High School

5 takeaways from Venice's thrilling win over nationally-ranked Cocoa

The Indians improved to 5-0 on the season behind one of the state's most powerful offenses

Andy Villamarzo

Senior Jayce Nixon will be the starting quarterback this season for Venice High.
Senior Jayce Nixon will be the starting quarterback this season for Venice High. / THOMAS BENDER/HERALD-TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK

VENICE, FLORIDA- In a battle of a couple of Florida's Top 25 teams clashing at Powell Davis Stadium on Friday night, both Cocoa and Venice were looking to add another impressive win under their respective belt.

It would be the Indians coming away with the victory in an absolute thriller as place kicker Brunno Reus knocked down the go-ahead field goal with 4.9 seconds remaining to lift Venice over nationally-ranked Cocoa, 54-51.

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What has become a weekly deal for Venice, like the week before against Port Charlotte, the Indians have become nearly impossible to keep up with scoring wise. This time, however, Venice had to come-from-behind to pull off win No. 5 on its undefeated season thus far.

SBLive Sports was on hand for the game and give you 5 takeaways from the contest:

Indians finds a way in the end

If there's a will, there's a way. The Indians dug deep and found a way to pull off what might be their most impressive win of the entire season, defeating a tough Tigers' bunch. Now you might look to wins over Bishop Verot, Miami Northwestern or even Port Charlotte and evenly say they could stack up to this Cocoa victory. This one, however, gives Venice a win over a Top 5 team in the state and a nationally-ranked club to boot. Venice (5-0) found a way and that's all they've been doing every single week is finishing 1-0.

Tough ending for Cocoa

It really was a tough ending for the Cocoa Tigers and you can't blame them for feeling a certain way afterwards. Tigers' head coach Ryan Schnieder was beside himself in the waning moments, screaming at officials regarding numerous penalties and the clock. This loss is not like last year's St. Thomas Aquinas' game, but the feeling after the contest for Cocoa might be just the same. Getting a huge night from quarterback Brady Hart and wide receiver Jayvan Boggs was all for not and the Tigers now drop to 3-2 on the season.

Cocoa's Brady Hart-Jayvan Boggs were nearly unstoppable

One of the top quarterback-wide receiver tandems in the Sunshine State were on full display on Friday night. Hart and Boggs have developed into arguably the top duo when it comes to passer and pass catcher and at Powell Davis Stadium, it was evident the kind of the connection these two have. Hart finished the night completing 26-of-38 passes for 498 yards and four touchdowns. Boggs ended the night with nine receptions for 247 yards and three scores. These two are a treat for anyone who loves themselves a nice quarterback-receiver combo on the high school level.

Dorien Jones is next in line of great tailbacks at Venice

If there was any sliver of doubt about Dorien 'Macho' Jones being the next great running back at Venice, I think you can put those all aside. With fellow backfield mate Jamarice Wilder going down with a injury early in the game, Jones took over the duties and did it impressively. Against one of the top fronts in the state, the 2027 running back rushed for 217 yards on 31 carries and scored two touchdowns. If you think that after Wilder the cupboard might become a little scarce, think again. This is a running back that should be popping up on everyone's radars.

Venice always seemed to have an answer

Venice head coach John Peacock seemingly always had an answer to anything Cocoa had for them. Trailing at one point 28-14, it looked for a brief moment like the game might get away from the Indians. Instead, after a 27-yard touchdown pass by Jayce Nixon in the second period, Peacock opted to go for an onside kick and Venice would recover. It would be something Venice continued to do throughout the game and special teams ultimately helped lift the Indians to their fifth win. Nixon, who made some clutch throws down the stretch, had his best game as an Indian, completing 17-of-28 passes for 286 yards and three touchdowns.

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

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Andy Villamarzo

ANDY VILLAMARZO

Andy Villamarzo has been a sports writer in the Tampa Bay (FL) Area since 2007, writing for publications such as Tampa Bay Times, The Tampa Tribune, The Suncoast News, Tampa Beacon, Hernando Sun to name a few. Andy resides out of the Tarpon Springs, FL area and started as a writer with SB Live Sports in the summer of 2022 covering the Tampa Bay Area. He has quickly become one of Florida's foremost authorities on high school sports, appearing frequently on podcasts, radio programs and digital broadcasts as an expert on team rankings, recruiting and much more.

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