PORT ST. LUCIE – Lighting delayed the start of the football game between Bishop Verot Catholic High and Fort Pierce Central.
A driving rain along with more lightning ended the contest 7 minutes, 41 seconds prematurely.
In between, the Cobras had very little spark.
The Vikings dominated all three phases in a 42-3 rout of Central on Friday, Oct. 16 at South County Regional Park.
In dropping their third straight game, Cobras coach Mike Watkins did not mince words afterwards.
“We were bad in every phase of the game,” Watkins said. “Everything was especially bad.”
If there was one area that was especially worse, it was the Cobras’ special teams.
And it didn’t start that way.
After Central won the toss and elected to defer to take the ball in the second half, sophomore defensive lineman Jaxen Alexander recovered the onside opening kickoff.
Aided by a roughing the punter penalty, the Cobras got down to the Bishop Verot 15-yard line before Adem Karagic booted a 32-yard field goal to open the scoring.
It was the only score of the night for Central.
Early in the second quarter, Vikings senior Jy German blocked a punt that was recovered by senior teammate Arrie Davis Jr., who went 24 yards to paydirt to increase Bishop Verot’s advantage to 13-3.
Then, senior kicker Jack Fish recovered an onside kick which led to an 8-yard touchdown run by Ayden Gonzalez.
“We work really hard,” Bishop Verot coach Richie Rode said on his special teams. “We have a lot of starters who play it. We take a lot of pride in it. We practice it every day. It was great to see it come to fruition tonight. It’s just the third part of the game that we have a lot of pride in. It was definitely good for us.”
After a safety in the third quarter made it 28-3, the Vikings used some razzle dazzle on the ensuing kick to pile on more points. Gonzalez fielded the kick and threw a cross-field lateral to German, who went 65 yards for a touchdown.
Special teams has been a weapon for Bishop Verot all season.
“It really has,” Rode said. “We found some different things. Our coverage team is pretty good. Our punt team has been good.”
Meanwhile the Cobras had trouble getting anything going against an aggressive Vikings’ defense.
“We’ve got to have some guys willing to show up and practice and do all the things right,” Watkins said. “And we’ve got to get healthy.”
Already missing key players Friday, senior wide receiver Trey Flowers went out after making his only catch of the game and didn’t return.
“We’ve got to have some young guys who are going to step up,” Watkins said. “We’ve got some baby kids out there. We’re demolished with injuries right now.”
Watkins is not only looking for players with skill.
“We’ve got to find some guys with some heart,” he said.
Watkins included himself as far as making improvements to improve his football team.
“That was the worst performance from a football team, and I’m responsible,” he said. “I’ve got to get better. I’ve got to coach the kids better. I’ve got to get more out of them.
“So we’ll see. It’ll be a long week of work.
Bishop Verot takeaways
Peak, Gonzalez spark the Vikings’ offense
The Vikings got their first touchdown late in the first quarter on a quick hitter from senior quarterback Hudson Peak to Gonzalez covering 37 yards. Senior Robi Duclona barreled over from a yard out late in the first half to make it 26-3 at halftime.
Peak went 13-for-18 for 119 yards with most of the damage done in the first half when the Vikings held a 180-45 edge in yards. Peak also carried seven times for 27 yards.
Gonzalez was on the receiving end of six passes for 67 yards and ran four times for 16 yards.
“Aiden Gonzalez had a bunch of touches and did a great job,” Rode said.
Bishop Verot’s defense stifles the Cobras
Rode knew how much damage Central could do if it got its offense on track.
But the Vikings’ defense was equal to the task, especially early.
German and sophomore Anthony Budinas had tackles for a loss, respectively, on the first two plays of the game. Duclona also had a tackle for a loss.
Pierre’s tackle in the end zone led to a safety late in the third quarter.
Davis Jr. then completed the scoring with an interception return for a touchdown, making it 42-3 and starting a running clock on the final play of the third quarter before the lightning ended it.
Budinas and senior Lemuel Jean-Baptiste recorded sacks.
“They have such a vaunted passing attack, our whole secondary and our two outside backers – (sophomore Brayden) Coleman and (junior Connor) Pierre – did an incredible job of shutting all the screens down. We did such a great job with preparation throughout the week.”
2nd trip across the state was worth it
It was Bishop Verot’s second trip across the state to play a Treasure Coast team.
The first was not as fruitful.
The Vikings (5-2) travelled just north of Port St. Lucie to John Carroll Catholic to open the season in Fort Pierce and returned with a 17-0 setback.
Bishop Verot visits Cypress Lake on Friday in Fort Myers.
Fort Pierce Central takeaways
After 2 close ones, this one was not
The Cobras lost their previous two games – both district games to Treasure Coast High and Vero Beach High, respectively – by a total of four points.
They were outscoring their opponents, 162-54, entering the Bishop Verot contest.
After getting off to a decent start Friday, Central could not get it going at all.
The Cobras had 45 yards in the first half, 46 passing and minus-1 rushing.
Senior quarterback Drew LaPlante finished 17-for-30 for 64 yards, connecting with nine different receivers.
A couple of late rushes by freshman running back Alex Bronson put Central in the black as far as rushing yards.
Reynolds, Willingham spark Central’s defense
Senior defensive lineman Floyd Reynolds notched the only sack for the Central defense, getting to Peak on Bishop Verot’s first drive.
Junior Jayen Willingham was particularly active on defense and had two tackles for loss, as did junior Chris Bazille.
Juniors Juston Soto, Joey Grone and senior J’Khari Rhue also had tackles for losses.
Central looks to snap skid Friday against Centennial
The Cobras (4-3) look to snap their three-game losing streak Friday against St. Lucie West Centennial High at Lawnwood Stadium.
Central closes the season with games against Fort Pierce Westwood on Oct. 30 at Lawnwood Stadium and Nov. 5 at Cocoa High.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Fort Pierce Central football sputters to third straight loss