Five takeaways from IMG vs. Venice High School
The opening to the 2022 season for IMG Academy was a success. A loaded Ascenders roster jumped out to a 27-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back taking down defending state champs Venice 41-3. Although the game may have gotten out of hand, there were still key takeaways from the game.
TAKEAWAYS
Official stats have not been posted but 2024 defensive tackle David Stone had a monstrous game. The four-star was a constant presence in the Indians’ backfield with four to five sacks and several tackles for a loss. If this kind of performance is what we can expect from Stone week in and week out, which it should be, Stone will rise up the Rivals100 and challenge Justin Scott for the top-rated player at the position.
As five-stars do, they make explosive plays putting the spectators in awe. Tate took the opening kickoff back 98 yards perhaps taking the spirit out of the Indians before the first snap of the game. The Ascenders did a great job creating lanes for Tate’s return, and his field vision and speed took care of the rest. The Ohio State commit contributed in the passing attack pulling down a handful of passes.
Winston Watkins never disappoints. There were not a lot of explosive fireworks by either team in the passing game, but Watkins found a way to thrill the crowd. Working out of a trips formation to the left with him in the middle, the Texas A&M commit took a receiver screen pass 43 yards for a score that was negated by a penalty. Regardless, Watkins looked great on the play turning on the jets to fly past Venice’s secondary.
The setup punch delivered by IMG may have been Tate’s 98-yard return for a touchdown, but the knockout blows came on explosive runs by junior tailback Jerrick Gibson in back-to-back series. With 9:32 left in the first quarter, Gibson got a key block from Miami tight end commit Riley Williams out of the backfield, lining up as an H-back, breaking loose for a 49-yard touchdown. Gibson’s second was a 55-yarder making two defenders miss and shaking a third for the score.
One of the battle royale matches of the game was five-star IMG offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa, a Miami Hurricanes commit, going against four-star Venice defensive end Damon Wilson. Wilson worked against both tackles forcing IMG starting QB Jayden Bradford out of the pocket on numerous occasions. Wilson held the edge all night forcing plays back inside and showed great pursuit to the ball. In such a high-profile matchup, he also lined up on offense working as a tight end/H-back.
As for the Wilson vs. Mauigoa head-to-head, both played really well against each other. Mauigoa’s run blocking is legit. It would have been great to see more of them squaring off on passing downs.