5 takeaways from Venice's overtime win over Miami Northwestern

The Indians and Bulls needed additional time to decide a winner in arguably Florida's Game of the Week

Venice's Dorian Irving-Jones (#21) had 26 rushes for 146 yards and a touchdown, along with two receptions for nine yards and another score. Spring football was back as Venice hosted the Naples Golden Eagles at Venice's Powell-Davis Stadium Tuesday evening May 21, 2024. Venice went on to win 27-17. / THOMAS BENDER/HERALD-TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK

In what was arguably the best game on the Week 2 slate, Teddy Bridgewater's Miami Northwestern Bulls traveled over into Sarasota County to face the Venice Indians in a heavily anticipated matchup.

The game lived up to the hype and then some.

Venice sophomore running back Dorien Irving-Jones scored the game-winning 3-yard touchdown run to give the Indians a thrilling 48-42 victory over Miami Northwestern. The Indians improved to 2-0 behind a strong ground effort by Irving-Jones and James Madison commitment Jamarice Wilder.

Bulls' quarterback Leon Strawder did everything he could to lead his team to victory, finishing 19-of-33 passes for 372 yards and five touchdowns.

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Down below are five takeaways from the Week 2 thriller between the Bulls and Indians:

Jamarice Wilder had arguably his best game as an Indian

Venice High School, SR #3 Jamarice Wilder, RB 5’10 185, 3 star, Committed to James Madison. Jamarice is one of the most productive RB’s in a long list of talented backs that have played at Venice. Jamarice has played in 3 consecutive state championships and has a chance to be the all-time leading rusher in Venice HS history. / THOMAS BENDER/HERALD-TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK

For all the games Jamarice Wilder has already played for the Venice Indians, this might’ve been his finest in the green and white. Wilder in the first half gashed the Bulls for 166 yards and continued his torrid pace in the second in a offensive explosion between the teams. Watching Wilder run the ball was impressive against a stout Northwestern front that shutout Coconut Creek last week. Wilder finished the night with 314 yards on 31 carries and two touchdowns.

Calvin Russell was near unguardable

The top prospect in Florida of the Class of 2026 showed why against the Indians as Russell tallied over 100 yards and two touchdowns just in the first half. Rated a 5-star wide receiver by 247Sports, Russell made plays over the middle of the field and deep down the sideline. There’s not much Russell can’t do as a receiver. Russell ended the evening with 148 yards on five receptions and three touchdowns. Pretty stellar numbers for the junior pass catcher.

Last two meetings motivated both sides pregame

If you were walking on the field at Powell-Davis Stadium pregame, there’s a little brewing rivalry here between the 305 and 941. Both teams were jaw jabbing at each other in warmups, giving the feel of a rivalry-like game and deservingly so. In the last two years, each team has won a game and this was the rubber match. We can only hope both teams continue to play each other as it’s been classics every time they hit the field.

Miami Northwestern's defense wore down in the second half

Miami Northwestern takes on Coconut Creek in the season opener / The Portal 305/FootballHotbed.com

After playing back-to-back running clock kinda games against Miami Palmetto in the preseason and then Coconut Creek in the Broward County Classic High School Football Showcase, Miami Northwestern played a full four quarters plus overtime against Venice. It certainly wore the Bulls' defense down throughout the second half as the Bulls started to see numerous players cramping up almost every other play. Miami Northwestern had major difficulties slowing down Venice's rushing attack, which finished with nearly 400 yards as a team.

Venice's Brunno Reus could be the best kicker in Florida

On a night which saw the state's No. 2 team, Chaminade Madonna, fell 35-34 surprisingly to Blanche Ely because of special teams' miscues, Venice made sure all of that was shored up and then some. That's because they've got the right leg of Braden River transfer Brunno Reus rated one of the top kickers in the state by Kohl's Kicking. Reus knocked down a 53 and 42 yard fiel goals, with the latter tying the game up at 42-all and sending it into overtime. "(Brunno Reus) is going to be kicking on Sundays one day," Venice head coach John Peacock said.

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-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @sblivefl