VERO BEACH – Instead of opting to play an opponent to wrap up 20 days of spring practice, the Vero Beach High football team chose to keep it in house with a controlled intrasquad scrimmage Thursday, May 21 at Billy Livings Field at the Citrus Bowl.
The school did not charge an admission fee or request any items to be donated.
The gathering is what you would expect to see on a fall Friday night.
The place was rocking.
“Tonight was just a collective effort of what’s happened throughout the spring,” Vero Beach coach Lenny Jankowski said. “I was pleased with how the spring went. Each and every day we made progress. That’s what it’s all about.”
The Pride of the Treasure Coast band, cheerleaders performed. Food truck lining the endzone. Fans were in attendance before the players came out on the field for pre-game warmups.
The gathering also received a chance to see recently signed University of Notre Dame commit Wonderful “Champ” Monds in action for his final season.
Before committing to the Irish over Florida State University and Ohio State, Monds reclassified to the Class of 2027. That means, instead of going into his junior season in the fall, this will be his final season in a Vero Beach uniform.
“It felt great,” Monds said. “I’m finally back on the field with my guys. Had a lot of fun.”
After missing most of the regular season and some time during the playoff run to the state final, Monds looked healthy and had good zip on his release.
“I had a couple of plays I can always make better,” he said. “But that’s the point in these types of games: work on little things I need to improve on. Nothing really specifically, just showing the leadership and getting my guys to rally behind me.”
With the offense in white tops and the defense in red, the scrimmage went six plays from the opposing 35-yard line, four plays from the opposing 10, extra points, six plays from the opposing 20, 10 plays from the opposing 10, eight plays for the second and third string, punting, four plays at third-and-10, third-and-5 and third-and-2, second stringers, first offense against second string defense and finished with the second and third stringers. At halftime, seventh and eighth graders played a 7-on-7 game.
Class 7A runner-up Vero Beach football will be off until June 1 when summer workouts begin with strength and conditioning and speed work with 7-on-7 competition sprinkled throughout the summer.
“I’m really looking forward to it,” Jankowski said.
Vero Beach takeaways
1. The only quarterback wearing the green jersey (not because of the Irish, but so he is clearly seen and not hit by the defense), Monds completed his first six passes and his final eight. In the controlled environment, he went 18-for-20 for 369 yards. Rising senior Marcus Melbourne caught six passes for 147 yards and a couple of touchdowns. Rising junior Bryce Dolce had seven receptions for 79 yards. Rising junior Latravious Woods caught four passes for 77 yards. “Everybody seemed on point,” Monds said. “I’ve got a lot of extra work with my receivers, getting on time, getting all the timing down. We looked great tonight.”
2. The defense performed just as well. Rising senior defensive lineman Tristan Davis had three-and-a-half sacks and a tackle for a loss. Rising sophomore linebacker Eric Moore, rising senior defensive end Alan Carter and rising junior lineman Alex Guxman notched sacks. Rising junior two-way lineman Josiah Taylor provided some good pressure and batted down a pass. Rising senior two-way lineman Dontallis Render caused havoc in the offensive backfield. Rising senior defensive back Jayden Haywood, rising senior defensive back Quontranon Burks, rising senior defensive back Hudson McLaughlin and rising junior defensive back Hudson Ott (½ sack) all made impact defensive plays. Rising junior cornerback Andrew Lloyd picked off a pass. Rising sophomore defensive back Jason Diaz broke up a pass. Newcomer rising senior linebacker Deion Jackson, a transfer from Port St. Lucie Legacy High, looked comfortable in the middle of the defense. Tight end/defensive lineman Jake Tell, a transfer from Jensen Beach High, got reps on both sides of the ball.
3. As far as the special teams, rising junior Jackson Barsalou and rising senior kicker/punter Snyder Arbelaez both made their extra-point attempts. Arbelaez punted from the 50 to the 7 and the 40 to the goalline. Barsalou punted from the 40 to the 27. Rising sophomore CJ Stovall served as the returner.
4. After graduating eight off last year’s offensive line, Vero Beach started Taylor, Richard McMillan, Shadrach Washington, Zac Hogue and Render, but mixed in others. “We know that’s a position that’s gonna be a steady work in progress,” Jankowski said. “We’ve made some good progress through the spring. We tried a lot of guys there. We’ve had some guys work on both sides of the ball. We’ll see. We know we’ve got a lot of work to do and we’ll figure out that combination that gives us the best chance. We’ve got some challenges when we go against our D-line and our front seven. Our O-line had their work cut out for them all spring. But I was pleased with tonight. We’ll get a much better feel for it when we get a chance to watch the film.”
5. Although its schedule is not complete, one thing is certain: Vero Beach will play Class 1A state champion West Palm Beach Cardinal Newman in the fall classic Aug. 14 at the Citrus Bowl. Vero Beach still needs to fill one date during the regular season to complete its slate. “The schedule should be released soon,” Jankowski said. “Right now we have nine games. We’re working to get that scheduled. If not, we’ll roll with what we’ve got.”
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Champ Monds, Vero Beach football in intrasquad scrimmage: 5 takeaways
Reporting by Dennis Maffezzoli, Special to TCPalm / Treasure Coast Newspapers
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