2023 SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN: Vero Beach beefs up schedule for a potential deep 2023 playoff run

VERO BEACH INDIANS

District: 4S-12

2023 SCHEDULE

* – District Contest

MILEAGE BREAKDOWN

In typical Vero Beach fashion, the schedule has been set up for the Indians to where they will end up hosting seven home games. This has been typical for many years, as the Indians can bring teams from across the state to play at the wonderful confines of the Vero Beach Citrus Bowl. As such, the Indians will only have to get on the bus three times during the 2023 season, with their shortest trip coming against Fort Pierce Central at Lawnwood Stadium, while the journey to Wellington will mark the shortest road trip of the season. Overall, the mileage for the team and fans will not be much this fall.

To Fort Pierce Central (Lawnwood Stadium): 16 miles
To Wellington: 84 miles
To Treasure Coast (South County Stadium): 29 miles

One-Way: 129 miles
Round-Trip: 258 miles

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE

FloridaHSFootball.com has developed a weighted strength of schedule formula that weighs a team’s strength of schedule using data trends from the previous five seasons to measure a team’s overall strength of schedule. This includes all team records for all opponents and other weighted factors given about the teams on a schedule.

With the Indians hosting seven home games compared to three games, the schedule will not be a cakewalk in 2023. Eight of the ten teams on the schedule for Vero Beach this season are teams that reached the playoffs in 2022. That is important as the Indians look to be a contender for the district championship in their district along with other foes, including Martin County, Treasure Coast, and Centennial, who made the playoffs last season.

Gracing the schedule will include a state semifinalist in John Carroll from last season, while perennial contenders in the mix for runs to the state championship game include Miami Northwestern and Seminole (Sanford). With that combination there, the Indians will find some tough competition coming their way.

Other teams that reached the playoffs in 2022 are on the schedule in Palm Beach Gardens and Wellington. Those two teams give the Indians some South Florida competition to help raise the stakes along with Miami Northwestern. This will provide Vero Beach with the measuring sticks they need to see if they are in the mix for contending for a state championship in 2023.

When looking at the overall strength of schedule when it comes to our weighted strength of schedule formula, Vero Beach will enter 2023 with a strength of schedule of .714. This is important to keep in mind that the Indians traditionally win seven to nine games a year on average. A strength of a schedule like this speaks just how it will test the Indians. With four teams alone that have reached the final four or further over the last few years, the Indians know that they will have to play their best football to keep their winning ways going this fall.

MORE: Find all the links to all the schedule breakdowns published here

KEY DISTRICT GAME

10/27 – Treasure Coast: If you have been sleeping under a rock for the last few years, you have missed one of the hottest games on the Treasure Coast. This game has determined a district champion over the last couple of seasons; even rematches in the playoffs have been highly contested. Expect this meeting to be no different, and it will take everything by the Indians to make sure this rivalry game goes into the win column for a possible district championship.

KEY NON-DISTRICT GAME

8/25 – Miami Northwestern: Several games fit the bill for this key non-district contest, but coming out of the gate with one of the top teams from Miami-Dade County, this one will undoubtedly be a test for the Indians. With the Bulls coming in with a new head coach, head coach Lenny Jankowski must have his team prepared in what is expected to be one of the top games of the week in Florida to open the season. The atmosphere will be electrified at the Vero Beach Citrus Bowl because it is a home game.

OVERALL THOUGHTS

While some will criticize Vero Beach’s scheduling methods, the Indians have upgraded some of the schedule to give the Indians more ways to measure themselves. This is a testament to that the playoff power rankings with the strength of schedule matter. That thought can also be coupled with the fact that playing quality opponents in the regular season can come to help you during the playoffs when you are matched against a quality opponent that could be in the way to a deeper playoff run, something that the Indians look to achieve year-in and year-out. Time remains the only factor if the Indians successfully make some changes to who is on the schedule in 2023.