With Open Division at stake, Venice football faces Lakeland in Week 3

John Peacock is a transparent coach. And heading into Week 3, the Venice head coach told his players what Friday, Sept. 4 means for the Indians.

"I told them that this is going to be a big game in deciding if we're in the Open Division," Peacock said. "The Lakeland and the Raines game, if we split those, or win one of the two of those, I think we'll be in the Open Division."

Venice football will have its biggest challenge of the season, facing Lakeland on the road on Friday. In USA Today's Super 25 Florida rankings, Venice is ranked eighth and Lakeland is ninth as both programs are chasing a berth in Florida's first Open Division playoffs — an eight-team bracket featuring the top-ranked teams in the state regardless of class.

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It's something that Peacock wants, even posting a poll to his X account, asking "What's a bigger honor? Open division qualifiers or winning a state championship."

And on top of postseason configurations, the two programs have a history. Venice lost to Lakeland in two 4S state championship games in 2022 and 2023 . In 2000, an underdog Venice — and eventual first-time state champion — outlasted Lakeland 34-30 in the regional semifinals, ending the Dreadnaughts' 26-game win streak and No. 1 ranking. In between state championship games, the two teams have played in the regular season and during spring games.

"They got depth," Peacock said. "They're really good on special teams. They just got really good players. They've always had really good players, and they expose you just like good teams do. If you have miscues on special teams, they'll expose that...they're good in every phase of the game."

Since taking over for Hall of Fame coach Bill Castle in 2023, Lakeland head coach Marvin Frazier is 38-7, leading his team to four straight state title appearances. Frazier has lost one game against a public school in his tenure, and that loss came during the first of his career. Since 2004, Lakeland has lost just 15 games at home.

Lakeland is led by senior quarterback Kelin Hendrix, who has nine offers after passing for 1,796 yards and 22 touchdowns last season, completing 56.5 percent of his passes. The dual-threat quarterback added 676 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns on 101 carries. Junior receiver Cameron Fuse is a four-star with 33 offers. And junior running back Ahnarri Cooper added 900 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns.

The Dreadnaughts' defense is anchored by senior defensive lineman Santana Harvey, a four-star Clemson commit. In 2025, Harvey had 20 tackles for loss, 12 sacks, two pass breakups and one fumble recovery. Lakeland also has several transfers, including linebackers Charles Calhoun, Deshaun Smalls and Vario McBride.

In its biggest game of the season, Venice might be looking more atypical compared to years past. The team is made up of mostly juniors. While the offensive line is talented, Peacock said it's smaller and younger compared to past Venice teams. And two quarterbacks — junior Noah Patton and freshman Mason Polley — are splitting snaps.

Peacock said the quarterbacks are still splitting time, and no one has "taken it" ahead of Lakeland.

"With our team, we [want] a guy that's gonna have no mental errors," Peacock said. "No pre-snap penalties. No mental bust before the play. We understand if there's any physical errors, but mental errors, as far as calling the offense, getting us lined up and stuff like that, we continue to have. So as soon as we figure out who can eliminate those, that will probably be the guy."

Still, although the team looks different, Peacock said it's the most skill Venice has ever had. Freshman receiver Mike Blakely has five touchdowns on six touches. Four-star junior Tyree Mannings Jr. is one of the best receivers in the country. And senior running backs Ira Dale Jr. and Dorien Jones — seven touchdowns in two games — have continued to make plays.

"Everyone that touches the ball is a threat, which we haven't had before, which is nice," Peacock said. "Our main focus on offense is to be able to establish the run and put the ball in [Manning's] hands as much as possible."

Peacock is focused on Week 3, but he also recognizes there's a lot more at stake.

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