IMG Academy game at Venice could open more local doors

If the weather cooperates, Friday’s schedule will see IMG Academy’s nationally ranked Blue team play a program from Manatee or Sarasota counties for the first time.

The Ascenders play perennial playoff contender Venice.

And they’re even traveling for the game.

But why exactly is Venice stepping up to play IMG Academy?

Indians head coach John Peacock, who has ties to Manatee High as his father, Tom, was a Hurricane, wanted to get a program similar to Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas on the schedule.

The Raiders pummeled Venice in the Class 7A state semifinals last year, which led Peacock to do some digging.

Researching the 2016 Aquinas team, Peacock discovered the Raiders fielded a team with 41 players heading to Power 5 college football conference teams.

“After the game, I’m sitting here thinking we were so overwhelmed just with their talent,” Peacock said.

The only team on that level was sitting just to the north in Manatee County.

IMG Academy, which began fielding a varsity team in 2013, was the program Peacock looked to schedule.

It’s a one-year contract, but it’s a game that opens up the possibilities of more localized competition in the future.

Getting to that point, though, wasn’t certain in 2013.

When IMG began playing high school football, programs in Manatee and Sarasota counties steered clear.

With Venice, in particular, bad blood boiled into a mini-boycott as kicker Stone Wilson transferred from Venice to IMG in 2014.

Peacock said the Ascenders also tried luring offensive lineman Tyler Gauthier to the team.

That was the past regime.

Kevin Wright, the Ascenders head coach now, previously coached public school football in Indiana, and his father was a longtime public school coach.

Peacock said Wright made assurances about not running up the score in search of a national title or to steal his better players.

Those things were selling points to make this year’s game happen, even though Peacock said the talk around town is why they scheduled IMG in the first place.

That line of thought is steeped in the belief that Venice is overmatched playing IMG. In the case of a loss, the Indians will receive less points (33) for playing IMG than beating up on a winless program (35 points) in all likelihood.

But none of that matters when considering the preparations needed for any area program carving a potential path toward meeting the behemoth that is Aquinas, whether it was Venice last year, Braden River in 2015 or Manatee, Southeast and Lakewood Ranch in past years.

“The overall goal each year is to win a state championship,” Peacock said. “In the boat we’re in, we have a tough deal with St. Thomas. So we have to just learn how to compete with a team like that.”

Cardinal Mooney penalty hurts program and opponents

On Thursday, the Florida High School Athletic Association levied its punishment to Cardinal Mooney for self-reporting use of an ineligible player in two victories this season.

The result was a $200 fine and forfeiture of those two wins.

That not only puts a dent into Cardinal Mooney’s playoff chances as the Cougars go from 3-1 to 1-3, but also hurts this week’s opponent, Southeast.

In the event the Seminoles don’t secure an automatic playoff berth with a district title, the potential playoff points for playing Mooney have lessened. That could cost the Noles with their points average at the end of the season, even if they do win a district title.

The district champs are seeded based on their points average for the playoffs.

This story was originally published October 5, 2017 at 5:38 PM with the headline "IMG Academy game at Venice could open more local doors."