Florida high school football: Seminole rebounds from slow start to beat Vero Beach

VERO BEACH — It’s hard to imagine Vero Beach getting off to a better start on Friday night.

Unfortunately for Vero Beach, Seminole flipped the script in the final three quarters and cruised to a 45-20 win.

Vero Beach (3-1, No. 2 Class 4S) jumped out to a 12-0 lead in the first five minutes behind a pair of touchdown passes from senior quarterback Tyler Aronson, who is committed to SMU.

Aronson finished the game with 214 yards and three touchdowns and running back Jonathan Hillsman caught five passes for 122 yards and two touchdowns.

Seminole responded by scoring the next 21 points and never looked back. The Seminoles (4-1, No. 4 Class 4M) led 31-18 at halftime.

Seminole senior quarterback Karson Siqueiros-Lasky, a Penn commit, threw for 229 yards and four touchdowns. Two of those touchdown passes were caught by Marvin Brown.

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Seminole senior defensive lineman Preston Watson, a Duke commit, was outstanding. Watson had two sacks, at least three tackles for loss and an interception. Watson’s interception came late in the second quarter and allowed Seminole to tack on a score with 53 seconds left in the half to extend the lead to 13 points. Watson said Miami and Colorado have been showing interest lately — Miami defensive ends coach Jason Taylor was on campus last week — but he was wearing Duke gloves and said he was locked in with the Blue Devils.

Vero Beach sophomore athlete EJ White caught two passes for 67 yards and a touchdown. He caught Aronson’s second touchdown pass to give the Fighting Indians a 12-0 lead. White’s offers include Alabama, Georgia, Miami, Ohio State and Penn State.

Seminole junior offensive lineman Max Buchanan was at Ole Miss last week and is scheduled to be at Florida’s game on Saturday. Buchanan said Clemson, Mississippi State, LSU, Auburn, Miami and Florida State are among the schools showing the most interest.

Vero Beach coaches are very high on sophomore Hillsman and its easy to see why. His skills as a pass catcher fit the modern college game as he’s a matchup nightmare for most linebackers in the open field. Both of his touchdowns were 60-plus-yard scores. He’ll definitely be a player to watch over the next few seasons.

Seminole junior linebacker Ethan Pritchard said Miami, Alabama, UCF and FSU are among the schools he’s been hearing from lately. Pritchard said he plans to be Miami’s home game against Georgia Tech on Oct. 7.

Vero Beach junior linebacker TJ Alford made several stops and was consistently around the ball throughout the night. Alford’s offers include Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Miami, Ohio State and South Carolina.

Seminole senior wide receiver Michael Key caught a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. It was an impressive effort for Key, who stretched the ball over the goalline while being pulled out of bounds by a Vero Beach defender. Key’s offers include Iowa State, USF and Western Kentucky.

Vero Beach defensive back Amar Reynolds had a pair of interceptions and defensive back Xavion Griffin, a Western Kentucky commit, had an interception in the second half.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Seminole football rebounds from slow start to beat Vero Beach