Venice, August 2, 2019- TGIF, folks. Today we tackle the start of the weekend and last month of the “offseason” with offensive weapon and rising senior quarterback, Nico DallaCosta. The Indians paved their way to a 12-2 (4-1 at home, 5-0 hurting feelings on the road) 2018 season record and 5-0 in their Class 7A District 11 standings, achieving both district and regional championships. Here is some more context to the stats with some defining truths about this heavily successful program, shared from myself and Nico’s POV.
“Looking to get better every day, we can’t take any steps back- I think we have the hardest schedule Venice has put together. We’re up against a lot of consistently great competition, so we’re expected to just compete at the highest level from everyone and that’s what our minds are set on; consistency is key,”
… The identity of our offense this upcoming season is explosive- all the guys around us, young and veteran talent, are challenging each other on both sides of the ball and it makes for a real competitive test in practice. Myles Weston and Jashawn Platt are two young, great receivers, and obviously Weston Wolff coming back for us as a junior is a huge impactor; RB Brian [Taylor] had a great game vs Lakeland as well. All these guys are the real deal, and it’s exciting to see.” states Nico confidently.
The phrase ‘consistency is key’ hits home for head coach John Peacock and the Indians, which has aided momentously in cultivating the winning mentality. The boys in the green and white rank 10th in the sunshine state, 57th nationally, and are 4th overall in Class 7A of 87 teams (3rd in Points For in 7A with 603). All-time, Venice has tallied six regional championships, 15 district chips (program est. in 1951), two State Championships (2000, 2017) and have amassed twelve straight seasons of seven or more wins since 2007.
“I was in shock- it was a big wow moment when the horn went off and it was over. Being around that atmosphere was surreal; coming from New Hampshire as a small state, and then getting to play around 10,000 people in state championship was a great moment. Obviously, the goal is to get back to that main stage, so that’s what we’re after,” states the incoming senior signal-caller, reflecting on the emotions celebrating with the community in 2017 after winning the State Title.
“I started playing football at age seven, I’ve always wanted to be around the sport as much as possible. I’m a study guy, watching a lot of film in my spare time; observing anything I can to help me better understand my responsibilities on the field. When I was little, I started off at running back, but when I was in 5th grade, we figured out I could throw the ball and I’ve been a quarterback ever since.”
You can definitely tell his mobility in traffic is second-nature and are sure flashes of his young, little league running back days. The 6’1″ 200-pound dual-threat QB was a dangerous playmaker with his feet this past season, but he’s looking to expand his utilization using his upper body and prove he’s capable of throwing the pigskin down-field much more.
“Recruiting wise, I’ve had a couple of schools reach out to me, so hopefully once the year kicks off, I’ll be able to contribute in the way I want to. I was more of a wildcat this past season, running more than passing. Competing with Ryan Overstreet has helped us grow at our position; we’re both learning things from each other and it’s been a good offseason.”
DallaCoasta appeared in 12 games in his junior campaign according to MaxPreps, throwing for 106 yards on 3 completions of 4 attempts, totaling a 116.7 QBR, collected 495 rush yards on 65 carries (3rd in rushing yards among the team), averaging 7.6 YPC, caught 2 passes for 43 yards and racked up a whopping 15 touchdowns. Nico also threw up some impressive numbers in the weight room too, totaling a 395-pound squat max, 245 bench press max, 34″ vertical (wow) and a 4.79 40-yard dash, per ncsasports.org.
“It was great- we took a big group to the BCP Super 60 camp. Camps give you exposure and everybody’s competing out there; we went to work and competed against the best of the best around the local area,” explains Nico.
The student-athlete finishes wholeheartedly, “Were family here- I treat these guys like brothers. If I see something wrong we’re going to address and talk about it, everybody is expected to step up. We all come together no matter what; I love the defensive back’s, they’re not supposed to be my best friends [on the field], but that competitive edge brings out the best in one another. Off the field, same thing; everybody is treated the same and we have each other’s backs.”
Vaughan Sixbury, BCP Contributor