JENSEN BEACH – This past season was historical for the Jensen Beach Falcons football program.
Led by head coach Timothy Caffey, Jensen Beach accomplish the following team feats for the first time in school history:
•Beat Dwyer on the road; 24-10 win in Week 2
•4-0 start with wins over Fort Pierce Central (21-7 in Week 1 at home), Dwyer, Wellington (17-14 in Week 3 on the road), and Stoneman Douglas (33-30 in Week 4 at home)
•Two four-game winning streaks in the regular season
•10 wins in a season
•Won two FHSAA playoffs games in the same season; reached Class 3S-Region 3 final
•Hosted three FHSAA playoff games in a row
Jensen Beach also accomplished the following:
•Beat Port St. Lucie twice in a season at home (28-0 in Week 6 to win District 12-3S title; 51-12 in the Class 3S-Region 3 quarterfinal round)
There were some individual records set this past season at Jensen Beach as well.
Under Caffey, senior quarterback Gio Cascione (6-foot-3, 215 pounds) broke two Falcons marks. They are as follows:
•2,607 passing yards
•22 touchdown passes
This resulted in a special honor for Cascione.
Cascione had a lot of great things to say about Caffey.
“Coach Caffey had a huge impact on me as a quarterback,” Cascione said. “We had two years to really get to know each other as player and coach. He always pushed me being a QB like himself to work on the little things such as timing, play calls, and reading the field. He is an amazing coach who has tons of IQ about the game and could get the most out of all of us on the field. He is an offensive guru, and he created plays that not only were successful, but helped up win games.”
Cascione did not stop there.
“Coach Caffey was my go-to guy when it came to talking about what the defense was giving us,” Cascione said. “His knowledge is something I will take with me to the next level. He has been with us since day one and has built up this program with help of the rest of the coaching staff, and has put Jensen on the map. He was an outstanding leader and would lead us through any game no matter who was in front of us. He never gave in and kept all of us accountable.”
Cascione concluded by speaking on Caffey’s character as a man.
“Coach Caffey as a person is genuine and kind, and he cared about us a lot,” Cascione said. “He treated us like his own sons and made sure we knew that. He also was resilient and determined, and our team is product of his character because he would instill these values in us.”
Let us move on senior athlete Nick Venezia, who has been selected as our New Era Prep Offensive Player of the Year under Caffey.
Venezia broke two team records of his own this past season. They are as follows:
•1,003 receiving yards; first Jensen Beach player to reach at least 1,000 receiving yards in a single season
•12 receiving touchdowns
We will show you a group interview that Venezia and three of his teammates (Cascione, running back Dennis Palmer, and athlete Jamari Marshall) did after their Week 2 road win over Dwyer.
Listen to the entire clip for yourself to get their live comments on Caffey.
Caffey has also been a champion of he and his team giving back to the Jensen Beach youth. Below is an example.
Venezia provided his own personal commentary on Caffey.
“He is a hard nose coach,” Venezia said. “He keeps it old school and lets his players make the most out of their time at Jensen. He is a great motivator as well. His pregame speeches, especially this year, were so energizing and got the whole team going. He never fails to let us know that we are a family, a team and we are all we got for some of the guys. He has truly made my high school football experience very fun, interesting and something that is going to be hard for me to say good bye too. Thank you Coach.”
Caffey spoke on how this past season went and more.
“It feels like your hard work and dedication is being appreciated,” Caffey said. “When I first got to Jensen, I was told that it may not work out. But we changed the culture and atmosphere. I got a bunch of hard working kids who play to the whistle. They have bought into our system. Our kids and coaches believe they can play with anyone now.”
Caffey ended with this proclamation: “Why not Jensen?”
PHOTO CREDITS: Gio Cascione and Nick Venezia
