FINAL: Johnson catches 3 TDs, No. 1 IMG Academy takes down No. 10 Venice in Florida high school football showdown

Sophomore wide receiver Eric Johnson had touchdown catches of 15, 44 and 43 yards from sophomore quarterback Jayden Wade to make the difference in Friday's Florida showdown

IMG Academy's Eric McFarland (3) looks to help the No. 1 Ascenders ascend to 6-0 on Friday against No. 10 Venice at Powell Davis Stadium. / Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Tonight’s showdown features two of Florida’s best in No. 1 IMG Academy and No. 10 Venice. Opening kick is slated for 7:30 p.m. Eastern at Powell Davis Stadium.

IMG, the No. 3 team in High School on SI’s latest National Power Rankings, enters at 5-0 coming off a 49-14 victory at Phenix City Central in Arizona. Venice (3-2) is coming off a 51-0 win at home against Lehigh.

As expected, the Ascenders – rostering some 40 star-ranked players – have been dominant this season. They’ve managed to outscore opponents by 200 points so far (254-54) – with wins over Hoover (Alabama) 34-13, Winslow Township (New Jersey) 35-14, Henderson Coronado (Nevada) 79-6, Jacksonville Mandarin 57-7 and Central.

The Indians have outscored opponents 128-84. They opened the season with a 29-7 loss to Tampa Bay Tech, beat Bishop Verot 27-12 and Port Charlotte 29-22 and lost to The First Academy 21-14 before last week’s win.

IMG won last year's game against Venice 21-16.

Star Talent

For IMG Academy

Zyron Forstall, Edge, jr. – Five-star prospect; Holds 22 offers and is the No. 2 overall junior in the nation by Rivals
Keenyi Pepe, OT, sr. – Five-star; USC commit; Ranked No. 4 at OT by Rivals
Jake Kreul, Edge, sr. – Four-star; Oklahoma commit; No. 8 Edge by Rivals
Osani Gayles, WR, jr. – Four-star; 27 offers; Ranked No. 8 at WR by Rivals
Zech Fort, S, sr. – Four-star; Georgia commit; No. 13 safety by Rivals
Zion White, WR, jr. – Four-star; 12 offers; No. 16 WR
Larry Moon, CB, jr. – Four-star; 43 offers; No. 18 CB
Amarri Irvin, LB, jr. – Four-star; 26 offers; No. 12 LB
Alexander Ward, ATH, jr. – Four-star; Alabama commit; No. 8 Athlete by Rivals
Censere Gaylord, CB, jr. – Four-star; Holds 25 offers
Cameron McHaney, DL, sr. – Four-star; Indiana commit; No. 32 DL by Rivals
Breck Kolojay, IOL, sr. – Four-star; USC commit; No. 30 IOL by Rivals
Jayden Wade, QB, soph. – Four-star; 28 offers; No. 1 sophomore prospect by Rivals
Eric McFarland, WR, soph. – Four-star; 35 offers; No. 2 WR by 247Sports
Jamarious Canton, OT, soph. – Four-star; 20 offers; No. 2 OT by Rivals
Maxx Jones, IOL, soph. – Four-star; 12 offers; No. 8 OT by Rivals
Liufau Loumoli, LB, jr. – Four-star; 28 offers; No. 17 LB by Rivals
Judah Lancaster, TE, jr. – Four-star; 39 offers; No. 19 TE by Rivals
Major Green, IOL, soph. – Four-star; 16 offers; No. 1 IOL by 247Sports
Man Robinson, CB, soph. – Four-star; 15 offers; No. 8 CB by Rivals
Anthony Howard Jr., RB, soph. – Four-star; 9 offers; No. 8 RB by 247Sports composite
Andre Alexander, LB, soph. – Four-star; 12 offers; No. 7 LB by 247Sports composite
G’Nivre Carr, IOL, sr. – Three-star; Florida commit; No. 41 IOL by Rivals
Preston Carey, DL, sr. – Three-star; Georgia commit; No. 45 DL by Rivals
Will Conroy, IOL, sr. – Three-star; North Carolina commit; No. 51 IOL by Rivals
Cameron Brickle, DL, sr. – Three-star; Ohio State commit; No. 58 LB by Rivals
Lekhy Thompkins, RB, sr. – Three-star; Louisville commit; No. 38 RB by Rivals
Christian Ward, WR, sr. – Three-star; Colorado commit
Amari Jones, S, sr. – Three-star; USF commit
Charles Roberts, S, jr. – Three-star; 12 offers; No. 38 CB by Rivals
AJ Marks, CB, sr. – Three-star; Wake Forest commit
Ksani Jiles, S, sr. – Three-star; Washington commit
Carmelo McKenzie, DL, sr. – Three-star; NC State commit
James Morrow, DL, sr. – Three-star; 32 offers
Joseph Graves, DL, jr. – Three-star; 13 offers
Joshua Singleton, IOL, sr. – Three-star; East Carolina commit; 9 offers
Steven Pickard, IOL, sr. – Three-star; Syracuse commit
Ismael Schiefer, Edge, soph. – Three-star; 14 offers; No. 27 Edge by Rivals
Kody Strayhorn, IOL, soph. – Three-star; 9 offers; No. 11 IOL by Rivals

For Venice

Johnnie Jones, OT, sr. – Four-star; 33 offers; No. 10 OT by Rivals
Asharri Charles, Edge, sr. – Four-star; Miami (Florida) commit; No. 24 Edge by Rivals
Tyree Mannings Jr., WR, soph. – Four-star; 17 offers; No. 8 WR by Rivals

Live Updates

Teams	1Q	2Q	3Q	4Q	Final
IMG	7	6	7	7	27
Venice	0	0	0	14	14

Pregame

Tonight's captains are on the field for the coin toss.

IMG Academy won the opening toss and elected to defer to the second half. Venice to receive the opening kickoff.

First Quarter

Venice opened the game with the ball at its own 20.

PUNT! Venice managed one first down on its first drive and then punted to IMG's 24 with 8:25 left in the first quarter.

PUNT! The Ascenders only moved the ball four yards and were forced to punt to the Indians' 30 on a nice return by Tyree Mannings with 7:51 left in the first.

BIG PLAY! Tyree Mannings beat Larry Moon and made a fingertip catch, hauling in a 45-yard pass down to IMG's 11-yard line. Mannings would have scored, but he stumbled for about the last 8 yards after catching the long pass and couldn't keep his feet under him.

BIG PENALTY! Venice quarterback Darryon Jones threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to receiver Landon Green, but the play was nullified by an offensive lineman too far down field.

FIELD GOAL BLOCKED! Cam McHaney blocked a 32-yard field goal attempt by Venice and the Ascenders picked it up at their own 40.

TOUCHDOWN! Jayden Wade found fellow sophomore Eric McFarland on a 15-yard screen. IMG Academy 7, Venice 0, 1:40 left in the quarter.

END 1: IMG Academy 7, Venice 0

Second Quarter

FUMBLE! IMG had the ball at the Venice 11, but after a penalty negated a touchdown, Wade was strip-sacked and Venice pounced on the ball at its own 20.

TOUCHDOWN! Tyson Park took a draw and ran 12 yards up the middle for a score. Replay showed he was actually down before the goal line, but there's no replay challenges in this game and officials awarded the TD. The PAT was blocked. IMG extended its lead over Venice 13-0 with 1:46 left in the half.

Halftime: IMG Academy 13, Venice 0

Third Quarter

A touchback to open the half gave IMG Academy first possession of the half at its own 20.

INTERCEPTION! Jayden Wade threw up a long pass and Venice cornerback Micha Hayes picked it off at his own 25. He wrestled it away from the IMG receiver. Big turnover with just under 10 minutes left in the third quarter.

PUNT! Venice moved the ball into IMG territory but had to punt it back. The Ascenders took the ball back at its own 20 with 3:36 left in the third quarter.

TOUCHDOWN! Jayden Wade threw a short pass to sophomore Eric McFarland, who made a staggering play, breaking a big hit and seven total tackles on his way to a 44-yard touchdown reception. The PAT extended IMG Academy's lead to 20-0 with 1:41 left in the third quarter.

End 3: IMG Academy 20, Venice 0

Fourth Quarter

TOUCHDOWN! Eric McFarland is having an amazing night. The sophomore, who had a 44-yard touchdown reception at the end of the third quarter, took a short pass from Wade, broke two tackles and went 43 yards for his third touchdown reception of the night. IMG Academy leads Venice 27-0 with 9:28 left in the game.

TOUCHDOWN! With 6:01 left in the game, Venice got on the board for the first time on a 2-yard touchdown pass from Darryon Jones to Asharri "Bam" Charles to make it 27-7.

TOUCHDOWN! One play after getting sacked for a big loss, Darryon Jones took a keeper 25 yards for a TD with 20.3 seconds left in the game. The PAT trimmed the deficit to 27-14.

Final: IMG Academy 27, Venice 14

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