Venice has been away from home for two games now, but on Friday they'll finally make their return. They will host the Cocoa Tigers at 7:30 p.m. Keep an eye on the score for this one: both posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Last Friday, Venice earned a 49-41 victory over Port Charlotte. Given the Indians' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida football rankings (they are ranked seventh, while the Pirates are ranked 63rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for Gata Wilder, who rushed for 134 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 7.4 yards per carry. Wilder is crushing it when it comes to rushing yards: he's rushed for at least 133 every time he's taken the field this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Dorien Irving-Jones, who rushed for 122 yards and a touchdown.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Venice was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 268 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 204 rushing yards in seven consecutive matches dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, everything went Cocoa's way against Heritage on Friday as Cocoa made off with a 39-13 win. The Tigers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won three contests by 26 points or more this season.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Cocoa to victory, but perhaps none more so than Brady Hart, who threw for 364 yards and three touchdowns while completing 72.4% of his passes. Latrison Lane helped Hart out on the ground, rushing for 56 yards and two touchdowns, while also picking up 89 receiving yards.
Venice's victory bumped their record up to 4-0. As for Cocoa, they pushed their record up to 3-1 with that win, which was their 12th straight at home dating back to last season.
Venice came up short against Cocoa in their previous matchup back in September of 2023, falling 31-21. Will Venice have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other football content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
