VENICE (SNN-TV) – And then there was one. The last of the Mohicans. The sole survivor. The only Suncoast team left vying for a state title. The Venice Indians take to the gridiron tomorrow in the 8A Regional Final our Friday Football Fever Game of the Week.
The 11-1 Venice Indians face their toughest test yet tomorrow as the 11-1 Warriors of West Orange come to town looking for a region title.
The Warriors are coming off a 16-7 semifinal victory over Osceola. West Orange’s lone loss of the year came in early September at the hands of Apopka High School, but has since rattled off 10 straight wins.
Venice dominated Riverview in their semifinal match-up polishing off the Rams, 56-14 en route to their 6th straight region final.
Playing other-worldly on both sides of the ball, John Peacock was well pleased with his team’s output last week, despite initial worry. “One thing I was worried about was them coming out flat, since we’ve already played them, and won that game, in the regular season. They did an unbelievable job of getting themselves mentally prepared and attacking that game.”
The Indians will face a tough task this week though, as the Warriors match Venice in division-one talent seemingly across the board, led by one of the nation’s best wideouts, Florida Gators commit, Jayden Gibson, who has hauled in 13 touchdowns on the season.
The Indians will need the help from an elite secondary, including Elliott Washington, Myles Weston, John Anthony and Sage Youtzy.
Despite the supreme talent tomorrow’s game will showcase, Coach Peacock knows his team, a day removed from Thanksgiving, will need re-set the bar in terms of performances. “We have our plate full. We’re going to have to have a great week of practice, and we’re going to have to prepare well, and have the same mental approach we did Friday night. But, if we do all those things, we’ll have a really good chance of moving onto the next round.”
The Regional Final will kickoff tomorrow night from Powell-Davis Stadium at 7:30pm. Be sure to tune-in tomorrow night following SNN’s Late Edition for Friday Football Fever for game updates.
