JOHN CARROLL GOLDEN RAMS
FRIDAY NIGHT MEMORIES
1961
8-2
Why it was special: After going 14-35-4 in its first six seasons, St. Anastasia — as the school then was known — had a breakout year in coach Bobby Scott’s third and final season. By the numbers: The Golden Rams averaged 388.6 yards per game, started 5-0 for the first time, cracked
the 200-point mark for the first time, finished 4-0 on the road for the first time and were awarded their first Diocese of Miami championship. Playmakers: Quarterback Paul Krause rushed for 620 yards and 10 touchdowns, and added nine TD passes. John Stone caught 36 passes for 311 yards and five TDs. Halfback
Ricky Houk averaged 7.3 yards per carry. Guard Vince Grizanti had 72 tackles. Bob Laporte and Jim Dowd had seven interceptions apiece and the Rams had 25 as a team. Etc.: End Clyde Killer had a game for the ages against Miami Military Academy with 22 tackles on defense and 20 downfield blocks on offense.
SCHEDULE
STRENGTHS
August 30 at St. Edward’s 7 September 7 at Benjamin 7:30 14 Coral Springs Charter 7 21 at Pope John Paul 7 28 at Marathon TBA October 5 Westminster Academy 7 12 St. Andrews 7 19 at Pine Crest 7
DEFENSIVE LINE
The defensive line has better size than it has had in the past and will have a six-man rotation, which will allow players to stay fresh. Defensive ends Matt Celidonio and Anthony Rahal have done a good job in the spring and fall of keeping blockers off the linebackers, which is their main responsibility. The Golden Rams have good depth at wide receiver, which means opposing defenses cannot key solely on Edwin Thomas, John Carroll’s most explosive player.
DEPTH CHART OFFENSE Pos Name QB Jordan Watkins RB Cameron Modine RB Chris Vallee WR Dan Culumber WR Jeremy Miret WR Austin Laszewicki OL Mike Rosario OL Matt Carr OL Nick Woodward OL Anthony Jennings OL Trent Cox
No 3 5 32 2 7 25 73 53 75 64 72
Cl So. Sr. Sr. Jr. Jr. Jr. Sr. Jr. Jr. Sr. Sr.
Ht 6-0 5-5 5-10 5-10 6-0 5-10 6-2 5-11 5-11 6-0 6-2
Wt 180 123 190 160 165 135 27 200 260 215 300
WEAKNESSES LACK OF DEPTH ON DEFENSE
DEFENSE Pos Name NT Noah Graben DT Trent Cox DE Matt Celidonio DE Anthony Rahal LB Chris Vallee LB Carson Assaly LB Malcolm Wilson CB Conor Flaherty SS Jeremy Miret FS Pierce Halleran CB Edwin Thomas
No 70 72 10 81 32 56 30 9 7 22 4
Cl Ht Wt So. 5-10 250 Sr. 6-2 300 Jr. 6-1 200 Sr. 6-3 223 Sr. 5-10 190 So. 5-8 176 Sr. 5-6 180 Jr. 5-8 165 Jr. 6-0 165 Jr. 6-0 170 Jr. 5-9 165
SPECIAL TEAMS Pos Name K/P Evan Percoco
No Cl 28 Jr.
Ht Wt 5-6 140
FILE PHOTO
John Carroll receiver Jeremy Miret tries to avoid a tackle, after making a catch in the spring game against Holy Trinity in May. Miret will be a key player in coach Mike Watkins new spread offense this season.
RESERVES John Eberhart (1, So., DB/WR), James Longerbeam (15, QB, Sr.), Tyler Lee (17, So., DB/WR), Cody Sparkman (18, Sr., DB/WR), Dylan Lawson (23, Sr., DB/WR), Scott Thofner (31, So., DB/RB), Doug Boudrias (52, Sr., LB/RB), Cameron Roberts (54, Sr., LB/OL), Nate Baskerville (59, So., DL/OL), Josh Ayala (74, Jr., DL/OL), Alec Rothman (79, Jr., DL/OL)
COACHING STAFF
Coach: Mike Watkins (first year) Record: 0-0 2010: 3-7 (1-4 District 4-3A) Assistants: Dave Vercillo (defensive coordinator), Jeff Miret (linebackers), Kevin O’Brien (quarterbacks), Josh Watkins (running backs), Jeff Cameron (offensive line/defensive line), Tony Barnes (defensive backs), Derek Gibson (wide receiver)
STADIUM
MCGUIRE STADIUM (1,300) Playing Surface: Grass Address: 3402 Delaware Ave., Fort Pierce Directions: Take Interstate 95 to Orange Avenue, exit east. Turn right on Hartman Road. Turn left on Delaware Avenue. Main office: 772-464-5200 On the web: www. johncarrollhigh.com
RIVALS
■■ Benjamin ■■ St. Andrew’s ■■ St. Edward’s
COACHING DEBUT
Watkins makes his head coaching debut this season, serving as the Rams’ replacement to Kevin Wald. He is the school’s second alumnus to serve as head football coach. Watkins played quarterback at the University of Louisville from 19962000, as the first Division I player to come out of John Carroll. He returned as an assistant with the Golden Rams in 2002 and 2003 and became the program’s offensive coordinator in 2005. He has served in that role at DeFuniak SpringsWalton from 2006 to 2010 and at Vero Beach in 2011.
THREE PLAYERS TO WATCH
KEY GAME
I want to run (defenders) sideline to sideline and wear them out. Our offense, sometimes it confuses with the finesse. Our O-linemen will mash people up at times and sometimes we’ll spread them out and wear them out. It’s a fun thing to watch and a fun thing for kids to play in.”
SEPT. 7: AT BENJAMIN
Mike Watkins, John Carroll head coach
Having some fun Rams ready to unleash up-tempo offense
By Jon Santucci Special to Treasure Coast Newspapers
FORT PIERCE — After one of the first days in pads, John Carroll High School defensive coordinator Dave Vercillo walked off the field and exclaimed to no one in particular, “Trying to stop that offense is a nightmare.” The offense Vercillo was referring to is that of new head coach Mike Watkins, a former John Carroll quarterback who went on to play at the University of Louisville. Watkins had been the offensive coordinator under Lenny Jankowski at Vero Beach High School last season, when the Fighting Indians averaged 32 points per game. The offense is a hybrid of the Tony Franklin System, an up-tempo, quickstrike, spread offense that moves the ball more through the air than on the ground. “Our offense is going to be balanced, but that means something different than it does for most other people,” Watkins said. “Most teams say, ‘We’re balanced. We’re going to be 50 percent run, 50 percent pass.’
EDWIN THOMAS
I want to be 33.3 percent pass, 33.3 percent run and 33.3 percent screen. At the end of the year, we have that many screens, runs and passes called. “I want to run (defenders) sideline to sideline and wear them out. Our offense, sometimes it confuses with the finesse. Our O-lineman will mash people up at times and sometimes we’ll spread them out and wear them out. It’s a fun thing to watch and a fun thing for kids to play in.” For an example of what opposing defenses will have to deal with, take a very small sample size of plays from a recent practice. On one play, quarterback Jordan Watkins threw a quick screen to receiver Edwin Thomas that gained at least 10 yards before the whistle was blown. On the next play, Thomas came in motion, took a quick pitch from Watkins and went untouched around the right side. A few plays later, Thomas came in motion again — immediately gaining the attention of John Carroll’s defenders and leaving another receiver wide open down the middle of the field. Backup quarterback Matt Celi-
Junior WR/CB 2011 stats: 15 receptions, 295 yards, four touchdowns Coach Watkins: “Edwin is a game-breaker. He’s our fastest guy, he has great ball skills.”
Junior safety 2011 stats: 56 tackles, two sacks, one fumble recovery, one INT Coach Watkins: “I think Pierce is going to have an excellent season for us at free safety and X-receiver. He’s 5-11, wiry ... and explosive.”
John Carroll’s first South Florida Football Conference game will be a good barometer game. Benjamin has a solid team, including a player that has committed to Florida International, and will provide a strong defense against the Golden Rams’ passing game. A win over Benjamin would not only give John Carroll a morale boost, but also would show that this junior-laden team knows how to win on the road.
PREDICTION
donio hit the streaking receiver in stride, just as Watkins shouted, “There it is!” “It’s a very tough offense to stop,” John Carroll safety Jeremy Miret said. “It mixes up the run and screen and he’ll pass the ball a lot, too. You just never know who’s going to get the ball because there’s so many options. “It’s unbelievably hard to stop, even if you know it’s coming, because someone’s always open.” While the defense has had some tough days in practice, the unit is expected to be better than it was a year ago. Vercillo preaches sound defense and says there won’t be a lot of blitzing or disguises. The defensive line needs to keep blockers away from the linebackers so they can make plays, Vercillo said, and the secondary should keep everything in front of them and not get beat deep. John Carroll is hoping a fundamentally sound defense, in conjunction with a potentially high-powered offense, proves to be a winning formula. They will start finding that out Thursday when they open the 2012 season at St. Edward’s.
PIERCE HALLERAN
John Carroll has solid linebackers in Carson Assaly and Chris Vallee, but has little depth behind them. The Golden Rams’ defense will have some hybrid safety/ linebackers, including Jeremy Miret, which should help. The Golden Rams struggled to run the ball effectively last season and the coaches are hoping that the passing game will help open up holes in the defense.
4-4, 3-4 SOUTHEASTERN FOOTBALL CONFERENCE
John Carroll’s offense certainly will put up more points than it did in 2011, when it scored only 15.2 points per game. The two question marks are the defense and how strong the conference will be. Can the defense improve enough after allowing 30.8 points per game in 2011? How tough will the new conference be and how much will having little to no prior knowledge of conference opponents handicap John Carroll’s coaches? The good news — opposing coaches don’t know much about John Carroll, either.
ANTHONY RAHAL
Senior defensive End 2011 stats: N/A Coach Watkins: “He’s going to not just hold up people, but he’ll change the line of scrimmage. He’ll give us a little bit of push and he can rough up centers.”