Venice kicked three field goals at Raines on Friday night. None of them got there.
No. 51 Raines beat No. 53 Venice 20-17 in Jacksonville, and the difference was a special teams unit that blocked three Venice kicks, the last of them a potential tying attempt late in the fourth quarter. News4JAX credited edge Troy Butler with that final block.
The lead. Raines built a 20-3 cushion at The Graveyard on a rain-soaked field, in a game the Florida Times-Union said ran about three hours. For most of the night it looked like the kind of win the Vikings have been stacking for two seasons.
The climb. Venice did not go quietly. The Indians scored the next 14 points to pull within three and put themselves in position to force overtime. Then the kick went up, and Raines got a hand on it again.
What the streak says now. Raines is 6-0, has won 20 straight overall and 31 straight in the regular season, according to News4JAX and the Times-Union. The Times-Union notes the Vikings won the Class 3A state title last fall, and a win over a previously unbeaten Venice team helps their Open Division case.
Venice falls to 6-1 in its first loss of the season, and MaxPreps notes the 17 points were the Indians' lowest total of the year. Three blocked kicks is a hard way to lose a game you clawed back into.
Raines visits Bishop Kenny next. Venice hosts Lakewood Ranch.
