Venice wins shootout over Tampa Bay Tech: 5 takeaways

The Indians' season opening win over the Titans lasted nearly four hours

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

Question marks seem to swirl around the Venice Indians after defeating Gadsden County 34-19 in the preseason looked a little too close for comfort.

On Friday night at Powell-Davis Stadium, John Peacock's crew put all of that to rest.

Venice's offense kicked it into high gear as running back Jamarice Wilder led the way with three rushing touchdowns in a 63-40 rout of Tampa Bay Tech. Next week, the Indians will welcome Teddy Bridgewater's Miami Northwestern Bulls (1-0) into town.

Down below are 5 takeaways from the game:

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Venice's offense looks like they've found its stride

If there was any doubts about what Venice's offense can do, they hushed they naysayers with fast-paced, uptempo attack from the get go. The Indians scored in the opening minutes, finishing on a 20-yard touchdown connection from quarterback Jayce Nixon to 4-star 2025 wide receiver Winston Watkins Jr.

The run game joined in on the offensive fray as sophomore running back Dorien Irving-Jones made it 14-0 on a four-yard run into the endzone. Venice (1-0) ended up going ahead 28-6 in the second period via the ground game and the offensive track meet was on from there.

The Indians displayed why this offense hasn't missed a beat from last year's unit. Now facing a Miami Northwestern team coming off a 45-0 beatdown of Coconut Creek, it will be interesting to see how the two teams matchup.

The pairing of Jamarice Wilder and Dorien Irving-Jones will be fun to watch

Wilder, who transferred back to Venice after leaving for Sarasota Booker during the off-season, fueled Venice's offense anytime they needed to answer the Titans. It showed why he might've been a missing element to Peacock's offense if he didn't return. The James Madison commitment scored his second touchdown about midway through the second period, giving the Indians a commanding 28-6 lead. Paired up with talented sophomore back Irving-Jones, these two form arguably one of the best running back tandems in the state.

Tampa Bay Tech goes with Darryon Jones as starting quarterback

The off-season quarterback shuffling for Titans' head coach Jayson Roberts has been a tough one to follow along with.

Tampa Bay Tech (0-1) started last season with promising 2026 prospect Logan Rogers under center before giving way to Xzavier Jackson, who is now at Zephyrhills. In comes Darryon Jones from Hillsborough via transfer and the former Terrier looks to have locked up the starting role over Rogers, who is ranked by many recruiting analysts as a top passer in his class.

It's a good problem to have multiple talented quarterbacks and whether it's Jones or Rogers, the Titans' offense will be just fine.

Jayce Nixon looks more comfortable within the Venice offense

Back in the spring against Naples, Gaither transfer Jayce Nixon was still trying to figure things out for the Indians.

Now after Week 1, he's beginning to look more and more comfortable within Peacock's offense, which doesn't bode well for opposing defenses whatsoever. The Indians scoring 63, which was the amount they put up against Miami Northwestern at Traz Powell last year, showed a progressing handle of the offense.

We could see over 100 points combined again when the Bulls and Indians meet in Week 2.

Looking ahead to Miami Northwestern vs. Venice in Week 2

When it comes to early season matchups, this one might be the game to see over in the 941.

Both clubs looked good in their season openers, especially on the offensive side of the ball. From quarterbacks to running backs to receivers, if you like offensive football, this game will have plenty of it.

Keeping up for many might be the trouble, but expect another long night of scoring by the Indians.

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