PORT ST. LUCIE JAGUARS

THREE PLAYERS

TO WATCH

DEON ANDREWSSenior defensive tackle2011 stats: 48 tackles, eight sacks, two fumble recoveriesCoach Poole: “His get-off is very good. He has a low center of gravity, he’s very explosive. Nose guard is the perfect position for Deon.”

MALIK CLINESophomore cornerback2011 stats: N/ACoach Poole: “He’s very coachable, he listens — he doesn’t like to make mistakes, but he’s humble enough to admit that he does make mistakes.”

FRIDAYNIGHT

MEMORIES 1991STRENGTHSSKILL POSITIONSPort St. Lucie has legitimate threats at the skill positions. Dual-threat quarterback D.J. Juste, running back Lyle Messam and wide receivers Dakota Meizinger and Karus Hunter all have big-play ability and should keep teams from keying on Juste. The defensive backfield is deep this season and should be able to force most teams to stay on the ground. The Jaguars have shown the ability to win games late, scoring in the final minute in three of their past seven wins.

WEAKNESSESDEFENSE/YOUTH ON OFFENSIVE LINEPort St. Lucie’s defense has a handful of established playmakers — most notably defensive tackle Deon Andrews and linebacker/defensive end Cleveland Williams, but the team still allowed at least 21 points six times last season. The offensive line graduated starters Josh Murriel and Macander Dieudonne, who now play at Marshall and Webber International, respectively. The coaching staff believes they have talent to replace the duo, but obviously they lack experience.

KEY GAMEOCT. 5: MARTIN COUNTYCoach Hilary Poole believes the first district game sets the tone for the season and this one couldn’t be bigger. Viera was winless in District 12-7A play last season, so whoever wins this game should have a clear-cut advantage to reach the regional playoffs this season. Martin County jumped out to a 27-0 lead midway through the second quarter and cruised to a 40-21 win at home last season.

PREDICTION5-4, 2-1 DISTRICT 12-7APort St. Lucie has taken a step forward every year under Poole. While it will be difficult to match last year’s win total (five of the Jaguars’ opponents were playoff teams in 2011), the Jaguars absolutely can be a playoff team, too. Juste seemingly willed Port St. Lucie to wins against South Fork and St. Lucie West Centennial last season and will need a similar effort to knock off Martin County. The Jaguars do have some question marks, most notably the front seven and offensive line, but likely can do enough to make up for it.

SCHEDULEAugust 31 at Okeechobee 7September7 at South Fork 714 Jensen Beach 721 Heritage 7October5 Martin County 712 at Sebastian River 719 at Viera 7:30 November 1 at Fort Pierce Central-x 79 at SLW Centennial-y 7 x-South County Stadium; y-Lawnwood Stadium

DEPTH CHARTOFFENSE

Pos Name No Cl Ht WtQB D.J.Juste 5 Sr. 6-2 190RB LyleMessam 2 Sr. 5-11 170RB TyrellMoring 3 Sr. 5-9 170WR DakotaMeizinger 7 Sr. 6-3 180WR KarusHunter 9 Sr. 5-10 15WR TavonLindsey 8Jr. 5-10 180O BrandonLetcher 55So.,5-11220OL BrandonWay 52 Jr. 6-0 270OL BobbyWay 66 Sr. 6-0 260OL ErnestPierre 57 Jr. 5-11 200OL JoshSzymczyk 56 Jr. 5-9 200

DEFENSEPos Name No Cl Ht WtDL DeonAndrews 50 Sr. 6-1 240DL BrandonLetcher 55 So. 5-11 220DL ClevelandWilliams 95 Sr. 6-1 220DL BrandonWay 52 Jr. 6-0 270LB JoshSzymczyk 56 Jr. 5-9 200LB ErnestPierre 57 Jr. 5-11 200DB JoshuaMorazan 14 Sr. 6-0 175DB TyrellMoring 3 Sr. 5-9 170DB MalikCline 4 So. 5-10 175DB IsaiahMcFadden 6 Jr. 5-7 160DB LyleMessam 2 Sr. 5-11 170

SPECIAL TEAMSPos Name No Cl Ht WtK/PDonaldDelahaye 17 So. 5-7 150

RESERVESBillyTenny(15,Sr.,QB),JalanDunbar(20,Sr.,ATH),EdwinKelly(21,Jr.,SS),FritzNonombre(22,So.,RB/CB),JaylenCarter-Brown(23,Jr.,CB),EnzoEverette(44,So.,LB),JimmieSmiley(48,Sr.,DE),CodyNeese(54,So.,LB),JohnleyCadet(58,So.,DE/T),DeandreSims(62,Fr.,NG/G),JoeGriffin(81,Sr.,WR),JohnHayes(91,Sr.,DE)

COACHING STAFFCoach: Hilary Poole (fourth year)Record: 9-182010: 6-3 (2-2 District 12-7A)Assistants: Adam Chavez (offensive coordinator/running backs), Chris Dent (quarterback/wide receivers), Demetrius Lane (defensive line), Eric Gill (offensive line), Dwayne Barnes (wide receivers), Bobbie Williams (linebackers)

STADIUMJAGUAR FIELD (2,200)Playing Surface: Grass Address: 1201 S.E. Jaguar Lane, Port St. LucieDirections: From U.S. 1, go east on Walton Road, then turn left at Lennard Road and take a right onto Jaguar Lane. The stadium is behind the school.Main Office: 772-337-6770On the web: www.stlucie.k.12.fl.us/PHS

RIVALS ■ St. Lucie West Centennial ■ Jensen Beach ■ Martin County

D.J. JUSTESenior quarterback2011 stats: 1,002 passing yards, nine TDs passing, 1,163 rushing yards, 12 TDs rushingCoach Poole: “He’s such a physical player and he’s able to move the ball well.”

I don’t know what else is going to happen, but I know I’m leading my team to the playoffs this year. I’m determined

to do it. I’m going to lead them; just hop on, let’s go.”D.J. Juste, Port St. Lucie’s starting quarterback

By Jon SantucciSpecial to Treasure Coast Newspapers

PORT ST. LUCIE — Port St. Lucie High School quarterback D.J. Juste didn’t wait long to announce his plans for the 2012 season.

“I don’t know what else is going to happen, but I know I’m lead-ing my team to the playoffs this year,” Juste said, after the first day of preseason practice. “I’m deter-mined to do it. I’m going to lead them; just hop on, let’s go.

“I’ve got a lot of things to prove. It’s my last season, and we want to come out strong and come out fast, just to let people know what we’re about and show them we’re no joke.”

After last season, few people believe Port St. Lucie is a joke anymore.

Port St. Lucie ended two decades of sub-.500 seasons by going 6-3 in 2011. The team put an exclamation point on it by top-ping rival St. Lucie West Centen-nial for the first time.

Even coach Hilary Poole, who likes to stay focused solely on each game, thinks his team has the talent to take the next step. Port St. Lucie has improved its

win total in each of Poole’s three seasons.

“Absolutely,” Poole responded, ,when asked if the playoffs were a realistic expectation. “Why not PSL? Why not these kids? These kids come to work every day and they practice hard. Why not this team? That’s how I feel. That’s something we have on our radar is to get to postseason play.

“We have long-term goals and short-term goals and it’s on the list.”

While the postseason is a legiti-mate goal, Poole is determined not to make it the team’s main focus.

Recent success — Port St. Lucie won seven of its past 11 games dat-ing to the 2010 season — has come because the team has focused on the task at hand and approached each game as its biggest of the season.

“This is my fourth year here as head coach,” Poole said. “There’s a pretty clear picture of what I ex-pect. Hopefully, the plan that we have put in as a staff is the right one.

“Hopefully, we can put points on the board and stop some people.”

Port St. Lucie’s triple-offense is built around Juste, who topped

the 1,000-yard mark for both rushing and passing last season. Rated a three-star prospect by Rivals.com, Juste has the ability to make people miss tackling him and also showed improvement as a passer last season.

Lyle Messam will be the feature back while Tyrell Moring will line up in the slot and be involved in the running game.

What helped Port St. Lucie succeed last season was having a solid offensive line. This season, the Jaguars will have four new starters on the offensive line and are hoping those linemen will be athletic enough to make an initial block, then get to the next level.

The defense will be looking to be more consistent this season. Port St. Lucie either was great (three points or less in three games, including two shutouts) or a sieve (21 points or more in six games).

“We have quite a few guys re-turning,” Poole said. “Some of those guys were backups, but we’re expecting them to step up.

“Hopefully, we find a diamond in the rough.”

One that will lead Port St. Lucie to the playoffs.

Aiming highQuarterback D.J. Juste sets sights on playoffs

7-3Why it was special: After winning the District 13-4A championship in an amazing worst-to-first turnaround a year earlier, the Jaguars proved they were no one-year wonder with another winning season.By the numbers: The Jaguars fell five

points shy of an undefeated regular season and second straight district title, losing to Atlantic 11-8 in overtime, 15-14 to Boca Raton and 7-6 to district champion Martin County.Playmakers: Double-threat quarterback Larry Green rushed for 669 yards and eight touchdowns,

and passed for 511 yards and four touchdowns. Running back Robbie Hughes added 461 yards and five touchdowns. Paul Rodriguez caught a team-high 18 passes for 217 yards and Andre Chaney had 15 for 266 yards and four TDs. The defense allowed just 9.1 points per game.

HOBIE HILER/SPECIAL TO TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS

Port St. Lucie senior quarterback D.J. Juste is the engine that powers the Jaguars’ offense. He topped the 1,000-yard mark for both rushing and passing last season and is rated as a three-star prospect by Rivals.com.