back Willie Scott leads the charge for the Warriors, with 268 yards and 2 TDs in 44 attempts. Given the competition he’s faced this year, those are solid numbers. At 6-foot, 210 pounds, he’s the biggest running back Vero Beach has faced this year. Scott works behind a big offensive line that averages 6-foot-3, 265 pounds across the board.
The Warriors aren’t a passing team, but they can put the ball in the air. Sophomore QB Tyler Cameron has good size (6-3, 200) and agility (86 yards rushing, 1TD), and has thrown for 214 yards and 1 TD. The lefty started as a freshman last year, and plays like an upperclassman. Senior SE DJ Williams is his favorite target (8 catches, 132 yards, 1 TD), and he’s got speed to burn.
Barring a complete defensive meltdown, it’s hard to imagine Jupiter having the breakthrough game they so badly need against Vero Beach. As good as Vero Beach looked on both sides of the ball last week in posting a 24-14 triumph over Westwood, losing at home to a winless team just isn’t going to happen. The Warriors will play hard, but will lose by two scores to an athletic, well-coached Fighting Indians squad. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m.
