Venice football team focus driven on being best version of themselves

The Indians have finished as the Class 4S runnerups the last two seasons, but plan on changing that this fall

Spring football was back as Venice hosted the Naples Golden Eagles at Venice's Powell-Davis Stadium Tuesday evening May 21, 2024. Venice went on to win 27-17. / THOMAS BENDER/HERALD-TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK

The last couple of seasons haven't gone exactly the way Venice head coach John Peacock would've liked them to.

A program hungry to add a fourth state championship to the fenceline at Powell-Davis Stadium, the Indians have fallen short the last two years.

Venice isn’t focusing on that entirely, however. The Indians are looking to put themselves in the best position possible once December rolls around, they’ll be ready for just about anything come playoff time.

Not quite a full moon rises over the Venice football field. Spring football was back as Venice hosted the Naples Golden Eagles at Venice's Powell-Davis Stadium Tuesday evening May 21, 2024. Venice went on to win 27-17. / THOMAS BENDER/HERALD-TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK

The runnerup finishes to Lakeland haunt them, but also motivates Venice in the program's goal of not being satisfied with the proverbial silver medal. This fall, the Indians are planning to make a run a state crown No. 4 in Class 7A with a deep, talented roster, especially on the offensive side of the ball.

"The ultimate goal is to win a state championship," Peacock said at Suncoast Media Day. "We've played in the last three (state championships) and won one of them. People forget that. I think in 2023, we were the better football team and we didn't show up. There's definitely a sense of urgency with this team and needing to get back. I felt like in 2022, we played great and Lakeland was a much better football team than us. We're not a focus-driven group on that. We're a focus-driven group on being the best version of Venice we can be."

One of the biggest transfers of the off-season on the South Suncoast was Venice getting back one of their key contributors from the 2023 season in James Madison commitment Jamarice Wilder. Wilder left Venice for Sarasota Booker after the 2023 campaign, but transferred back during the summer.

Now with Wilder back in the fold, he pairs up with sophomore running back Dorien Irving-Jones to form one of the best duos in all of 7A. Irving-Jones was impressive in the spring against Naples, rushing for 153 yards on 24 touches. Wilder brings the added juice to the backfield in being a workhorse-type back as well, rushing for well over 1,000 yards last year.

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

At the controls of the offense is Gaither transfer Jayce Nixon, who has put up some impressive numbers the last couple of seasons in Hillsborough County. In 2023 with the Class 3M state semifinalist Gaither, Nixon finished the season completing 246-of-363 passes for 3,172 yards and 29 touchdowns through 14 games.

There will be no shortage of targets for Nixon to look around and throw to as the wide receiver room was bolstered by the arrival of Winston Watkins Jr., who totaled over 1,000 yards receiving in his junior year at Naples First Baptist Academy. Watkins Jr. joins 6-foot-5 tight Noah Chieffo and wide receiver Ryan Matulevich, forming the best wide receiving tandem in Sarasota County.

What gets overlooked for the Indians is the overall strength of the team's schedule this fall, as Venice arguably has one of the toughest slates in 2024. Peacock's bunch start off the regular season against Tampa Bay Tech before welcoming in Teddy Bridgewater and Miami Northwestern in Week 2.

Among other teams Venice will face the rest of the are Bishop Verot, Clearwater Central Catholic, Cocoa, IMG Academy national, Port Charlotte and rival Sarasota Riverview. Peacock believes with the kind of schedule the team has this fall will set them up to being prepared for a deep playoff run come this fall.

"If the ultimate goal was to have the best record, we might have a different schedule," Peacock said. "But the ultimate goal is to win a state championship and be there in December. If you're not playing those teams, you're not ready to play those teams and when its time to play a team like that, you're going to be in shock."

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