The Vero Beach Indians will take on the Palmetto Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Vero Beach comes in on 13 and Palmetto on five.
Vero Beach is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They blew past Dr. Phillips 49-23. The matchup was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 42-7.
Jonathan Hillsman
| 11/28/25 vs Dr. Phillips | 74 |
| 11/21/25 vs Lake Nona | 36 |
| 11/14/25 vs East Ridge | 42 |
| 10/30/25 vs Somerset Academy | 26 |
| 10/24/25 @ Treasure Coast | 28 |
| + 4 more games |
Vero Beach can attribute much of their success to Efrem White, who rushed for 74 yards and four TDs on only ten carries, and Jonathan Hillsman, who gained 162 total yards and two touchdowns. What's more, Hillsman racked up 74 rushing yards, the most he's had since back in September.
Special teams also played a big role in the game for Vero Beach, adding 13 points to the final score. The biggest highlight from special teams (and perhaps the team as a whole) came courtesy of Traveon Townsend, who ran a punt back for a touchdown.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Palmetto). They put the hurt on Goleman with a sharp 65-41 win on Friday. The final result isn't all that surprising considering the Panthers' considerable advantage in MaxPreps' Florida football rankings (they are ranked 38th, while the Gators are ranked 131st).
Vero Beach better keep an eye on Butler Aiden. He was instrumental in Palmetto's win, rushing for 193 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 10.7 yards per carry. Aiden's rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his third straight game with at least 109 rushing yards. Another player making a difference was Andre Bailey, who threw for 204 yards and a pair of TDs on only 17 passes.
Palmetto's run defense was locked in: Goleman could only muster two yards per carry. The team can thank Armond Weston for the heroic effort on defense: he. Palmetto didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 9.2.
Palmetto's defensive line didn't let the opposing QB, get away unscathed either: they got into the backfield for six sacks. Jaiden Henry refused to say out of the backfield, picking up three sacks all by himself. Palmetto got some further help from Henry: he picked up three sacks and made eight total tackles (5.0 for loss).
Vero Beach's record now sits at 13-0. As for Palmetto, their record is now 11-2.
Vero Beach didn't have too much breathing room in their game against Palmetto in their previous matchup back in September of 2022, but they still walked away with a 21-17 victory. Do the Indians have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Panthers turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
