Jacksonville – It took overtime to decide the incredible football game between the Venice Indians (2-1) and the Trinity Christian Conquerors (1-2). In the end, Venice would win the contest by one point 50-49, when running-back Brian Taylor ran the ball in from two yards out on a 2-point conversion.
Preceding the 2-point conversion was a great touchdown catch by
Venice wide receiver Malachi Wideman (Florida State Commit) who came down with the jump ball over Trinity defensive back Fred Davis (Clemson Commit). The match-up perhaps was a preview of what’s to come in the future as both players are committed to ACC Universities.
The two players would battle all evening, with Davis winning a big battle in the end-zone over Wideman earlier in the game. Davis and company came into the game with something to prove, as they had yet to gain a win over one of the powerhouse programs on their grueling schedule. American Heritage (2-1) visits them next week. Yet during the course of the Venice game, the team seemed to prove something to themselves, and it showed.
Their start to the game versus Venice showed that they were indeed ready for the challenge. Junior quarterback Jacory Jordan led the team on an eight play, 80 yard drive culminating in a 20-yard pass to wide receiver Marcus Burke for the Trinity touchdown. The Conquerors led 7-0.
Venice would respond quickly, as wide receiver Myles Weston caught a touchdown pass from quarterback Nico Dellacosta to tie the score 7-7 in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Venice would pull ahead with two scores. After punts by both teams, the Indian’s turned to their signature offense with quarterback power plays. The eight play drive yielded dividends when quarterback Nico DallaCosta ran it in for a touchdown.
The second came when the Indian’s Zach Younts intercepted Jordan to get the ball back to their offense. Big runs by Brian Taylor led to a touchdown by their quarterback Ryan Overstreet who was inserted on the goal-line. Venice increased their lead to 21-7.
In the second half, Trinity would make a furious comeback spearheaded by the feet of senior running-back Kyjuan Herndon. Herndon would bust a 34-yard touchdown run to put Trinity on the board trailing Venice 21-14 in the third.
Trinity’s defense would stall drives thanks to big plays by their defenders. Defensive tackle William Tippens forced a fumble on a sack to end the third quarter. Venice would hold on to the lead going into the fourth quarter, but it wouldn’t be for long as Jordan and Burke would hook up for another touchdown.
This event would set off a scoring frenzied fourth. Tied at 21 all, Indian’s running back Brian Taylor would rush for another touchdown in the game. Taylor would finish with 176 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Not to be outdone, Herndon of Trinity would accelerate through a hole on offense and roll 85-yards for a touchdown to tie the game 28-28. Herndon finished the game with an impressive 237 yards rushing and 4 touchdowns.
Trinity showed their grit late in the fourth. As Jordan hit Burke for their third touchdown of the night. This one, a 99-yarder to which Burke caught in stride and did the rest. Burke finished with 220 yard receiving and 3 touchdowns. Jordan passed for 258 yards and three touchdowns in the game. Without question his best game of the year so far.
Following the Trinity quick score, Venice would matriculate the ball down the field on a 12-play drive leading to a Damarion Escort touchdown run to tie the game again at 35-35 late in the fourth.
With 3:45 to play in the game, Trinity would mount a potential game winning drive from the Indian 40 yard line. First down runs by Herndon and Pedro Valez put the Conquerors in field goal position. This set up kicker Clayton Roerig for a game-winning field goal, ironically for the second consecutive week. Roerig won the game for Trinity versus Godby, however on this night, his 32-yard field goal was no good. The game would go into overtime tied 35-35.
In overtime, Venice running-back Brian Taylor would score first, to go up on Trinity. However, Trinity’s Kyjuan Herndon would respond to tie the game up.
It was Herndon’s turn to ambush the Indians again, and he did so with a diving touchdown run to give Trinity the lead 49-42. It would be up to the Conqueror defense to stop the Venice ground and pound offense, a feat not many teams have been successful at doing. In the end, it would be Venice who’d emerge as victors of this epic battle.
Although Trinity lost the game, they showed grit by fighting back from a 14-point halftime lead, and showed growth in taking the lead on one of the state’s best teams. It is that pyrhic victory that should have coaches optimistic about their team’s season, as the players performances are picking up with each opponent.
