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Region football: Venice 48, Tampa Bay Tech 17

 
Published Nov. 25, 2017

VENICE — Tampa Bay Tech not only had to stop a hot receiver in Friday night's Class 7A region final against Venice, but a hot running back as well. That proved to be too much.

Indians receiver Jaivon Heiligh caught 14 passes for 193 yards and three touchdowns and running back Brandon Gregory added 131 yards on 12 carries and three touchdowns to lead Venice to a 48-17 win.

Venice (12-1) will host Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas next Friday in the state semifinal. Tampa Bay Tech's 11-game win streak ends, but its 11-2 record accounts for the most wins in school history.

"They put you in a bind," TBT coach Jayson Roberts said. "You either guard (Heiligh) one-on-one and he kills you, or you double cover him and they have numbers and run the ball down your throat. It's a double-edged sword.

Heiligh and quarterback Bryce Carpenter are both committed to Coastal Carolina. Heiligh was not only Carpenter's main target in the first half, he was the only target. On the third play from scrimmage, after holding the Titans on fourth and 1, Carpenter hit a wide open Heiligh for a 68-yard touchdown to make it 7-0. He went on to catch eight more passes for 146 yards and two TDs in the half.

TBT quarterback Michael Penix Jr. did not allow the early lead to last, however. On the first play of the second drive, he raced 80 yards untouched. Late in the first, Gregory broke a 54-yard run for a touchdown and it was 14-7 Indians.

Early in the second, Tampa Bay Tech went for it again on fourth and 1 from the Indians' 38. Once again it was stopped short. Eight plays later, Carpenter found Heiligh on a 4-yard pass to make it 21-14.

The Titans and Penix would not go away. This time he ran in a 14-yard touchdown and it was 21-14 with just over three minutes left. But with 1:47 to go, Penix was intercepted on his own 39. With 20 seconds left, Carpenter found a double-covered Heiligh in the left corner of the end zone for a 14-yard TD to make it 28-14 at the half.

"That was kind of a back breaker," Roberts said. "We felt if we could get into halftime just down a score we could make some adjustments. But they scored. We did cut it with a field goal, but then they started making more plays and the wheels fell off."

Tampa Bay Tech cut it to 28-17 in the third on a 21-yard field goal by Andrew Alhomsi. But Venice answered with an 11-yard run from Gregory that capped a nine-play drive to make it 34-17. The extra point was blocked.

The lead increased to 41-17 when Carpenter threw his fourth touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter. Gregory finished his night by scoring on a 27-yard run midway through the fourth quarter to erase any doubt.

Penix ended the night 11-for-26 for 131 yards and an interception in his final high school game.

"We felt like they were giving us some things in the passing game," Venice coach John Peacock said. "Bryce and Jaivon have been doing this to teams all year. They had a good player on him (Darren Turner) but those guys have faced some of the best (defensive) backs in the country."