Week 2 football: Jensen Beach, Sebastian River post shutout victories

Jensen Beach 21, Dwyer 0

Sticking to a similar script to how they won in Week 1 suited Jensen Beach just fine Friday night.

A swarming defensive performance that included a pair of safeties and two interceptions combined with a steady dose of running the ball with Dennis Palmer, Jr. and quarterback Austin Connelly was enough for the Falcons to begin 2023 with a 2-0 record.

“The plan is to go 1-0 every week, the kids worked hard, we have things to work on but we worked hard and came out with the victory," Jensen Beach head coach Tim Caffey said.

Meeting resistance in the form of a Dwyer defensive line that did at times give Vero Beach trouble going back to the preseason, miscues by the Falcons held them back early.

Three turnovers early were eventually nullified as Johnny Delancey, who fumbled on a punt return, made up for it with an interception and run-back inside the Dwyer 10-yard line.

Palmer would score from two yards out to give the Falcons midway through the second quarter.

To end the half, senior kicker Gavin Harte boomed a 41-yard field goal giving Jensen Beach a 10-0 lead.

In the third quarter, Jensen Beach junior defensive end Carlos McCormack sacked Dwyer quarterback Derrick Flanders for a safety that made it 12-0.

Later in the third quarter, Harte boomed a 71-yard punt with an excellent save by long snapper Gavin Plattner avoiding a touchback and that set up McCormack and Julius Puryear to bring down a Dwyer ball carrier again in their own end zone for another safety.

Caffey lauded the performance on the defense from the players to the coaching staff for their strong start to the season.

“I’m not surprised, they play hard as displayed in practice," Caffey said. "The coaches put in a lot of work into these kids, they fly around the field and take pride in what they do."

Connelly capped the scoring in the fourth quarter with a 39-yard scamper through the Panther defense and totaled 98 yards on the ground to go along with Palmer's 109 yards for Jensen Beach.

— Gavin Cooney, Special to TCPalm

Sebastian River 44, Astronaut 0

All phases of the game fired off in song for the Sharks, earning their first win of 2023 after rolling out to a big lead in the first half.

Michael Howard kicked off the night by returning a blocked punt 30 yards for a touchdown run and Tromance Smith later added a touchdown catch that made it 16-0.

The Sharks held a 30-0 halftime lead and quickly added to it in the third quarter as Marcus Grier scored one of his two rushing touchdowns on the night.

Jon Tumblin had a touchdown catch, Xavier James had a rushing touchdown and Ryan Marshall hit a field goal and was 5-for-6 on extra points for the Sharks, who got five takeaways from its defense.

Calvary Christian 33, John Carroll Catholic 20

Missed opportunities on offense and one on defense in the fourth quarter left the Rams on the wrong end of the scoreboard for the second week in a row.

Falling 47-6 to Benjamin in Week 1, John Carroll had a much more manageable halftime deficit to dig out of down 14-7 with Johnny Raneri scoring on a 4-yard run in the first quarter accounting for the Rams' offense.

To begin the second half, a successful pooch kick by the Rams was recovered by Jacob Smith, but John Carroll couldn't capitalize on a short field and would eventually the ball over on downs.

Calvary Christian mounted a drive from there and would eventually punch the ball into the end zone on a 1-yard run from Lucas Yahale that put the Eagles up 20-7.

The Rams would again get near the red zone on their next drive but turned the ball over on downs before getting a defensive stop.

John Carroll quarterback Jax VanName hit Jaden Mackey on a play of 55 yards that would set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Raneri to begin the fourth quarter and make it a 20-13 game.

The Rams allowed a third and long conversion and would be hit with a questionable late hit call shortly after to help Calvary Christian drive into the red zone but John Carroll had a big chance flipping the momentum right back.

Yahale on an inside run had the ball popped free and a Ram defender missed a recovery and the scramble for the ball went to the Eagles and one play later, Calvary Christian quarterback Camden Hartzell tossed a 9-yard touchdown pass to Joe Middleton to put the Eagles back up two scores.

The Eagles put the game away as Ralph Gilbert scored on a rushing touchdown from four yards out with 3:21 remaining.

VanName hit Jacob Morales on a 5-yard touchdown pass on the game's final play but for the Rams, progress will need to continue moving into a tough stretch of road games for the entire month of September.

"We've got to continue to improve," John Carroll Catholic head coach Mickey Groody said. "Like I told the kids at the end of the night, our end-of-the-season goals are still attainable. It's definitely not the way we want to start it, life hardly goes the way you want it to. We just can't quit, we've got to keep working and get better. Lot of new people in new spots still figuring it out and I'm excited for the next couple of weeks to see where we're at."

DeLand 60, Centennial 18

Boasting one of the east coast of Florida's top playmakers, DeLand got a star performance from senior Javon Ross Friday night.

Catching a 77-yard touchdown pass and running a kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown for the second week in a row, the Bulldogs scored 39 points in just over 13 minutes in the first half to earn their first win of 2023.

Ross had plenty of help from sophomore running back Ladamion Bletcher, who scored on a 5-yard run to open the scoring for the night and added a 13-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.

DeLand quarterback TJ Moore linked up with Ross on a third and long, hitting Ross on a post route and the senior speedster outran Centennial's defense for 50 yards that made it a 14-0 Bulldog lead quickly.

Centennial showed some fight as the Eagle offense hit big plays of their own. Senior quarterback Jamel Brown hit wide receiver Tyler Brown on a 50-yard gain that would set up Amir Shabazz to take a backward pass eight yards for a touchdown as he reversed field to make it 16-6.

To end the first quarter, Ross fielded the ensuing kickoff on the run and ran off to his left down the DeLand sideline and used a few blocks but turned on the jets to reach the end zone for the second time on the night.

The Eagles again had a quick response as one play later, Brown launched a deep ball to a wide-open Jacob Hovey and the 59-yard touchdown pass made it 24-12.

DeLand added another special-teams touchdown in the second quarter, blocking a punt and getting a recovery in the end zone, and would run away in the second half.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Jensen Beach, Sebastian River football post shutouts in Week 2