FORT PIERCE WESTWOOD PANTHERS
FRIDAY NIGHT MEMORIES
2002
10-3
Why it was special: Fort Pierce Westwood tied a school record for wins and won two playoff games in a season for the first time, beating Barron Collier 21-13 and Suncoast 21-7. By the numbers: Fort Pierce Westwood won nine consecutive
games after a 1-2 start, scoring at least 21 points in each. Playmakers: Quarterback Tommy Bradley rushed for 780 yards and four touchdowns, and passed for 1,519 yards and 16 touchdowns. Robert Jones rushed for 726 yards and 11 TDs. Erode Jean caught 44 passes for 620 yards and seven
TDs. He also had six interceptions. Westwood’s defense had 32 total takeaways. Etc.: Two of the three losses were to eventual Class 3A state champion Rockledge — 7-6 in the regular season and 23-12 in the regional final.
SCHEDULE
STRENGTHS
August 31 Fort Pierce Central September 7 Treasure Coast 14 at Vero Beach 21 at Jensen Beach October 5 Boynton Beach 12 at Martin County 19 at Glades Central 26 Suncoast November 2 Bayside
FITNESS
7
Because Westwood has many players going both ways, the team is very wellconditioned. Although teams were not allowed to do twoa-day practices early in the fall, Coach Gene Clemons felt many players got plenty of offseason work in. The secondary and defensive line have shown improvement throughout the preseason and should do a better job against the pass this year. Westwood will use a two-back system with Wadsen Jean-Baptiste and Jason Hayling. Both are strong athletes who could help the offense move the chains.
7 7 7 7 7 7:30 7 7
DEPTH CHART OFFENSE Pos Name QB Jason Hayling RB Jinsly Jhon WR Willie Howard WR Shakir Hearns WR W. Jean-Baptiste WR Alexis Edward OL Keith Shepard OL Na’im Walker OL Craig Stella OL Jonathan Shaw OL Sylvester Davis
No 4 24 31 28 21 34 77 68 61 60 75
Cl Ht Wt Sr. 5-9 165 Sr. 5-8 185 Sr. 5-7 160 Jr. 5-6 140 Jr. 6-4 175 Jr. 5-8 160 Jr. 5-9 285 Sr. 5-8 235 Sr. 5-10 260 So. 5-10 230 Jr. 6-1 260
WEAKNESSES LACK OF DEPTH
DEFENSE Pos Name DE Brett Crossman DT Quamayne Jones DT Na’im Walker DE Sylvester Davis LB Rashad Pierce LB Frederick Johnson LB Jinsly Jhon DB Shakir Hearns DB W. Jean-Baptiste DB Jason Hayling DB Chedson Jean
No 50 51 68 75 10 45 24 28 21 4 7
Cl Ht Wt So. 6-2 205 Jr. 5-9 235 Sr. 5-8 235 Jr. 6-1 260 Sr. 5-11 195 Jr. 5-5 180 Sr. 5-8 185 Jr. 5-6 140 Jr. 6-4 175 Sr. 5-9 165 Jr. 5-9 185
SPECIAL TEAMS Pos Name K/P W. Jean-Baptiste
No Cl 21 Jr.
Ht Wt 6-4 175
ERIC HASERT/TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS
Fort Pierce Westwood High School’s Jinsly Jhon (front) sprints across the field during practice at the school. The defense played well in the spring and coaches hopes it helps spark a turnaround this fall.
RESERVES Kenneth Adams (17, Sr., WR/DB), Edward Alexis (34, Jr., WR/DB), Charles Barnes (22, Sr., WR/ DB), Dexter Bronson (44, Sr., RB/DE), Zachary Brown (57, Fr., OL/DL), Herbert Campbell (55, Sr., RB/LB), Jeron Evans (79, Sr., OL/DL), Clayton Long (80. Jr., WR), Chase McClelland (44, Jr., LB), Alex Mejia (52, Jr., OL/LB), Kemmye Parson (32, Sr., RB/LB), Victor Pegues (30, Jr., RB/LB), Rashaun Ray (71, So., OL/DL), Eric Smith (33, Jr., WR/DB), Ezekiel Smith (23, Jr., WR/DB), Kendarius Sullivan (40, So., LB), Jordan Thomas (65, Jr., DL), Terrance Thomas (41, Jr., RB), Jonathan Tucker (54, Fr., OL/DL)
COACHING STAFF
Coach: Gene Clemons (second year, fourth year overall) Record: 9-21 2010: 1-8 (1-3 District 14-5A) Assistants: Antonio Beckham (co-defensive coordinator/ defensive backs), James Gardner (co-defensive coordinator/ linebackers), Gary Tarquino (offensive line), Michael Harrelson (wide receivers), Freddie Gary (running backs)
STADIUM LAWNWOOD STADIUM (5,000)
Playing surface: Grass Address: 1500 Virginia Ave., Fort Pierce Directions: From U.S. 1: Go west on Virginia Avenue for one mile. The stadium is on your right. From Interstate 95: Take exit 129. Take Okeechobee Road east. Stay right at the fork when Okeechobee becomes Virginia Avenue. Take Virginia two miles. The stadium is on the left. Main office: 772-468-5888 On the web: www.stlucie.k12. fl.us/fpw
RIVALS
■■ Fort Pierce Central ■■ Jensen Beach ■■ Treasure Coast
THREE PLAYERS TO WATCH
“You have to be intelligent. Intelligence is always so forgotten in football. You can beat someone who is faster than you if you can work around your deficiencies and take advantage of theirs. ”
KEY GAME
Gene Clemons, Westwood head coach
Intelligence matters
Westwood brings new attitude into new season
By Jon Santucci Special to Treasure Coast Newspapers
FORT PIERCE — As he sits in his chair in the Fort Pierce Westwood High School coach’s office, Gene Clemons seems much more optimistic than he did a year ago. Despite coming off a 1-8 season, there are reasons for hope — if for no other reason than all the things that bombarded Westwood’s program in 2011 haven’t hit again. “When you have so many things come back-to-back-toback, it’s tough,” Clemons said. “I knew when I took the job (in January of 2011), that I was not getting the team that was there before and I was comfortable with that. I knew we were going to have to rebuild and teach some kids who hadn’t played, so that wasn’t an issue. “But it was a tough year.” Consider some of the things the Panthers faced last season: Days before the start of fall practice, Westwood students received a letter informing them they could switch schools due to Westwood’s “D” grade and low FCAT scores. Four players — including three starters — immediately left and went to Fort Pierce Central or
JASON HAYLING
Treasure Coast. Dominick Walker, a starter on both sides of the ball, tore his ACL in the kickoff classic. Starting quarterback Karnel Davidson suffered a head injury in the first quarter of the season opener. By the second quarter of Clemons’ first meaningful game at Westwood, he had lost six players to injury or rival schools. The end result was a season where the Panthers never really had a chance. Westwood was outmatched in most games — being shut out five times and losing by an average of 34.13 points per game. “I never felt as if I didn’t know what I was doing, but (the coaching staff) definitely had some talks, ‘Are we doing what we need to do to be successful with this team?’ ” Clemons said. “We changed some stuff up. We kept losing people, had to move people around and we gave other kids a chance. That’s a humbling experience. Every coach wants to believe they can make what they do work.” There was some good that came out of last season’s struggles though. Coaches were able to give younger players more minutes than they would usually get. The returning players were humbled
Senior quarterback 2011 stats: N/A (played at Madison County) Coach Clemons: “He is a coach’s kind of player. He’s sneaky athletic. He’s tough, he’s smart, he’s a ‘Yes, sir,’ ‘No, sir’ guy with talent.”
JINSLY JHON
enough that they realize athleticism alone won’t win games. The team has spent a lot of time since the spring trying to improve, what Clemons calls, their “football I.Q.” “You have to be intelligent,” Clemons said. “Intelligence is always so forgotten in football. You can beat someone who is faster than you if you can work around your deficiencies and take advantage of theirs. “Football I.Q. is understanding an abundance of ‘if-then’ statements. If you can master that, you get to a level of it being automatic “Last year’s team was more athletic. This year’s team is smarter and more committed to being intelligent.” Another factor which has provided hope for Westwood was the spring game against Cardinal Newman. Despite losing 21-0, the Panthers defense played very well — allowing just one long scoring drive. The coaches believe, with a few tweaks on both sides of the ball, the outcome would have been different. And, Westwood is hoping a lot of outcomes will be different this year.
Senior linebacker 2011 stats: 36 tackles (23 solo) Coach Clemons: “He is the definite leader of the defense. He is a relentless tackler who gets to every ball. He can run people down east and west.”
Westwood is well conditioned, but there isn’t a lot of depth. An injury or two could be devastating. Two of the team’s top linebackers — Jinsly Jhon and Rashad Pierce — are solid players, but there is almost no depth behind them. Westwood will look to run the ball more this season and must improve from 2011’s rushing totals. The Panthers averaged just 2.6 yards per carry and will need the offensive line to do a better job of holding up at the point of attack.
SEPT. 21: AT JENSEN BEACH
The Panthers’ first District 14-5A game could well set the tone for the season. This is the first of back-to-back district games for Westwood and the team will need to win both to have a shot at the playoffs. The Panthers led last year’s game 14-0 in the first quarter, but gave up 21 points in the second quarter and lost 27-17.
PREDICTION 2-7, 2-2 DISTRICT 14-5A
Westwood has some talented playmakers — namely Wadsen Jean-Baptiste, Jason Hayling, Jinsly Jhon and Rashad Pierce — but will be asking many of its players to go both ways. The Panthers could struggle against deeper teams, such as Fort Pierce Central, Treasure Coast, Vero Beach and Martin County. While three district wins — the number needed to get into the playoffs — won’t be easy, it isn’t out of the realm of possibility.
BRETT CROSSMAN
Sophomore defensive end 2011 stats: Six tackles, two sacks Coach Clemons: “He’s a highmotor, long kid and he’s a real hard worker. He’s yet to come close to reaching his potential.”