Hillsman, Aronson lead Vero Beach to big win over Fort Pierce Westwood
As a freshman, Vero Beach running back Jonathan Hillsman worked his way from a reserve just trying to earn playing time into a starter for a regional final game in 2022.
A year later, a stronger and more confident Hillsman has turned into a catalyst for Vero's offense and showed it again Friday catching two spectacular touchdowns as part of a four-touchdown night for SMU commit Tyler Aronson helping Vero Beach roll 35-0 over Fort Pierce Westwood.
With a number of weapons on offense for Vero Beach that include Division I prospects, Hillsman has evoked shades of what former Vero star Bobby McMillian provided not only with his running ability but his versatility being dangerous catching balls out of the backfield.
With three catches for 62 yards, including a 35-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter and a 22-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter, Hillsman has averaged over 74 receiving yards a game through three games to go along with averaging 85 yards a game on the ground.
"It's fun, last year I didn't get as many opportunities but this year I have and when I did, I've taken those opportunities and have done the best I could," Hillsman said.
As a freshman in the limited action he saw behind starter Quincy Rodgers last season, Hillsman had success averaging over six yards a carry.
Going into the offseason, a challenge was issued to Hillsman to work on his body and add more muscle to anticipate a bigger role that Vero Beach head coach Lenny Jankowski has enjoyed the sophomore filing in as an impact player.
"He put on about 20 pounds of muscle, he was a 150-pound 8A running back in the regional final as a freshman starting for us so to see him now running around at 170, 175 pounds with all the muscle he has now combined with the talent, the athleticism, his patience and his vision and his work ethic, it's really a lot of fun to design plays for his skillset," Jankowski said.
With Vero Beach vanquishing one of the Treasure Coast's unbeaten teams going into Week 4, Seminole will come to town next Friday night as one of Vero's toughest tests of the season entering District 12-4S play.
Efficiency rating high for Aronson
A staple of Jankowski's playbook offensively is for his quarterbacks to get rid of the ball quickly to its playmakers and having the luxury of Aronson to run the offense has worked to great affect early in the season.
While downfield shots always are in the script when called upon, the screen game was the calling card Friday but a bit of a new wrinkle got Vero Beach on the board early.
The versatile Xavion Griffin is a player Jankowski wants to get involved more offensively and on Vero's first drive, the Western Kentucky commit took two straight snaps at the wildcat behind center and had a 16-yard rush and powered in from a yard out to give Vero Beach an early 7-0 lead.
Hillsman's first amazing touchdown catch and run quickly followed as the sophomore broke three Panther tackles, used his hand to stay upright and scooted into the end zone from 35 yards out to make it 14-0.
Aronson hit Isaiah Roberts on a 5-yard touchdown catch late in the first quarter to make it 21-0 before two more great individual efforts followed.
Sophomore EJ White took a quick out, make a cut to elude a Westwood defender and broke another tackle for a 23-yard touchdown and Hillsman capped the scoring for Vero, slipping out of the backfield again and followed two Vero offensive lineman downfield but evaded two more Panther tacklers for a 22-yard touchdown.
Offensive struggles cause pain for Westwood
Through their 3-0 start to the season, the Panthers have not been sharp offensively and against a talented defense Friday made for a long and short night.
Only one drive on the night into Vero Beach territory for Fort Pierce Westwood and even on a play defensively that could have swung momentum in their favor, a bad penalty wiped it away.
Braylon Vincent picked off an Aronson pass with the score 14-0 in the first quarter but the Panthers had 12 men on defense to nullify the play and would lead to Roberts' touchdown catch to make it 21-0.
One positive on the night for the Panthers was senior linebacker Ricardo Guthrie, who totaled 13 tackles, five that went for a loss to go along with three sacks last week against Inlet Grove, and added two more sacks and a forced fumble Friday.
The Panthers get one of their important District 11-3S games next week with a home game Thursday night against Okeechobee with a chance to earn a leg up on fellow 11-3S foe Sebring.
Onward for Vero
A big test also lies ahead for Vero Beach in Week 5 with Seminole coming to town, bringing a boatload of talent on both sides of the ball.
Injuries on defense have accumulated for Vero Beach but Friday showed that players are hungry to step up. Junior defensive lineman Anthwone Montgomery had a standout game that included a pair of tackles for a loss in a span of four plays on one drive along with a sack and Vero got interceptions from seniors Aidan Smith and Donquail Wesley on the night.
Pleased with the progress his kids have made from game-to-game thus far, Jankowski is hopeful to see more signs of growth that will lend itself to complete performances the rest of the season.
"What I'm most pleased with tonight was the way we executed, finished drives and got them off the field on third downs," Jankowski said. "All in all, that's what we were looking for tonight."
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Hillsman, Aronson help Vero Beach down Fort Pierce Westwood 35-0
