THREE PLAYERS

TO WATCH

ANTHONY GAMBARDELLASenior offensive lineman/middle linebacker2010 stats: 17 tackles (11 solo), 2 sacks, 1 fumble recovery in 8 games.Coach Kevin Wald: “He’s a guy who’s worked hard in the weight room. He’s improved his speed and strength, and he’s a very competitive young man.”

AUKEEMIAN MILLSSenior wide receiver/ free safety2010 stats: 27 receptions for 291 yards, 1 touchdown, 4 interceptionsCoach Kevin Wald: “He’s a very smooth wide receiver who has great hands and runs smooth, crisp routes.”

PIERCE HALLERANSophomore receiver/defensive back2010 stats: 26 tackles (15 solo)in eight gamesCoach Kevin Wald: “He’s another good athlete who can play multiple positions. He can play quarterback, receiver, safety, spur, corner or outside linebacker.”

FRIDAYNIGHT

MOMENT 2003 NO PERFECTION ALLOWEDWhat happened: Fourth-ranked Class 2B John Carroll defeated fourth-ranked Class 4A St. Lucie West Centennial, 13-10, denying the Eagles a 10-0 regular season.Why it mattered: The win capped a 9-1 regular season for John Carroll, which clinched the District 5-2B championship. The Rams went on to win two playoff games for the first time before losing 26-7 to Pahokee in the Class 2B semifinals.

Key players: Kevin O’Brien passed for 167 yards, including a 33-yard touchdown pass to Cedric Wilson with 10:29 left that capped the Golden Rams’ rally from a 10-0 halftime deficit.

Mackey Davis turned a short pass into a 34-yard TD play for Carroll’s other TD. Nose tackle Gary Anthony recovered a fumbled snap at the Rams’ 29 with 22 seconds left to end a late Centennial drive.

STRENGTHSJohn Carroll returns five starters on defense and five on offense — not the best case scenario, but not the worst, either. Better still, the team features athleticism in wide receiver Keenan Dixon and transfer Aukeemian Mills. The Golden Rams will try to get those two isolated in mismatches in their new spread offense, get them the ball from one of the young quarterbacks and try to make things happen from there. John Carroll’s schedule also features seven home games.

WEAKNESSESWhile athletic, John Carroll is also very young; sophomores make up nine of the 22 starting positions. Coach Kevin Wald has ditched the option for the spread, and a bigger premium than ever will be placed on consistent quarterback play. One of the three quarterbacks — two sophomores and a junior — will have to step up and distribute the ball to the receivers. The kicking game also must improve to win the tight games.

KEY GAMESEPT. 9: THE FIRST ACADEMYWhile the game against arch-rival Melbourne Central Catholic always is circled on the calendar by the folks in blue and gold, the first district game of the season may be the most important. If John Carroll could come out of that game against The First Academy with a win, it would be 1-0 in district play and possibly off to a 2-0 start. A loss and 0-1 in the district and it’s all uphill from there in regards to postseason aspirations.

PREDICTION4-6, 2-3 DISTRICT 4-3AJohn Carroll is helped by a favorable schedule with seven home games, but will have the burden of adjusting to Wald’s new system quickly — and beating Berea Christian in the first game would help. The team lost a couple of playmakers, but brought in one, so whoever the full-time quarterback is — and he will be a first-time starter — must get the ball to the four or five wide receivers in the formation. The young squad must also play better defense and kick well, too, if it wants to beat the likes of MCC.

SEASON OF MEMORIES1967 (9-0-1)Why it was special: The Golden Rams produced their first unbeaten regular season and earned a share of their third consecutive Caloosa Conference champion.By the numbers: John Carroll outscored opponents 375-32, had a school-record seven shutouts and scored at least 50 points four times.

SCHEDULESeptember 3 Berean Christian 7 9 The First Academy 716 St. Andrew’s 723 Orangewood Christian 730 at Lakeland Christian Sch. 7October 7 at Holy Trinity 721 at Melbourne Cent. Cath. 728 Port St. Lucie 7November 4 Trinity Prep 710 St. Edward’s 7

ROSTEROFFENSE

Pos Name No Cl Ht WtWR AukeemianMills 1 Sr. 6-1 182WR KeenanDixon 2 Sr. 5-7 150WR DanielCulumber 3 So. 5-9 155WR PierceHalleran 22 So. 5-11 160OL TrentCox 62 Jr. 6-2 290OL NicholasWoodward 75 So. 6-0 240OL A.Gambardella 53 Sr. 6-3 220OL ThomasPlummer 72 Sr. 6-2 280OL AnthonyJennings 64 Jr 6-0 200QB MattCelidonio 10 So. 6-0 190RB ConorFlaherty 9 So. 5-8 155K EvanPercoco 28 So. 5-5 135

DEFENSEPos Name No Cl Ht WtDT MichaelClark 31 Sr. 5-8 200DT JamesMaynard 88 Sr. 6-0 205NT JoshAyala 74 So. 5-11 260LB JeremyMiret 7 So. 5-11 160LB PierceHalleran 22 So. 5-11 160LB ChrisVallee 52 Jr. 5-10 205LB A.Gambardella 53 Sr. 6-3 220LB RyanCaddell 4 Sr. 5-8 150CB KeenanDixon 2 Sr. 5-7 150CB ConorFlaherty 9 So. 5-8 155S AukeemianMills 1 Sr. 6-1 182P EvanPercoco 28 So. 5-5 135

RESERVESEmmanuelRibeiraud(5,Sr.,WR/DB),LavontaSpivey(13,Jr.,RB/DB),JamesLongerbeam(15,Jr.,QB/LB),CraigRonaldson(17,Sr.,WR/DB),ChrisBuderus(23,Sr.,WR/LB),AustinLasze-wecki(25,So.,WR/DB),CameronRoberts(54,Jr.,OL/LB),HansKraaz(56,Fr.,FB/LB),MattCarr(58,So.,5-8,180),AlecRothman(70,So.,OL/DL),MarshallLacombe(75,Sr.,6-2,285).

COACHING STAFFCoach: Kevin Wald (third year)Record: 8-12 with John Carroll, 8-12 overall2010: 3-7, 1-4 District 4-1AAssistant coaches: Derek Gibson (offensive coordinator/running backs), Tony Barnes (wide receivers), Kevin O’Brien (quarterbacks), Andrew Bracken (offensive line), Jeff Lee (defensive coordinator/linebackers), Danny Thomas (defensive backs), Dave Perry (defensive line), James Cannata (defensive assistant)

STADIUMMCGUIRE STADIUM (1,500)Playing surface: GrassAddress: 3402 Delaware Ave., Fort PierceDirections: From I-95, take the Okeechobee Road (SR 70) exit. Go east and veer left to stay on Okeechobee. Take a left on Hartman Road. Turn right onto Delaware Avenue and stadium is on left.Main office: 772-464-5200On the web: www.johncarrollhigh.com

RIVALS ■ The First Academy ■ St. Edward’s ■ Melbourne Central

By Bill WhiteheadSpecial to Treasure Coast Newspapers

FORT PIERCE — Head coach Kevin Wald has changed his plan of attack at John Carroll.

The third-year coach imple-mented an option-oriented offense in his first two seasons at the helm, but the Golden Rams will turn to a more wide-open, quick-strike attack this year.

“Our goal is to get the ball in the receivers’ hands quickly and let them get the yards,” Wald said.

The Rams will have some new help, too. The team welcomed in a home-run threat in wide receiver Aukeemian Mills, who transferred from Okeechobee for his senior season.

In the Brahmans’ 30-12 win over Moore Haven in the spring game, Mills hauled in a pair of touch-downs in the first half. He scored on a 30-yard pass and then on the next possession streaked 70 yards after catching a quick slant, show-ing the kind of big-play capabili-ties Wald needs from his offense.

“He has fit right in with the kids. He came right in, introduced

himself and they were all shaking hands and joking with each other during the first practice,” Wald said of Mills, who also will play safety.

Senior Keenan Dixon returns at another receiver position. He caught five passes for 66 yards in six games last year, but should add more quickness to John Carroll’s new offensive scheme, which will look much different from the ones Wald ran in his first two seasons.

“We’re planning on not hud-dling, and we’re getting away from the option. We’ll go to a little more of a spread look. We’ll run shot-gun, four- and five-wide, empty sets, trips. You name it, we’re go-ing to do it,” he said.

“We have a lot of smaller, ath-letic kids, and we feel that fits us a little more. I don’t know that we have a true I (formation) tailback or fullback.

“In high school football, you’ve got to adjust a little bit more to your talent and not force an of-fense on your team,” Wald said.

Two sophomores and one junior are in the mix for the start-ing quarterback position, but after

a good week of practice before the kickoff classic, sophomore Matt Celidonio emerged as the leader to start.

“Matt has a great arm. He’s got the height and weight (6-foot, 190), but he was always stuck on the offensive line when he was younger. This summer, he heaved a ball about 40 or 50 yards after practice and didn’t really float it, and we’ve been working with him since,” Wald said.

Wald added that having Celido-nio at quarterback would benefit the offense, especially consider-ing the value sophomore Pierce Halleran brings at other positions, including quarterback.

The Rams will employ a 3-5 defensive scheme, which should allow the squad’s linebackers, led by senior Anthony Gambardella, to make plays.

“It caters to our talent here. We have some good linemen, we don’t have a whole lot of them as far as depth and numbers. We have a lot of athletic type bodies, so that fits us more as far as the system goes,” Wald said.

Quick moves

ERIC HASERT/TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS

John Carroll High linebacker Anthony Gambardella scrambles during practice at the school as the team trains for the upcoming football season.

Athleticism, speed will get John Carroll’s offense and defense to make plays

JOHN CARROLL RAMS

I G « S C R I P P S T R E A S U R E C O A S T N E W S PA P E R S « Thursday, September 1, 2011 « 7A

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