It was a dream start for first-year
IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) head coach Bobby Acosta and his Ascenders, racing to a 21-0 lead in the game's first seven minutes. The nation's No. 1-ranked team struggled for the rest of the half before turning on the afterburners in a 49-13 victory at
Venice on Friday night.
Before roughly 5,000 fans and an ESPNU national television audience, Michigan-bound quarterback
J.J. McCarthy threw for 333 yards and five touchdowns as the Ascenders showed off more than 30 athletes with FBS college offers in a game that was played under a running clock from the middle of the third quarter.
McCarthy, a transfer from Illinois, was impressive from the start, throwing two touchdown scores to Florida State-bound
Malik McClain and one each to Alabama-bound wideout
JaCorey Brooks, Pittsburgh-bound tight end
Jake Renda and senior receiver
Ari Allen.
J.J. McCarthy threw for 333 yards and five touchdowns in his debut for IMG Academy.
Photo by Annette Wilkerson
It took IMG Academy just seven plays to go 71 yards on the game's first possession and take a 7-0 lead on an 11-yard pass from McCarthy to Brooks with 9:02 left in the first quarter.
Three plays after a TD was wiped out by a penalty, Brooks — a fleet 6-foot-3, 185-pound senior — took a quick receiver screen and zipped up the IMG sideline putting the Ascenders on the scoreboard.
A long Venice run ended in a fumble, cornerback
Daylen Everette recovered and McCarthy cashed in with a 32-yard touchdown bomb to McClain, making it 14-0 with 6:55 left in the first quarter.
When Venice fumbled the ball away on its next possession and Georgia-bound running back
Lovasea’ Carroll burrowed up the middle 12 yards for another score, IMG Academy led 21-0 with 5:41 left in the first quarter and this one looked like it could get ugly.
Instead, Venice, a Florida 7A playoff semifinalist, hung tough and used a 14-play, 95-yard drive at the end of the half to close to 21-6.
Colin Blazek fired a 20-yard touchdown pass to
Weston Wolff, giving the Indians some momentum.
Two of IMG's 10 first-half penalties extended the drive, which certainly couldn't have pleased Acosta, who also saw his team have three touchdowns wiped out by flags.
But the Ascenders regrouped at halftime and got two big plays in the first five minutes of the third quarter to take control.
Receiver Malik McClain eludes a Venice defender along the sideline while scoring one of his two touchdowns.
Photo by Annette Wilkerson
After yet another penalty wiped out a fourth touchdown, McCarthy found tight end Renda with a 40-yard touchdown strike to make it 28-6 with 9:10 left in the third.
A couple of plays later, Blazek was picked off by junior defensive back
Terrell Foster, who returned it 45 yards for a touchdown, making it 35-6 with 7:53 left in the third.
McCarthy then fired his fourth TD pass of the game – this the most spectacular. Avoiding heavy pressure and rolling to his right, the future Wolverine connected on a perfect 19-yard strike in the back of the end zone to McClain, who took a big hit but held on, making it 42-6 with 5:09 left in the third.
It was a precarious offseason for Acosta, whose team had to cancel five games against Top 100 teams due to the coronavirus pandemic. But the Ascenders were able to fill most of their schedule, including the opener at Venice. They overcame many untimely penalties in the first half to regroup and win going away.
They'll played next Sept. 18 at home against Edgewater (Orlando). Venice (0-1) hosts Vero Beach, playing in its season opener, next Friday.
IMG players rush the field before their season opener Friday night.
Photo by Annette Wilkerson
IMG receiver JaCorey Brooks had an 11-yard touchdown catch for the first score of the game and had this touchdown wiped out by a penalty.
Photo by Annette Wilkerson
A crowd of roughly 5,000 was on hand for the game at Venice High School in Florida.
Photo by Annette Wilkerson
