St. Lucie West Centennial's defense set tone for signature win | Jon Santucci

PORT ST. LUCIE — Just in case the first half of the Bishop Moore game made you forget, St. Lucie West Centennial’s defense is really good. 

The area’s stingiest defense set the tone as the Eagles beat rival Treasure Coast 21-10 in a District 8-8A game at South County Regional Stadium on Friday night.

The Eagles, who gave up a season-high 42 points in the first half in their loss at Bishop Moore last week, held Treasure Coast to a season low Friday. The Titans came into the game averaging 39.1 points per game and scored at least 22 points in every game, but were shutout during the final 35 minutes by Centennial.

All week, Centennial coaches maintained that Bishop Moore’s big first half was attributed to alignment not a lack of talent. The Eagles stressed the importance of getting lined up correctly during practice and then gave Treasure Coast’s offensive line different looks Friday to keep them from getting comfortable.

The defense gave Centennial the momentum on the opening drive of the second half. After a penalty gave Treasure Coast a first down, the Eagles defense came up with three consecutive tackles for loss, including on one third down by cornerback Dre Grace (No. 11 TCPalm Super 11). It was one of several open field tackles for Grace, who also leads the area in interceptions.

Centennial’s win all but assured the team of its first playoff berth since 2011. If the defense plays the way its capable of playing, the Eagles could win their first postseason game since 2003.

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Quick thoughts from Friday’s game …

• This was the signature win of the Jamar Chaney era at Centennial. Sure, it’s only been 18 regular-season games so far, but this was big. And the Eagles celebrated like it too, giving ice baths to their coaches during the final seconds of the game. It’s impressive that this win came after such a disappointing loss last week, too. It would have been easy for Centennial’s players to hang their heads after losing two of three. Now they have a lot of momentum heading into the season finale against another rival — Port St. Lucie.
• It will be interesting to see how this win effects the Region 2-8A power rankings. With the top four spots guaranteed for district champions, Treasure Coast was No. 5 with 40 points and Centennial No. 6 with 38.75. While Centennial won the head-to-head matchup, Treasure Coast has played a tougher schedule. We’ll find out Tuesday if Centennial moves to up to No. 5 or if the Titans hold the top wild card spot heading into the last week of the season.
• After not being able to get the passing game going in the first half, QB Blayne Watkins and the Eagles were had few problems in the second half. Watkins connected on a pair of long touchdown passes to Datwan Blackwood — both against single coverage. The Titans defense has been good this year, but they have been susceptible to giving up big plays. Friday was no exception; all three Centennial scores were on plays of 30 yards or more.
• Centennial RB Cedrick Wilcox IV didn’t have a monster game against his former team, but his 56-yard touchdown run in the second quarter was a thing of beauty. Wilcox is a human highlight reel and all it takes is one missed tackle for him to take it the distance.

• Eagles DT Jadarius Bernard made two really big plays Friday. Treasure Coast drove the length of the field on its first drive and had first-and-goal at the Eagles 3-yard line but Centennial was able to force the Titans to settle for a field goal. Bernard made a stop at the line on first down that saved a touchdown and gave the Eagles some confidence for a goal line stance. In the fourth quarter, Bernard came up with a fumble recovery deep in Treasure Coast territory. Two plays later, Watkins found Blackwood for a 30-yard touchdown pass.
• For the first 13 minutes, Treasure Coast did just about everything right. Centennial ran only six plays and the Titans had two long scoring drives to take a 10-0 lead. There were few positives for Treasure Coast’s offense after that. It was surprising considering how consistent (and dominant) the Titans offense has been this season. Treasure Coast coach Irvin Jones said it was a combination of Centennial’s defense as well as not executing on offense. The guess here is the Titans will be back on track next week against Palm Bay.