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PORT ST. LUCIE JAGUARS
FRIDAY NIGHT MOMENT
2005
FLOWERS IN BLOOM
What happened: Raythez Flowers returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown and intercepted a school-record four passes as Port St. Lucie defeated Fort Pierce Westwood 27-14. Why it mattered: The Jaguars got their first win against Westwood since 1998 and their first winning record after three games since 1992.
Key players: Flowers, a senior who was on the field for the first time since his youth football days, returned the opening kickoff 79 yards, then intercepted Westwood’s first pass. His fourth interception with 9:30 to play cut short a Westwood threat.
Anthony Gardenhigh added a 39-yard TD pass to Joanesson Martin and Ivey McIntyre blocked a punt. He said it: “Something kept telling me to hustle hard,” Flowers said. “You have to work every second to read the quarterback.”
SCHEDULE
STRENGTHS
Port St. Lucie wants to establish the run early in each game and has the beef up front to make it happen. Guard Josh Murriel (who, at 6-foot-6, 295 pounds, projects as a tackle in college) and center Macander Dieudonne will be the main guys to run behind. Quarterback D.J. Juste is a threat running the option and is the key to a Jaguar offense that returns its top three rushers from 2010.
September 2 at Vero Beach 7:30 9 South Fork 7 16 at Jensen Beach 7 23 at Heritage 7:30 October 6 at Martin County 7 21 Viera 7 28 at John Carroll 7 November 4 Fort Pierce Central 7 10 St. Lucie West Centennial 7
DEPTH CHART
WEAKNESSES
OFFENSE Pos Name No QB D.J. Juste 5 RB Lyle Messam 20. OT Bobby Way 66 OG Mike Mariotti 77 C Macander Dieudonne 79 OL Joshua Murriel 77 OT Chris Everington 75 WR Matt Romasco 2 WR Frank Martin 7 WR Jalen Adams 9 WR Dakota Meizinger 12
Cl Ht Wt Jr. 6-0 185 Jr. 5-9 180 Jr. 5-11 240 Sr. 5-11 285 Sr. 6-2 270 Sr. 6-6 295 Sr. 5-11 240 Jr. 5-8 165 Sr. 5-9 165 Sr. 5-6 160 Sr. 6-3 185
DEFENSE Pos Name DL Joshua Bailey DL Deon Andrews DL Cleveland Williams DL Mike Mariotti LB Nick Vinson LB Jonathan Williams LB Dodge Karpinkski CB Vinson Polk CB Isaiah McFadden S Tayvon Lindsey S Matt Romasco
No 3 50 55 77 56 52 54 11 22 8 2
Cl Ht Wt Sr. 5-8 185 So. 6-0 265 Fr. 6-2 225 Sr. 5-11 285 Sr. 6-1 215 Sr. 6-4 235 Jr. 5-7 200 Sr. 5-9 155 Jr. 5-7 140 So. 5-11 170 Jr. 5-8 165
SPECIAL TEAMS Pos Name P D.J. Juste K Dylan Blosser
No Cl 5 Jr. 38 So.
Ht Wt 6-0 185 5-8 145
RESERVES Billy Tenny (4, Jr., QB.), Shiquan Nesbitt (14, Sr., DB), Deven Servance (17, Sr., WR), Jorge Gomez (23, Sr., WR), Joshua Morazan (26, Sr., DB), Tyrell Moring (28, So., RB), Jaylen Carter-Brooks (32, So., DB), Steven Smith (36, Sr., DB), Anfernee Hicks (39, Fr., DB), Montel Jones (42, Fr., LB), Enzo Everette (44, Fr., LB), Johnley Cadet (45, Fr., LB), Dyvon Neff-Guerrero (46, Fr., DL), Nicolas Ramirez (48, Fr., LB), Ernest Pierre (57, Jr., DL), Brandon Letcher (58, Fr., LB), Steven Moses (62, Fr., DL), John Beare (71, Jr., OL), Jimmy Walsh (72, So., OL), Sam Blume (82, Fr., WR), Jason Degaglia (83, Fr., WR), Arcee Nazaire (84,Fr., WR)
COACHING STAFF
Coach: Hilary Poole (third year) Record: 3-15 2010: 2-7, 0-2 District 11-5A Assistants: Adam Chavez (offensive coordinator/running backs), Chris Dent (quarterback/ wide receivers), Demetrius Lane (defensive line), Demery Brown (linebackers), Eric Gill (offensive line), Bill Davoutabich (wide receivers)
STADIUM JAGUAR FIELD (2,200)
Playing Surface: Grass Address: 1201 S.E. Jaguar Lane, Port St. Lucie Directions: From U.S. 1, go east on Walton Road, then turn left at Lennard Road and take a right onto Jaguar Lane. The stadium is behind the school. Main Office: 772-337-6770 On the web: www.stlucie.k.12. fl.us/PHS
RIVALS
■■ St. Lucie West Centennial ■■ Jensen Beach ■■ Martin County
THREE PLAYERS TO WATCH
JUAN DALE BROWN/SCRIPPS TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS
Port St. Lucie High quarterback D.J. Juste gets ready to hand off to one of his teammates at practice.
KEY GAME
OCT. 6: AT MARTIN COUNTY
I’m looking forward to seeing what the guys can do after a good summer of conditioning. It’s a fresh start. Everyone gets one at the start of the season and hopefully we make the most of ours.”
In order for Port St. Lucie to get into the playoffs, it will need to win at least two district games. The District 12-7A opener against rival Martin County will set the tone for the final month and half of the season for the Jaguars. Port St. Lucie has won just one district game since 2005 and lost last year’s district games by an average of 38 points.
Hilary Poole, head coach
A fresh start
PREDICTION 3-6, 1-2 DISTRICT 12-7A
Confidence is up at Port St. Lucie after good summer of conditioning By Jon Santucci Special to Treasure Coast Newspapers
PORT ST. LUCIE — For the first time in a long while there’s something within Port St. Lucie’s football team. Hope. “I’m looking forward to (the season),” said Jaguars coach Hilary Poole. “I’m looking forward to seeing what the guys can do after a good summer of conditioning. It’s a fresh start. Everyone gets one at the start of the season and hopefully we make the most of ours.” Port St. Lucie went 2-7 last season and hasn’t reached the playoffs since 1990. But with Poole headed into his third season with one of the top returning quarterbacks on the Treasure Coast, things appear to be looking up. The spring also helped build confidence as the Jaguars beat perennial state power Pahokee. “I hate to talk about a spring game, but you try to take positives and negatives from every situation,” Poole said. “We took a
heck of a lot of positives from that situation. “Hopefully we get some carryover into the season that’s coming up.” Junior quarterback D.J. Juste threw for 11 touchdowns in 2010 and received honorable mention on the all-area team. A dualthreat, Juste rushed for a teamhigh 479 yards and three touchdowns a year ago. Port St. Lucie also returns its running backs — Matt Romasco and Lyle Messam — which means the Jaguars have their top three rushers from a year ago. Romasco led all running backs with 289 yards. The offensive line is led by guard Josh Murriel and center Macander Dieudonne. The two provide leadership and Murriel has already received offers from Division I schools. “We just need to play sound football, not make big mistakes,” Poole said. “That’s just it. Play sound football. I like to run the ball, but when I see that we can do
D.J. JUSTE
Junior quarterback 2010 Stats: 1,076 passing yards, 11 touchdowns, 497 rushing yards, 3 touchdowns Coach Hilary Poole: “He became a student of the game this summer. We tried to tweak some things for him so he can have success. He’s going to be good. He can throw the ball and, for our purposes, he does a pretty good job.”
something in the air, we’ll try to.” Port St. Lucie’s biggest struggles last season came on defense. The Jaguars allowed 34 points or more in six of their seven losses. Teams were able to wear down Port St. Lucie, running for more than 2,000 yards and 5.9 yards per carry average against the Jaugar defense. Poole said forcing teams to throw the ball will be a major goal. “Stop the run,” Poole said. “We have got to stop the run. Only one good thing can happen when you pass the ball and that’s a completion. Everything else is not very good. If you can stop the run, we should have some success. The offense is proven. “We’re going to keep the defense off the field for long periods of time. We stop the run, we’re going to be in great shape.” Port St. Lucie will run multiple fronts to take advantage of matchups and Poole said the front seven, led by linebacker Nick Vinson and defensive lineman Jonathan Williams, is the best he’s had.
NICK VINSON
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SEASON OF MEMORIES 1990 (7-4)
Why it was special: In one of the area’s greatest worst-to-first turnarounds, Port St. Lucie rebounded from a winless 1989 debut by winning the District 13-4A championship in Year 2 in 1990. By the numbers: After being shut out 30-0 by New Smyrna Beach in the season opener, the Jaguars averaged 21 points a game for the rest of the regular season.
Senior center/linebacker 2010 Stats: N/A Coach Hilary Poole: “He brings great leadership, great knowledge of the game. He’s a competitor. He comes to the sideline and he’s very good at letting us know what’s happening to him and around him and what the other team is trying to do.”
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Port St. Lucie is definitely getting better under Poole, but faces too many teams loaded with talent and experience in the season ahead. Road games against Vero Beach and Martin County would be tough matchups for any team, but Port St. Lucie does play three of its final four games at home — including one against rival Centennial in the season finale.
MACANDER DIEUDONNE
Senior Linebacker 2010 Stats: N/A Coach Hilary Poole: “His greatest strength is his ability to understand what’s going on, on the field. If something’s lined up wrong, he puts them in the right spot. He’s a very good communicator. The team listens to him. It’s just good to have a kid like that.”
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Port St. Lucie’s front seven must consistently prove that they can stop the run. They do have talent, but teams will test the Jaguars on the ground after gaining big chunks of yardage in 2010. The wide receiving corps has speed, but is inexperienced and needs to be on the same page as Juste. One of the glaring weaknesses for Port St. Lucie is its past. Most of these players only know losing and have to learn how to close games out.
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