PORT ST. LUCIE — If at first you don't succeed, try again. On the first play of a second-quarter possession, Fort Pierce Central quarterback Drew LaPlante fired a deep play-action pass to his favorite target, Antonio Hill. The throw was just beyond Hill's reach, appearing to waste a scoring opportunity. Two plays later, however, the duo connected for six points. LaPlante found Hill on a short timing route. With a head of steam, the West Georgia commit darted through Port St. Lucie's second level and secondary for a 44-yard touchdown.
Sign up and save to watch the NFHS Network "He's definitely been my No. 1 target heading into this season, and he's gonna be my No. 1 target for the rest of the season, for sure," LaPlante said of Hill. "He's a game changer." Big plays were a key theme for the Cobras, who rolled to a 34-6 Kickoff Classic victory over the Jaguars on Friday, Aug. 14, at Port St. Lucie High School. The starters played the first half. The score was reset at halftime as reserves got most of the playing time over the final 24 minutes. Central won the second half 14-0. LaPlante was sharp throughout the night, particularly on short throws. The senior completed 8 of 10 passes for 141 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. Every Cobras varsity possession resulted in points.
"It definitely gives me a lot of confidence in my group and my offense," LaPlante said. "We really know how to move the ball downfield consistently and not have turnovers at all. We played pretty much perfect offense today, and I want to carry that into the rest of the season." LaPlante and Hill were responsible for the first points of the night. The wide receiver caught a short pass near the sideline, slipped by a defender and raced 55 yards for a touchdown less than three minutes into the first quarter. Later, junior Ivan Blackmon and sophomore Sam Raymond each found the end zone on scoring plays of 14 and 15 yards, respectively. "We got some guys with a little juice," Cobras coach Mike Watkins said. "We got some guys that can pop one, so that always helps. And we got a quarterback that can get it out of his hand pretty quick, got a good release, and he's pretty accurate on that stuff. So really, that execution puts those guys in a position to be able to make those plays." Here are three takeaways from Friday night's game: 'We just had to keep our heads up'
Central's most exciting moment did not come from its offense. On the final play of the first half, Von Adams stepped in front of an Al'Xavier Bulgen pass just short of the end zone. The senior defensive back took two steps upfield before reversing course and racing 99 yards for a touchdown. "I knew nobody could catch me," he said. Adams' last-second sprint was an exclamation point on a defense that stiffened as the game progressed. Port St. Lucie tied the game in the first quarter after Andrew Thornton capped a 12-play drive with a fourth-down touchdown run from 1 yard out. From there, the Cobras took away runs up the middle, whether it was through blitzes from Chad Devries and Joey Grone or Jayen Willingham winning his matchup on the interior. The junior defensive lineman also forced a fumble. Watkins noted that pressure adjustments were made following Port St. Lucie's touchdown drive. But for Adams, the defense's performance was about moving on to the next play. "We just had to keep our heads up. Even when you're down, you got to keep fighting," Adams said. 'We did some good things, but we did some real dumb stuff'
Even though the Cobras won by four scores, the coaching staff will have plenty of material to address during the next film session. Watkins noted a need for more effectiveness from the running game, as well as on intermediate and deep passes. The visitors allowed three fourth-down conversions. Special teams struggled after three blocked extra-point attempts and a muffed punt. Yet the team's most frustrating issue was penalties. Central was flagged eight times in the first half, with personal foul penalties resulting in three Jaguars first downs. "We did some good things, but we did some real dumb stuff. We had way too many penalties," Watkins said. "It was super embarrassing with the false starts and the late hits. If we don't clean that up, it's going to be tough sledding this year." Solid signs
Jaguars first-year coach Everette Alford was encouraged by his team's performance. Port St. Lucie's scoring drive included two fourth-down conversions. Although the Jaguars did not score again, the home team showed an ability at times to move the chains. The Jaguars struggled most with open-field tackling, but Alford believes the team has positive momentum heading into the regular season. "We saw some good things out of some guys that we wanted to see in action on varsity," he said. "We're going to be able to build off that and we're going to be able to string some stuff together." Port St. Lucie will be back home to open the regular season. The Jaguars play South Fork at 7 p.m. Friday. At the same time, Central takes on Legacy. Friday Kickoff Classic games Treasure Coast 32, Sebastian River 0 After two difficult seasons, the Titans might be back. Easton Keene tossed two touchdown passes as part of Treasure Coast's road shutout of the Sharks. The visitors added two rushing scores, a field goal and a safety. Keene, a sophomore, threw for nearly 200 yards. According to Sebastian River coach Tony Perry, the key to the Titans' victory was their physicality, a hallmark of previously successful Treasure Coast teams. "They out-physicaled us in the trenches. That's where you win ballgames," Perry said. "Luckily this is just a glorified scrimmage. We just have to lick our wounds and get ready for the next game. But this is a great learning tool for us." Treasure Coast will again be on the road for a Week 1 matchup at Martin County. Sebastian River travels to University. Eau Gallie 16, Jensen Beach 9 The Falcons pitched a second-half shutout but were on the wrong side of a preseason road contest against the Commodores. "Eau Gallie is a good team. I take nothing away from them," Jensen Beach coach Tim Caffey said. "We had our opportunities today, but we had too many penalties. It's hard to play first-and-25. You can't overcome that." Alex Thornton was responsible for the Falcons' scoring. The senior scored a touchdown on the ground and recorded a tackle in the end zone for a safety. The Falcons had a chance to tie the game late when a long run from Sylvester Brinkley IV placed the team inside the Eau Gallie 40-yard line, but Jensen Beach could not capitalize. "We know we can compete with teams like this. But you don't want to just compete, you want to win," Caffey said. Things do not get easier for the Falcons, who travel to Vero Beach for a Week 1 showdown at 7 p.m. Friday at the Citrus Bowl. The game will be the first regular-season meeting between the two successful Treasure Coast programs. The teams previously met only in preseason competition. "Vero is Vero and will always be Vero," Caffey said. "They've built a winning tradition there. We're going to go up there and find out what we're made of." Glades Central 17, Martin County 12 The Tigers lost the takeaway battle and surrendered a kickoff-return touchdown in a road loss to the Raiders. Leon Lily and Kellen Cockrell each scored for Martin County, which will host Treasure Coast to open the regular season. "I thought overall we played a really good game, but we made some mistakes that a young team makes," Martin County coach Rod Harris said. Sebring 21, Fort Pierce Westwood 7 An 80-yard touchdown run by senior Jordan Swoope was all the offense the Panthers could muster in a home loss to the Blue Streaks. Westwood nearly added more points later in the game on a pick-six, but the score was wiped out because of a roughing-the-passer penalty. "I think we played fairly well, we just had too many offside penalties," Panthers coach LaDaris Vann said. "I think we played great on the defensive side of the ball. We just got to get some things clicking on offense, but we're headed in the right direction." Westwood opens the regular season next week against Palm Beach Gardens. New Generation Prep 12, Legacy 0 In a matchup of Lions, Legacy failed to score in a home loss to New Generation Prep of Fort Lauderdale. Legacy surrendered a scoring drive early in the second half. The home team responded with a late drive, but it stalled at the opponent's 6-yard line and ended with a pick-six. The Lions were strong defensively, forcing and recovering multiple fumbles. "We competed through all four quarters with a team that had a good size advantage on us," Legacy assistant coach Teygan Crocco said. "At the end of the day, we're a very young team. We'll still be developing throughout the season." Legacy opens the regular season next week against Fort Pierce Central. Wellington 28, South Fork 13 The Bulldogs were defeated at home by the Wolverines. South Fork looks to rebound next week at Port St. Lucie. SSAA Week 1 Okeechobee 42, Glades Day 15 The Brahmans established the running game early and often in a road win over the Gators. The tandem of Ashton Mobley and Elijah Gordon did all of the damage. Mobley, a senior, scored four touchdowns. Gordon, a sophomore, added two. Okeechobee enjoyed a 21-13 halftime lead before pulling away in the second half. "I'm just happy with the boys' resilience. We were facing adversity early," Brahmans coach Antwan Blatch said. "We were able to come together late in the second quarter, then regroup in the second half." Blatch also credited the offensive line for Mobley and Gordon's success, particularly seniors Evan Tijerina, Donovan Aguirre and Blake Woodham. Okeechobee (1-0) plays at Suncoast at 6:30 p.m. Friday. St. Edward's 47, Tradition Prep 0 In a battle of the Pirates, St. Edward's scored 41 first-half points in a rout of Tradition Prep. Dylan Colontrelle threw four touchdown passes to four different receivers: Triston Scent, Colton Freedman, Chris Curley and Christian Alfonso. Meanwhile, Kayleb Redmon, Noah Niemi and Gavin Gibson added rushing touchdowns. "It was an overall team effort," St. Edward's coach Rich Schofield said. "We had a bunch of different guys with catches, had a bunch of different guys with touches and our defense was outstanding." Chase Colontrelle and Alex Andrews each had interceptions for St. Edward's (1-0), which plays next week at Lake Highland Prep. Tradition Prep (0-1) will try to bounce back against Faith Christian. Oxbridge Academy 24, Master's Academy 8 After each team scored in the opening quarter, the Patriots were held off the scoreboard the rest of the way in a road loss to the ThunderWolves. Master's Academy scored on a Graves Fromang pass to Jamey Blunt. Afterward, the Patriots struggled to sustain drives as the defense spent most of the night on the field. "I first want to say to Oxbridge, 'Great game, great effort.' As for our boys, I'm very proud of the way they played," Patriots coach Stephen Boyer said. "We had a lot of turnovers tonight, unfortunately, which can happen early in the season. Turnovers are something that we will put an extreme emphasis on moving forward. Still proud of the effort our young men are putting together on the field." Master's Academy plays The Master's Academy (Oviedo) at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Patrick Bernadeau is a sports reporter for Treasure Coast Newspapers. He can be reached at 772-985-9692, on X at @PatBernadeau or via email at pbernadeau@gannett.com. This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Kickoff Classic roundup: Drew LaPlante tosses four TDs in Central win