Jupiter football stuffs Stoneman Douglas, improves to 5-1 with third straight win

JUPITER — Jupiter added another tally to the win column Friday night against Marjorie Stoneman Douglas.

In front of a packed home crowd, the Warriors rolled to a 35-6 victory, coming just short of their fourth shutout of the season after a late fourth-quarter score by the Eagles.

The Douglas brothers led the way again, just as they have all year for Jupiter (5-1).

Senior quarterback Luke Douglas was on fire with two rushing touchdowns and three passing touchdowns. On all three of his touchdowns through the air, he found his most targeted receiver, his brother, junior wide receiver Preston Douglas.

“Over the years of playing sports together has just built a chemistry and it helps us excel on the field,” Luke said.

On always finding a way to get open for his big brother, Preston said: “Sometimes you just have to trust your athletic ability and throw it up. Even when I’m covered, I’m open.”

Head coach Jason Kradman was pleased with his team’s performance in taking revenge on the Eagles (1-5).

“It was a great win for us. We went down [to Stoneman Douglas] last year and lost 32-0, so we were excited for this opportunity to play them again here at home.”

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Here are three key takeaways from the Warriors' winning performance:

The Warriors are building a lot of momentum

This week, the Warriors extended their winning streak to three games and have no intention of slowing down. With momentum and excellent team chemistry on their side, Jupiter is dominating on both sides of the ball.

As for the offense, Luke and Preston Douglas accounted for all of the touchdowns scored against the Eagles on Friday night. By the end of the first quarter, the Warriors were up 14-0 and went on to add two more rushing touchdowns in the second quarter to head to the locker room with a 28-0 lead.

The Warriors deferred to receive the kickoff in the second half, and on their first drive, Luke found his brother for a deep touchdown pass to put the Warriors up 35-0. At that point, their lead started a running clock.

Although both Luke and Preston play both sides of the ball, they still find a way to excel the entire game and they attribute their success to their parents and coaches.

“Our coaches have us running after every practice and we practice at high tempo all the time. Also, our parents both played sports in college so they know what it’s like," Luke said. "They play a big part in our nutrition and making sure our bodies stay healthy.”

The Warriors' defense is no slouch either as they were just minutes away from their fourth shutout of the year. Led by junior linebacker Dylan Furshman, the Eagles struggled all night.

“Our defense is mainly juniors, so they’ve really started to look at me to lead them. We approach every week the same; we want the shutout,” Furshman said.

Stoneman Douglas succumbs to Jupiter’s dominant defensive front

Despite moving the ball down the field several times, the Eagles weren’t able to capitalize against the Warriors' defense.

Coming off an 8-4 2022 season that saw 23 seniors graduate, Stoneman Douglas’s offense production was minimal. Their run game was kept in check and there were very few opportunities with the ball through the air.

The Eagles were able to avoid the shutout, however, with a quarterback rushing touchdown with just two minutes left on the clock.

Looking forward

Jupiter continues to build an impressive resume under only a second-year head coach. Although the 2022 season may not have gone as planned (5-6), there's nothing holding them back in 2023.

“By no fault of the kids, I didn’t get hired until later in the process and it always takes a little bit to build a staff and get into your off-season program, so we didn't get the chance to do that last year,” said Kradman. “Right after our end-of-season banquet, we got started on our off-season program.

"We were working out in the mornings before school and it just brought everyone closer together to build that culture and team unity. This season so far all traces back to that.”

The Eagles will prepare for a nondistrict matchup at Boyd Anderson (0-5) next week.

Sydney Jones is a freelance writer and photographer with The Palm Beach Post. She can be reached at sydneyejones2020@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Jupiter football beats Stoneman Douglas to improve to 5-1