Florida high school football: 5 takeaways from Venice-Naples spring game

We bring you five takeaways from Tuesday night's spring contest at Staver Field

Andy Villamarzo | May 21, 2025

The Naples Golden Eagles compete against the Venice Indians in a spring football game at Staver Field in Naples, Fla., on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. / Jonah Hinebaugh/Naples Daily News/USA Today Network-Florida / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

NAPLES, FLORIDA- Whenever you have two teams very familiar with one another, it always makes for usually a pretty good game.

In the case of Tuesday evening's spring high school football matchup between 4-time state champion Venice and Naples at Staver Field, it came down to the final minute to decide a winner.

The Indians scored twice in the final minute and were able to narrowly edge out the Golden Eagles, 34-27. With Venice having a boatload of new faces on both sides of the ball, it always figured to be a different team altogether and the Indians showed some resolve, even if it was just a spring game.

High School On SI Florida was on hand for the game and we give you five takeaways from the battle down in the 239.

1. Colton Lynch is going to be a dude at tight end

The Naples Golden Eagles compete against the Venice Indians in a spring football game at Staver Field in Naples, Fla., on Tue

We start with the 6-foot-6, 230-pound Colton Lynch not just because he was the tallest player on the field for either squad, but the 2026 tight end prospect definitely stood out the most. Lynch, who weighed less than 200 pounds last season, has bulked himself up and looks the part of a Power 4 tight end this off-season. On Tuesday night, he showed he can also play to that part as well. Lynch, who had just one catch for 16 yards in 2024, had more than that on one of the two touchdowns for the Indians and also added some solid blocking in the run game. Seeing the continued growth of Lynch at the position for Venice certainly bodes well for the Indians' offense as they head into the summer.

2. Sam Sparacio makes his Naples debut; Alijah Molina impresses

Remember Sam Sparacio from Naples First Baptist Academy? You might remember him from when the Eagles' won the 2022 Class 1S state championship as a freshman and now he's at Naples, figuring to be a key piece of Rick Martin's triple-option offense. Whether Sparacio was lining up as a wingback, fullback or fielding kick or punts, the 2026 product had a solid debut overall, including a 32-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. If you're wondering how the Golden Eagles will use the former FBA star, Tuesday gave Naples' fans a good idea of how that might go this fall. Handing the ball off to Sparacio was Alijah Molina, who looked very comfortable running the offense after his first-year starting in 2024. Molina, who rushed for 222 yards last season, should be much more of a factor in the run game for Naples as he showed against Venice. If there's a couple of bright spots on offense for the Golden Eagles, it was the play of Sparacio, Molina and '26 Jamar Jerome as well.

3. Venice's defensive front seven impressed without Asharri Charles

No Asharri Charles, no problem. Well, kind of anyways. The 27 points scored by Naples was a little bit deceiving because of early turnovers setting the Golden Eagles up with great field position. As the game settled in, so did the Venice front seven and that's without its 4-star defensive lineman, as Charles did not suit up. Regardless, the Indians were able to hold their own with players like Brock Hupp, Israel McNair, Dyal Menard, Talon Letts and Tristan Neeley stepping up on the night.

4. Platooning at quarterback for Venice; Dorien Irving-Jones shows out

Venice Indians quarterback Sean Long (14) runs the ball during the fourth quarter of a spring football game against the Naples Golden Eagles at Staver Field in Naples, Fla., on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. / Jonah Hinebaugh/Naples Daily News/USA Today Network-Florida / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Unlike last year's spring game, Venice featured a two-quarterback rotation between Alex Schafer and Sean Long, with the latter arguably having the better evening overall. Schafer's first pass of the game was an interception thrown to Naples' defensive back Andre Ferdinand. Now Schafer settled in and played better, but Long was able to step in behind the '26 passer and looked a tad bit better. Long threw multiple touchdown passes to Lynch and also showcased his athleticism out of shotgun, notching a couple big gains with his legs. This might be an ongoing quarterback battle between the two, but it can't be ruled out that both may see time when the regular season rolls around. 2027 running back Dorien Irving-Jones had a slow start to the game, but got hot as the game wore on for Venice. Irving-Jones, who rushed for over 1,200 yards in 2024, scored two touchdowns before exiting with an injury. There's little doubt coming out of the spring on who the workhorse will be for Venice when they hit the ground running this fall.

5. Who says spring games don't matter?

The mantra around the state is that spring high school football games don't mean much if you're looking to catch a glimpse of what we will see in the fall. If the spring has told us anything so far, that may be the case for some, but coaches and players must not be getting the same memo. Whether its Buchholz-Berkeley Prep, Jesuit-Lakeland or in Tuesday's case, Venice-Naples, whenever you pit two strong football programs against one another, you might be catching a good game, even if it's spring football. Venice trailed 20-0 at one point in the game and went into halftime down 20-6. It would've been easy to pack it in if the game just didn't matter. For John Peacock and crew, it did and they battled back to scored 28 second half points and win the scrimmage. Heck, the team celebrated Anthony Beckom's game-ending fumble recovery for a touchdown and you wouldn't have been able to really tell the game doesn't count. Yes, spring might not tell us the whole story of a team come fall, but it gives us a little bit of evidence of what's to come.

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

Published May 21, 2025

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.

Florida high school football: 5 takeaways from Venice-Naples spring game

Andy Villamarzo | May 21, 2025

1. Colton Lynch is going to be a dude at tight end

2. Sam Sparacio makes his Naples debut; Alijah Molina impresses

3. Venice's defensive front seven impressed without Asharri Charles

4. Platooning at quarterback for Venice; Dorien Irving-Jones shows out

5. Who says spring games don't matter?

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