Off to its best start in school history, Viera (Melbourne, FL) is not living in the now but looking to the future.
Sources close to the negotiations have told NationalHSFootball.com that the staff is nearing finalization of a contract for the team to play Allen (TX) in the first out-of-state contest in school history.
Viera head coach Kevin Mays said that game sort of fell into place for him.The game would be the first weekend of September and fill a bye week for Viera while replacing the Dutch Fork (Irmo, SC) contest for the Texas powerhouse.
“Honestly I just wanted to get the kids a trip and show them something different it wasn’t that we sought out Allen but it worked out well for us,” he said. “I wanted to show them a hostile environment and they pack in nearly 20,000 people there and I wanted to let them experience something they don’t do every day.”
Holding up the official pact is that Viera is part of the Brevard County School District and it could set final approval back for multiple months — as it has when fellow BCSD member Cocoa (FL) has reached agreements to travel for out-of-state games.
Viera opened on the Space Coast of Florida in 2006 with just under 1,000 students but has grown into a Class 7A school with an enrollment just over 2,000.
The team was 14-47 through its first six seasons but it is 17-2 in the last two under coach Kevin Mays.
It also received votes for the first time in the Florida HSFB Top 25 released by FloridaHSFootball.com.
FloridaHSFootball.com publisher Josh Wilson thinks that this is a program to watch.
“Viera is quickly rising to become one of the faces for Brevard County football,” he said. “What has helped is the dedicated coaching staff. When you get coaches like that players will follow suit and the result is winning and making the playoffs for the first time.
“This game — and being able to get a challenge from one of the top teams in Texas — is a reward for all the hard work Viera has put in over the last two seasons.”
Mays said that the kids that built the program should be proud of what the team is going to do.
“We started here four years ago with 54 freshman and I told them if they stuck it out with us we would turn this thing around and now we have 21 of those same kids as seniors and they made this possible,” Mays said. “There are more kids that want to be part of this program now and it is because of the kids here now. Young men want to be part of a winner and we have that now. This trip will give us exposure in the area and that will only make us better, too.”
Through nine games this season it has outscored opponents 379-76 and will take part in its first-ever playoff game next weekend against Charlotte (Punta Gorda, FL).
The team will return quarterback Hayden Kingston, receiver Tre Nixon, and and four players on the offensive line for next season.
Defensively the school has finally developed the depth to rotate in fresh players on the line and it aided in improving the overall product.
Mays told the said that it has been a long time coming.
“When we got here it wasn’t a point of pride to play for Viera and that has changed,” he said. “I think we have the kids now and the experience that we can get out there and stay on the field with Allen.”
Allen is currently ranked No. 4 in the HSFB100 National Rankings and could be a three-time state champion and potentially hanging a National Championship banner when this game rolls around.
Where Viera will return mostly intact the Eagles will be dramatically different next season.
The teams will be replacing many of its leaders on the offensive side of the ball, most notably quarterback Kyler Murray and receiver Jaylon Guyton.
Murray may be the most effective quarterback in high school football this season and could lead the team to three state titles. He won the Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior and could repeat that title this season.
He has thrown for 2643 yards and completed 66 percent of his passes so far this season with a 29-to-4 touchdown versus interception ratio and leads the team with nearly 1,000 yards rushing. He is currently committed to Texas A&M but has siad that he will consider taking other official visits.
Guyton has caught 55 of his passes for 1223 yards and 14 scores and will be headed to Notre Dame next year.
Replacing Murray will likely fall to one of junior Jared Harvey or sophomores Parker Towns and CJ Johnson III.
Allen will lean on returning rusher David Feliciano in the early portion of the season as it eases in its new signal caller.
The game may be the first game back in the under-repair Allen Eagle Stadium which was closed in February after cracks were discovered in the concourses.
Viera will be the third Brevard school to take on a major out-of-state foe following Cocoa — which has played multiple games the last four seasons — and Bayside (Palm Bay, FL) which took a 56-2 pounding by Byrnes (Duncan, SC) as a replacement for First Coast (Jacksonville, FL).
