Venice Indians 2016 Preview
Heading into last season, if you asked Venice head coach John Peacock if he would have taken a 7-4 record and a first round loss in the playoff he would have told you, “Absolutely, in a second!”
The Indians hardly returned any experience last year, with only two starters on offense coming back and three on defense. One of those offensive starters, star senior running back Malik Bryant, tore his ACL in the second game of the season. Accordingly, coach Peacock’s inexperienced team stepped up and gelled as a unit throughout the season, and the Indians finished 10-2, and fell to Braden River 17-0 in the second round of the 7A state playoffs.
The 2016 season will be a different story for Venice, the roster is filled with junior and senior talent. The Indians will need all the leadership and experience they can get in 2016, especially when considering the crucible of powerhouse opponents that make up their early schedule.
“We play Camden County, Plant, and Manatee, all three are top schools in the country, and they all have multiple state championships,” remarked coach Peacock. “But this year, if you asked me if I would take 9-1 this year and a loss to Braden River in the playoffs absolutely not, I would not take that. Now obviously we have to go play every Friday night, and we have a very rough schedule, but I still think we have a better team than we had last year. We have a great group of kids that work hard, some kids always feel like they’re going to walk out every year and be 9-1, but our kids don’t take that for granted, they’re a hard working group.”
Venice has been defeated in the second round of the 7A Florida state playoffs over the last three seasons. When asked what the Indians would have to do to get over the hump, their head coach was quick to shoot down the notion that his team had not achieved enough.
“I want to say that we are over the hump. Last year we started something like 15 sophomores, we didn’t have a lot coming back and we lost Bryant in week two with an ACL injury. We thought we would have a tough season but we found out we had some very good young football players that really matured and got better each week,” remarked Peacock.
When asked about the only two blemishes on the 2015 Indian’s record, two losses to Braden River, Peacock gave a candid response.
“It was just that River was better than us, I couldn’t look back and just say hey we made some mistakes here and there, they were just a better football team than us last year,” conceded the Venice head coach.
After watching the young Indians come together last season and exceed expectations, confidence is high among the Venice football community that this could be the year they make a deeper push in the playoffs. Part of the optimism is based on the returning talent.
Venice’s offense returns starting quarterback and team captain Bryce Carpenter, a dual threat signal caller who threw for 1,523 yards and 19 touchdowns while rushing for 780 yards and 12 scores.
The Indians mainly run a balanced offense, primarily out of I-formation, and they have the weapons to put a lot of pressure on opposing defenses. They have two running backs with complimentary styles that lead the rushing attack. Senior Matthew “Speedy” LaRoche supplies the proverbial lightning to junior Court Doss’s thunder. Coach Peacock compared LaRoche to former Indian running back and Buffalo Bill Dri Archer and described Doss as a 190-pound “ball of muscle.” The two combined for 1,833 yards on the ground and 20 touchdowns, with LaRoche gaining 1,090 and 13 scores and Doss piling up 743 and 7 touchdowns.
At wide receiver, 6-foot-3, 190-pound junior, Jaivon Heiligh was Bryce Carpenter’s favorite target, snagging 63 of his passes for 944 yards and 11 touchdowns. Heiligh is not the only receiving threat on the team however, as senior tight end Aaron Hackett is a formidable 6-foot-3, 230-pound target who recorded 27 receptions for 328 yards and 4 touchdowns. Hackett holds over 20 Division 1 offers.
The offensive line is anchored by Kyle Johnson. While the senior is undersized for an offensive guard, coach Peacock heaped praise upon his senior lineman.
“He doesn’t have traditional size, but he’s tough as they get, you don’t find anybody that works harder than him,” boasted Peacock.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Indians only allowed 10.25 points per game last season. In order to maintain that level of excellence, Venice will have to replace two of their star defensive players, but they return 9 starters from last year’s team and expectations are high that the Indians will maintain their stellar play this season.
Last year, defensive tackle Jarrod Hewitt recorded 28 tackles for a loss including 10 sacks. Hewitt will be playing for Virginia Tech next year. Tasked with replacing his productivity will be 6-foot-4, 290-pound North Port transfer Tyrone Barber. Peacock was very excited about the addition of Barber and called him a great fit for what we do on the defensive line. He is expected to hit the ground running this year and play a major part in replacing Hewitt’s productivity.
At linebacker, Caleb Smith stepped up last year as a Sophomore, recording 85 tackles before breaking his leg in week 8 last season. He is back at full strength this year and is expected to lead the defensive unit.
In the secondary, Jeremy Trebbles transferred in from Sarasota after the football season ended, and coach Peacock is very high on the Junior defensive back. The 5-foot-11, 175-pounder plays both cornerback and free safety. Peacock praised his work ethic over the spring practice period and said Trebbles has really bought in. He will have big shoes to fill, as he is now charged with replacing defensive back Sage Lee, who picked off 5 passes last season to go along with 103 total tackles, 74 solo, a forced fumble, and a blocked field goal.
On special teams, the Indians return one of the best kickers in the state of Florida in Zack Sessa, a sophomore, who hit 8 out of 13 field goals last season as a freshman, including two 45-yarders and a 50-yard boot. He also boomed 25 touchbacks out of 77 kick-offs. Venice also returns all 11 players from their punt cover unit.
Another reason Peacock is optimistic for a deeper run in the 7A playoffs this season is due in part to the new playoff format. We asked coach Peacock for his take on the controversial changes, and what they mean for Venice.
“I’m excited about it. Well at first I wasn’t really happy with it, because they were saying there wasn’t going to be a district champ anymore. But their latest proposal is going to keep the District Championships. I think that’s important. It’s something the kids can come back and tell other teams, hey we were district champions. You know, it’s something they can hang their hat on. I also love the seeding part of it, where one plays sixteen. We can state the case that we have had some tough goes at in round two, we’ve been in the second round like 7 of the last 9 years, the last three we lost to Manatee, Armwood, and last year Braden River. But I think if this format was used in the past, we may have end up in round three or four,” offered Peacock.
It remains to be seen if the Indians can overcome a brutal schedule but if they can pull off some early season victories, and win the games they are favored in, chances are they will receive a favorable seeding in the 2016 7A playoffs. The talent is in place and the coaching staff has been turning out winning teams under Peacock to the tune of an 82-23 recorded since 2007. The 2016 season is set up for the Indians to breakthrough and make a deep run on the road to Orlando.
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Coach Peacock also wanted to thank Charles Tines, who helped lead the projects for the Indian’s new scoreboard and player entrance as well as Jessica Pulchino, his “right hand person” who runs the http://www.veniceindianfootball.org/ website, as well as the entire Venice football community.
“We have a really strong community here, we have a ton of support for our football team, it’s a football town, and this goes back to the mid-seventies. We’re lucky to be here,” boasted Peacock.
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Key Offensive Returnees
Quarterback
Bryce Carpenter, Junior, 6-foot-1, 200-pounds – Team Captain* - 119 completions on 204 attempts for 1523 yards, 19 touchdowns and 9 interceptions to go with 130 carries for 708 yards rushing and 12 touchdowns.
Running Back
Matthew “Speedy” LaRoche, Senior, 5-foot-9, 160-pounds – 128 carries for 1090 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Court Doss, Junior, 5-foot-9, 190-pounds - 154 carries for 743 yards and 7 touchdowns.
Wide Receiver
Jaivon Heiligh, Junior, 6-foot-3, 190- pounds - 63 receptions for 944 yards and 11 touchdowns
Damien Brown, Junior, 6-foot-1, 205- pounds – Transfer from North Port High
Tight End
Aaron Hackett, Senior, 6-foot-3, 230- pounds – 27 receptions for 328 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Offensive Line
Kyle Johnson, Senior, 6-foot-1, 230-pounds, Guard**
Brenden Uribe, Sophomore, 6-foot-5, 297-pounds, Tackle
*Other Captains to be determined
** Also plays Full Back
Key Defensive Returnees:
Defensive Line
Tyrone Barber, Junior, 6-foot-4, 290- pounds, Defensive Tackle – Transfer from North Port
Finn Laskowski, Senior, 6-foot-6, 220- pounds, Defensive End – 17 tackles (11 solo), 4 sacks, and a forced fumble in 8 games.
AJ Kott, Senior, 6-foot-1, 235-pounds, Defensive Tackle – 83 tackles (44 solo), 2 sacks.
Linebackers
Caleb Smith, Junior, 6-foot-1, 210-pounds, Middle Linebacker – 85 tackles (55 solo), 4 tackles-for-a-loss.
Secondary
Jeremy Trebbles, Junior, 5-foot-11, 175-pounds, Cornerback/Free Safety – transfer from Sarasota
Coaching Staff:
Head Coach: John Peacock
Assistant HC and Director of Football Operations- Jessica Pluchino
Defensive Coordinator: Larry Shannon
Special Teams/Inside Linebackers Coach: Tim Wieldlien
Offensive Line Coach: Sasha Hire
Defensive Line/Strength and Conditioning Coach: Mark Christiani
Defensive Backs coach: Mike Barlett
Tight Ends Coach: Beckett Wales
Wide Receivers Coach: BO Ceravali
Assistant Coach: Bryan O’Leary
New Additions:
Quarterback Coach: Jerry MacManus
Assistant Coach: Clay Burton