Kickoff Classics: See how Treasure Coast football teams performed in season tuneups
Kickoff classic week has arrived for the Treasure Coast as football teams get a shot at ironing out the kinks and prepare for games that count the following week.
Every year, the preseason has its challenges and the entire area has battled getting quality practices in with heat advisories and afternoon thunderstorms so for many teams, getting in four quarters of play will be very valuable.
A handful of teams will get going before the rest on Thursday, including an anticipated debut for the area's first artificial turf field at Vero Beach as they will host Dwyer.
The bulk of the area gets their test run before the regular season in on Friday with five teams hosting games in town.
Here's a game-by-game glance for our area teams participating in kickoff classics.
Thursday, Aug. 17
Vero Beach 49, Dwyer 0
Running backs ruled the night for Vero Beach as sophomore Jonathan Hillsman had a touchdown catch and a touchdown run and senior Octavion Osby accounted for two rushing touchdowns.
Hillsman ran for 81 yards on eight carries in addition to his 13-yard touchdown reception and Osby ran for 63 yards on seven carries.
SMU commit Tyler Aronson went 12-for-15, throwing for 170 yards and two touchdowns, hitting Chayce Taylor on a 21-yard strike in the third quarter.
Derrick Williams ran a kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown, Randall Godwin had a 4-yard touchdown run and defensively, senior Matthew Bacon recovered two fumbles for Vero Beach.
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Okeechobee 12, Palm Beach Lakes 0
Corey Wilkerson caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from Ni'Marion Bryant and a Carriss Johns run for a two-point conversion late in the first quarter that stood as the only offensive points scored for the night.
In the fourth quarter, two high snaps on punts by Palm Beach Lakes resulted in safeties as the Brahman defense finished off a shutout on the scoreboard.
St. Edward's 7, Legacy Charter 0
Gary Anderson caught a touchdown from quarterback Nate Sparkman as the Pirates played one half of live action and a second half that was a scripted scrimmage in preparation for the regular season.
Bayside 14, Sebastian River 7
A 10-yard touchdown run for Jon Tumblin in the second quarter gave the Sharks a 7-0 lead that Sebastian River held at halftime.
Allowing two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, Sebastian River mounted a final drive down the field but a throw on fourth and goal from the 10-yard line came up two yards short of the end zone.
Friday, Aug. 18
Forest 14, Fort Pierce Central 7
A touchdown midway through the fourth quarter sent the Wildcats to a road victory at Lawnwood Stadium.
Junior Anthony LaMattina ran in a 15-yard touchdown at quarterback that put the Cobras ahead in the first quarter.
South Fork 14, Somerset Academy-Canyons 6
Omar Mejia scored on a 20-yard touchdown run and Josh Mahler caught a 16-yard touchdown pass from Shea McMillan in the second half to send the Bulldogs to a preseason victory.
Spanish River 44, Port St. Lucie 37
Holding a lead late into the first half, the Jaguars couldn't pull off a final drive in the closing minutes to send the game into overtime in preseason action.
Senior LJ Lane caught an 11-yard touchdown and a 60-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Jordan Quillen.
Sophomore running back Jordan Tolbert ran for two touchdowns and caught another out of the backfield on a night Port St. Lucie head coach Kimberry Lubin was satisfied with the effort out of his kids.
"We have a lot of talent here, we've just got to buy into what we're doing and grow," Lubin said. "We have plenty of skill here. We're going to use tonight and grow but lots of positives."
Martin County 32, Seminole Ridge 10
Quarterback Jackson Williams and running back Tony Colebrook scored rushing touchdowns in the first half to give the Tigers a halftime lead they never relinquished in a preseason victory.
Fort Pierce Westwood 35, Forest Hill 6
Senior Braylon Vincent scored a pair of rushing touchdowns as the Panthers took a shutout into the fourth quarter in a strong preseason win on the road.
Sophomore quarterback EJ Weathers threw two touchdown passes, one to Colton Foster and one to Mike Bell and added a touchdown on the ground.
Heritage 22, Jensen Beach 2
Penalties and a missing star hurt the Falcons in their preseason tune-up entering Week 1 against Fort Pierce Central.
Senior running back Dennis Palmer, Jr. did not play and Jensen Beach's offense struggled to gain traction all night, taking away a strong effort from the Falcon defense.
The game's opening kickoff was run back by senior Elvick Previlma for a touchdown but a Jensen Beach penalty wiped the effort out as a sign of what was to come for the Falcons on the night.
John Carroll Catholic 27, Holy Trinity 6
Johnny Raneri ran for 80 yards and two touchdowns and Jax VanName threw for 221 yards and a touchdown to lead the Rams to an impressive road win.
Raneri scored on an 8-yard scamper and VanName hit Jaden Mackey on a 43-yard touchdown connection in the first half for John Carroll.
Jaydien Pittman scored on a 4-yard run in the third quarter and Raneri scored from a yard out in the fourth quarter to cap the scoring.
Treasure Coast 17, Lake Wales 0
Taking on last year's Class 3S state champions on the road, the Titan defense was brilliant as seniors Jahari Grant and Omari Kinsler stole the show.
Grant was a force blowing plays up in the Highlander backfield and Kinsler had a pair of sacks in the first half and forced a fumble in the second half.
Quarterback Ahmar Atwell ran for a touchdown in the second quarter, Manuel German hit a field goal also in the second quarter and Demari Scott added a touchdown run in the fourth quarter to cap the scoring for the Titans.
Master's Academy 41, First Coast Christian 6
Pahokee 41, Centennial 0
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Treasure Coast Kickoff Classic: Rounding up scores from the area
