Stingy defense, power run game fuel Treasure Coast to 12-4S title win over Vero Beach

PORT ST. LUCIE — In recent years, the team who came up with the most plays in crunch time has often decided who would win and who would love between Treasure Coast and Vero Beach.

On Saturday night, the Titans over the course of the second half turned to what they do best with a little dash of flair added in to reclaim the top spot on the Treasure Coast.

George Roberts had two rushing touchdowns and Demari Scott added a key rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter as the Titans stifled Vero Beach's passing attack and took a 22-10 victory to earn the District 12-4S title at South County Stadium.

Critical stops on defense for Treasure Coast came at timely moments in the second half as the Titans turned Vero over on downs on consecutive drives in the third and fourth quarter that would each lead to touchdown runs that gave Treasure Coast a lead by Roberts early in the fourth quarter and Scott's that effectively sealed the victory.

A wrinkle that Treasure Coast has used to great effect this season may have been the play of the night came when junior quarterback Ahmar Atwell threaded in a perfect throw to junior Cam Harris up the heart of the Vero defense for a 29-yard gain on 3rd-and-8 from the Titan 43-yard line with 5:58 remaining that would lead to Scott's touchdown run.

"That almost was something, our offensive staff, I'll just say we've never practiced that," Treasure Coast head coach Irv Jones said of the execution of the play in a key spot. "It was something we had seen on them, where if you do this, that and this, we'll see what happens. It's not necessarily in our playbook but it's a good job of our offensive staff getting that call together and (Ahmar) completed a great pass."

The victory for the Titans (7-2) will give them a huge leg up on Vero Beach in Region 3-4S almost assuredly guaranteeing home field for most of the first three rounds of the state playoffs entering the game second in the region behind University.

Topsy turvy first half goes Vero's way

The anticipated matchup between the two area powers got off to a shaky start as Treasure Coast had a miscommunication on a third down play to begin the night and a fumble was recovered by Vero Beach's Elijah Anderson on the Titan 12-yard line.

Vero got down to the 2-yard line but an errant snap from center got past Vero Beach quarterback Tyler Aronson that lost 16 yards and would lead to a 35-yard field goal from Braydon Marson for the first points of the game.

Treasure Coast senior safety Shamir Sterlin made a highlight-reel interception on an Aronson throw late in the first quarter that would lead to an 8-yard touchdown run by Roberts to put the Titans up 7-3.

A wild sequence late in the second quarter saw Treasure Coast's Omari Kinsler drop what could have been an interception return for a touchdown. On the next play, Aronson lofted a deep ball into the hands of EJ White for a 39-yard gain that set up a 3-yard touchdown pass from the SMU commit to Robert Jones to put Vero Beach ahead 10-7 at halftime.

Titan D answers the bell

Immediately to begin the second half, Treasure Coast got two negative plays to eventually force a Vero Beach punt that resulted in a safety with the snap going through the back of the end zone to make it 10-9.

After the two teams traded punts, the Titans worked a drive near midfield but Anderson forced a fumble recovered by Affeon Rivers that gave Vero Beach (7-2) great field position just outside the red zone.

Facing a fourth-and-6 at the Treasure Coast 23-yard line, Vero Beach bypassed a field goal try and even with Titan defensive lineman Richard Kramer draped all over him, Aronson got off a throw toward running back Jonathan Hillsman but the pass was incomplete to give the ball back to the Titans.

After Roberts put Treasure Coast ahead 15-10 on a 3-yard touchdown run with 10:41 remaining, Vero Beach decided to go for a 4th-and-4 from their own 45-yard line with seven minutes remaining but Aronson's downfield throw to Xavion Griffin fell incomplete to again hand the ball back to the Titans.

Scott's touchdown run and an interception from Treasure Coast's Nikko Lopez wrapped up a frustrating night for Vero Beach, who forced three turnovers on defense but were almost doubled up on yards offensively.

"Lots of credit to Treasure Coast, felt like we were outplayed and outcoached and they just did a good job," Vero Beach head coach Lenny Jankowski said. "Especially, their defensive front against our offensive front, we had a hard time running the football all night, tried to do a couple different things, really stymied us on offense. Again, credit to them, it was a frustrating night on offense, I thought our defense played well enough to win but we just couldn't get it done on offense."

Anticipation for the postseason awaits Treasure Coast

Going through a brutal schedule for the first six weeks of the season and emerging with huge victories against some of the state's top teams had Treasure Coast sitting pretty going into Saturday's matchup.

The victory was sweet for reclaiming the district title Vero Beach snatched away last season with a 10-7 overtime victory and now the Titans figure to hold the inside track to be the No. 1 team in Region 3-4S when the dust settles next week.

A week off in Week 11 to continue searching for small margins that Jones and his program has been known for in recent years will set Treasure Coast up for its postseason aspirations.

The pillars of a strong defense shined through Saturday and senior defensive lineman and USF commit Jahari Grant knew that his teammates on that side of the ball were going to rise to the occasion seeing another state power in a year where they've played with some of the top offenses in the state.

"The atmosphere (tonight) was just great and as a defense, we all huddled down together and we said, we're going to win this one," Grant said. "That's what we did. We all came together."

Given the proximity of where Treasure Coast and Vero Beach entered Saturday in the state rankings within the region, it is certainly a possibility that the two teams could see each other either in a regional semifinal or championship game.

Jones knows that Saturday's triumph is one to savor but could be another to have to sweat out down the road depending on how the state brackets shake out come next weekend.

"You never know how this game with them turns out," Jones said after the victory. "We may mess around and see those guys again."

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Treasure Coast rides defense to defeat Vero Beach, win 12-4S crown