VERO BEACH – It was fitting Austin Banzhaf found the end zone for the Vero Beach High football team on Military Appreciation Night.
Banzhaf’s grandparents were at midfield for the opening coin toss. His grandfather, affectionately known as Tito and Pops, flipped the coin.
“It was just a really good moment for me,” Banzhaf said.
The senior wide receiver provided two good moments for Vero Beach and himself. Banzhaf scored the first two touchdowns of his high school career, both in the second quarter, of a 37-0 whitewash of St. Lucie West Centennial High in a Class 7A-District 11 contest at Billy Livings Field at the Citrus Bowl.
Vero Beach (4-0) led 10-0 when Banzhaf struck twice in less than a seven-minute span. On second-and-12, he caught a 36-yard touchdown from Efrem “EJ” White and later hauled in a White pass and skipped past a couple of defendcrs on a second-and-17 play.
“Mainly because I just put my brain to it,” Banzhaf said. “It was all on the line. It was Military Appreciation Night. I had to put on for my family.”
“It puts a big smile on my face,” Vero Beach coach Lenny Jankowski said. “You have guys who have integral parts of the program. You say those things and preach those things and you hope it makes them believers. EJ did a good job of finding him, and he was able to get into the end zone.”
Banzhaf came into the game with eight catches for 101 yards after catching eight for 105 last year as a junior.“He logged a lot of minutes and has been an unselfish player,” Jankowski said. “Obviously, you see these last couple of weeks, he’s very valuable with the ball in his hands as well. He knows how to finish. He catches the ball in traffic. He’s a tough kid.”
Banzhaf has scored on Livings Field in the past.
A lacrosse player, Banzhaf tallied a team-high 48 goals along with team bests of 33 assists and 127 shots on goal for the Vero Beach lacrosse team.
“It helps a lot because lacrosse is the fastest sport on two feet,” Banzhaf said. “It keeps me conditioned throughout the year. It keeps me in check and in shape.”
The Vero Beach offense has not skipped a beat with White taking over for injured starter Champ Monds in the second quarter of Week 1.
“Honestly, it is different from what everyone would have thought,” Banzhaf said. “With him going down, we didn’t know what to expect from EJ. But he has been a great QB so far and especially on his feet, and he has been getting the ball out perfectly.”
Monds had a different brace on his injured foot after undergoing a procedure. “Hopefully that’s trending in the right direction where we get him back sooner than later,” said Jankowski, who expects Monds to play again this season. “I do and he does as well.”
Vero Beach is off Friday before heading to play Fort Pierce Central in another district game Sept. 26 at Lawnwood Stadium.
“It means a lot,” Banzhaf said of the first district win.
The off week also comes at a good time, as Vero Beach has injuries at other positions besides quarterback.
“It comes at a very good time,” Banzhaf said.
Centennial takeaways
1. The Eagles also had the injury bug with at least seven players not in uniform. Centennial had 36 players available for their first of three games in seven days.
2. Centennial turned to freshman quarterback Chance Sullivan late in the second quarter. Sullivan provided a bit of a spark, but could not get the Eagles in the end zone. He finished 5-for-14 for 41 yards with an interception. Sullivan rushed four times for 28 yards.
3. Defensively, Malik Jefferson had two sacks, two tackles for loss and recovered a fumble. Kaden Huggins notched a sack. David Beasley and Kevin Joseph recorded tackles for loss for the Eagles, who complete the game Monday at St. Lucie County South County Regional Stadium against Wellington (they lead 14-0 early in the second quarter) and Thursday play host to Bayside.
Vero Beach takeaways
1. Due to injuries along the offensive line, senior Cooper Bechtold received his first start at center. Sophomore Jonathan Darrell played snaps at guard. Senior Eli Rojas got his second start. “We were playing down a couple of offensive linemen tonight,” Jankowski said. “We said going into this thing that we wanted to have a seven- or eight-man rotation on the offensive line. Sometimes you don’t know how you are going to get there.”
2. White threw three touchdown passes, all in the second quarter, and finished 13-for-19 for 190 yards.Latravious Woods caught the other touchdown pass. Jonathan Hillsman rushed for a score. Traveon Townsand returned an interception 87 yards midway through the fourth quarter to start a running clock. Rylie Swanson opened the scoring with a 35-yard field goal in the first quarter. Vero Beach improved to 18-2, winning 14 straight, against Centennial dating back to 2004 with its seventh shutout. Vero Beach has outscored Centennial, 108-0, during the past three meetings.
3. Vero Beach scored on all four possessions in the first quarter, but drives were bogged down by penalties. “There were a few more negative plays than we like to have tonight, but we were able to finish most of our drives with points and that was key,” Jankowski said.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Vero Beach football senior honors veteran grandfather, scores first career touchdowns
Reporting by Dennis Maffezzoli / Treasure Coast Newspapers
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
