Venice (Fla.) heads into 2025 in search of title No. 5

VENICE, Fla.- When you look at the teams Venice Indians‘ head coach John Peacock has rolled out in recent years, what has never been in doubt is the Indians’ prowess on offense.

Scoring points has always been the least of Venice’s concerns, especially the last couple of years. Over the past two years, the 4-time FHSAA state champion Indians have averaged a staggering 48.3 points per game in 30 contests played.

One constant has been the quarterback position, which has seen multiple Division I signees, but this upcoming 2025 campaign brings a little bit more of a question mark under center.

The competition of signal callers has come down to a battle between Alex Schafer and Sean Long, whom both split time in Venice’s 34-27 spring win over Naples back in the spring. Those four quarters, however, didn’t bring enough clarity to the position.

So much so, Peacock isn’t quite sure who he will be starting for the season, but knows he wants to make a decision by halftime of this upcoming Friday’s preseason kickoff classic against Gadsden County, who finished as a state finalist in Class 2A last year.

“You know, my goal is to make a decision by halftime with the Gadsden County game, they’re both going to get opportunities to start the game,” Peacock said.

“I’m going to rotate them against Gadsden and then I’m just going to go with whoever’s playing well, and whoever can handle the pressure. I mean, there’s nothing like a first game jitters, they got to overcome, so they’re going to have some pressure on them. Right now, I wish I could make the decision in practice, but it’s like one day, you know, one’s one’s here and the next day, the other one’s here and no one’s really separated themselves yet.“

Whoever takes control of the Venice offense will have another talented cast of skill players surrounding them. Returning to the backfield is 1,000-plus yard rusher Dorien Irving-Jones, whom both saw extensive time alongside Jamarice Wilder, now at Louisville, last season.

Two receiving threats that either Schafer or Long will look to throw to are Class of 2028 star Tyree Manning Jr., who transferred in from Sarasota Booker, and 6-foot-6 tight end Colton Lynch, who caught three touchdowns in the spring game.

The offensive line will be anchored by UCLA commitment Johnnie Jones, who likely slides into the vacated spot by Al Oliver, who has since graduated and is now at Appalachian State.

Peacock’s defensive unit got better as the season progressed in 2024 and looks to be a force behind University of Miami (FL) commitment Asharri Charles, who last season totaled 107 total tackles, 15.5 going for a loss, 13.5 sacks, six batted away passes and two forced fumbles.

What hardens and makes Venice battle-tested is the regular season slate of games put together, preparing them for any kind of deep postseason run. This 2025 slate plays out no differently as the Indians face off against numerous state championship or nationally-ranked programs, which includes Tampa Bay Tech (Class 5A), Miami Northwestern (Class 3A), Port Charlotte (Class 4A), Clearwater Central Catholic (Class 1A) and independents The First Academy, IMG Academy.

“We’re playing Gadsden County, and then we play at Tampa Bay Tech and Miami Northwestern. We just approach everything one week at a time and try not to look too far ahead,” Peacock added. “We do know that our schedule is built to do some special things. It’s a fine line between winning and losing and, we don’t take care of the little things and it could be a rough start.”

“Like I said, I think that we have a really, really strong football team. I don’t look at it in terms of are we going to win another state championship. We just kind of take it week by week. Our schedule’s been kind of built that way the last four or five years. And I think that’s part of the reason we’ve been able to have success in the playoffs and success getting to the state championship game is we’ve been tested early on and we’re able to make adjustments as a staff and put the players in the right spot.”