Jesuit rolls past Dunedin in tune-up game for upcoming battle with Lakewood
By Chris Girandola
DUNEDIN – Last week, most of the Jesuit starters were on the bench before the middle of the second quarter in the Tigers’ 78-0 rout of Lennard.
It wasn’t necessarily the type of contest a team needs or wants before the biggest district meeting of the season. On Friday, Jesuit, ranked fifth in the Associated Press Class 5A state rankings, got just what the doctor ordered in its preparation for next week’s showdown against Lakewood as the Tigers used 313 passing yards by Tommy Eveld to beat Dunedin, 48-21.
“It was tough because you win so big last week and then you come here and you try and convince your guys Dunedin is a well-coached football team and they’re good,” Jesuit coach James Harrell said. “They played hard. They played tough. I was glad our guys were able to face some adversity and respond to it.”
The Tigers (6-1, 6-0) jumped out to an early 7-0 lead when Eveld hooked up with Bryce Walker for a 26-yard touchdown pass to cap a four-play drive.
The Falcons (2-5, 2-3) came right back with an 80-yard play on Dunedin quarterback Anthony Divinney’s bomb to Chris Askew.
“That was a good call by their coach because our guy bit on the fake and (Askew) was just gone,” Harrell said.
On the next possession for the Tigers, Eveld almost tossed an interception that would have been taken back for an easy score. Jesuit went three-and-out and Dunedin followed suit.
Will Lucas then gave the Tigers a 14-7 lead with a 53-yard run that set up his 3-yard carry into the end zone.
Jesuit seemed as if it would start pulling away from the pesky home team when Eveld finished off a seven-play drive with a two-yard run to give the Tigers a 21-7 lead in the second quarter.
Then, after a 100-yard kickoff return by Alex Koehl for a touchdown was called back because of holding, Diviney lofted a pass towards the left front corner of the end zone. Askew ran under it and made a spectacular over-the-shoulder grab with a Jesuit defender draped over him to cut the deficit to 21-14 with a little over four minutes left in the first half.
“That was wake-up call for us,” Harrell said.
The Tigers then demonstrated how proficient and explosive it can be as Eveld led Jesuit on a 66-yard drive downfield with quick passes, including a 45-yard connection with Bryce Walker. Walker resembles a Wes Welker-type, catching the ball out of the slot position and then weaving in and out of traffic.
Kevin Newman scored on a four-yard run to give Jesuit a 28-14 lead with a little over three minutes left before half.
The Tigers put an exclamation point on the first half as Eveld led Jesuit on a seven-play drive just before halftime. Kevin Newman ran it in from one yard out to give the Tigers a commanding 35-14 lead.
A nine-yard rushing touchdown by Diviney and a five-yard screen pass that Reggie Brown carried into the end zone were the only scoring the rest of the game until Eveld completed a 30-yard pass to Travis Johnson steaking down the right sideline for the final score.
“We came out tonight and just executed,” said Eveld, who raised his season total to 1,225 passing yards. “Our key was the offensive line giving me plenty of time to throw the ball.”
Eveld said that aspect of the game will be instrumental in its meeting against Lakewood, but the senior quarterback believes the Plant loss at the beginning of the season sets them up for what to expect.
“The less I get hit, the better, so it will be nice if they’re able to keep them off me,” said Eveld, who was 19-of-24. “Their defense is fast and get after you and the game against Plant gave us an idea of what to expect from a speedy defense. I think it was important for us the way we were able to make adjustments against Plant.”
Jesuit used a spread offense with a five-receiver set for most of the game against Dunedin allowing Johnson to finish with 10 receptions for 143 yards. Bryce Walker had three catches for 119 yards.
Lucas led the Tigers in rushing with 93 yards on seven carries.
Diviney finished 14-of-22 for 240 yards, while Askew hauled in four catches for 155 yards. Doug Forman had seven catches for 60 yards.