Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Naples area high school football games played in 2025 Week 8, including Jayden Petit setting the SWFL career receiving record.
A roundup of Southwest Florida high school football games played Thursday, Oct. 9, and Friday, Oct. 10.
FRIDAY
South Fort Myers 24, Naples 21
To say the odds were stacked against the Wolfpack is an understatement – if ESPN was tracking the Class 4A-12 contest, South Fort Myers’ win probability would have dipped into the single digits several times on Friday night.
Trailing Naples 21-12 in the fourth quarter at Staver Field, the Wolfpack authored an unlikely comeback, scoring twice in the final six minutes with Will Bichler’s five-yard strike to Joshua Raphael giving South the lead in the game’s final minute.
The Golden Eagles’ last-chance drive ended quickly as South’s Leo Latus jumped on a fumble, securing the Wolfpack’s first win against Naples since 2016.
“That’s been sort of a thing for us all year is we wanted to get over the hump with somebody – we got so close with Port Charlotte, and I’m just proud of the kids,” South Fort Myers head coach Matt Holderfield said. “They fought hard tonight. I’m glad we got that over-the-hump game today.”
Despite a weather delay that lasted more than an hour, South came out sharp as Bichler led his team down the field on the opening drive and scored on a 3-yard keeper.
Naples found a response in the second quarter on a 27-yard touchdown run by Jevan Raphael.
The teams continued to exchange blows in the first half as Bichler scored on another keeper and Naples’ Nicksen Volvic housed a 74-yard run to give the Golden Eagles a 14-12 lead.
Volvic scored again in the third quarter – a 4-yard touchdown run – to put Naples up by two scores.
After the Golden Eagles missed on a 47-yard field goal attempt, the South Fort Myers offense, which had stalled in the second half, started to get going. In the most critical drive of the night, Bichler converted two fourth downs on completions to Jayden Tyler and Raphael. After a pass interference call converted another fourth-down play for the Wolfpack, freshman Kyaire Conway bounced outside for a 12-yard touchdown run.
South needed a defensive stop to keep their hopes alive, and South linebacker Wyatt Skinner delivered a third down tackle-for-loss to get his offense the ball back.
The go-ahead touchdown pass was set up by a 60-yard connection between Bichler and Raphael, who weaved through the Naples defense in South’s biggest play of the night – and perhaps the season.
“They just didn’t quit,” Holderfield said. “They just kept fighting all night, and they’ve gotten more dependent on each other."
South Fort Myers takeaways
Big-play Bichler. The senior signal caller delivered in the clutch, showing his playmaking flashes early in the game when he converted multiple third-and-long plays. In South’s final two drives, Bichler was calm and smart under pressure – not forcing any passes and decisiviely taking the throwaway option if necessary. He finished the game throwing for 170 yards and a touchdown and rushing for 35 yards and two scores.
Next man up. Due to injuries and disciplinary issues, South was without key players including leading rusher Arthur Gallishaw and leading receiver Jershard Benjamin.
In the passing game, it was the senior Raphael who kept the offense moving with seven catches for 133 yards and a touchdown.
In the run game, the freshman Conway was elevated from junior varsity for the Naples game and made a splash in his debut. He rushed for 94 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries.
“I thought he did a great job,” Holderfield said. “He’s a freshman kid. He stepped up today and I thought he ran the ball really, really well for us.”
History repeats itself. The last time South Fort Myers won at Staver Field, they were coached by none other than Holderfield in his 2016 stint as interim head coach of the Wolfpack.
“It’s nice to come here and do it again,” he said. “It’s always fun to win here. They’re such a storied program. It’s just Naples, so it means a little bit more.”
Naples takeaways
Fourth-quarter collapse. There were no signs it was coming, and the Golden Eagles didn’t suffer any kind of backbreaking play to lose this one. As South converted fourth down after fourth down, it was death by a thousand cuts as Naples uncharacteristically squandered their lead.
“The fourth quarter was on me, and I put the loss on me,” head coach Rick Martin said.
Banged up at running back. Sam Sparacio was unable to play with an injury, and Jamar Jerome exited early after just four carries in the game. That left Volvic and Raphael as the Golden Eagles’ lead backs, and Raphael suffered an injury in the second half.
“Running back room right now is very thin,” Martin said. “We’re probably down to our third- and fourth-string running backs right now, and that’s OK. There’s no excuses for that. We’re going to get those boys right next week and get ready for Lely.”
Moving on. The Golden Eagles don’t have time to lick their wounds as they have to travel to face a 5-2 Lely squad in the Coconut Bowl next week.
“Hat’s off to South Fort Myers – what a great job they did,” Martin said. “Unbelievable job for them and their coaching staff, and I just told our boys that there’s two way you can go about this – either you mail it in or you go back to the lab and get to work. So they’ve got a decision to make in that locker room, and I know our coaching staff’s going to come back to work tomorrow and get ready for the next week.”
— Dustin Levy
Riverdale 44, Fort Myers 21
With Raiders sophomore Josiah Bataille, one half of Riverdale’s backfield, still sidelined with an ankle injury, it was up to senior running back Lovensky Blanchard to carry the load against the Green Wave.
Blanchard proved up to the challenge, rushing for 201 yards and three touchdowns as Riverdale (6-1, 2-0) used a second-half surge to send Fort Myers to its sixth consecutive loss.
“Every time Riverdale plays Fort Myers, it’s a classic,” Raiders coach Kendoll Gibson said. “It’s even bigger when it’s a district game. I couldn’t ask for more coming out of a bye week.”
Turnovers played a pivotal role in the game, especially in the first half. Riverdale defensive back Cleotis Grizzle set up his team’s first score by intercepting Green Wave quarterback Dom Ardezzone near midfield. Blanchard finished off the ensuing drive with a 6-yard touchdown run to give the Raiders a 7-0 advantage with 9:45 left in the first half.
Needing a win to get back in the district playoff chase, the Green Wave (2-6, 0-2) scored two touchdowns eight seconds apart to grab their only lead of the game. First, Ardezzone connected on a 23-yard strike to senior wide receiver Bryson Glover to tie the game.
Riverdale senior Marquan Young returned the kickoff 41 yards to midfield. But on the first play of the drive, Blanchard couldn’t corral a pitch from senior quarterback Theodis Harris. Fort Myers sophomore Omari Harris scooped up the fumble and raced 50 yards to put the Green Wave up, 14-7.
Riverdale knotted the score on its final drive of the second half. A 45-yard run by Blanchard gave the Raiders a first-and-goal at the 10. On fourth-and-goal from the 1, Riverdale faked its version of the tush push and Harris handed the ball to junior Ky’moni Gordon, who easily scored to tie the game 14-14 just before halftime.
The Raiders jumped back in front on their opening drive of the third quarter when Blanchard capped a 65-yard march with an 8-yard scoring run. The drive’s key play was a 33-yard completion from Harris to Marquis Young and fourth-and-16 from the Fort Myers 43 to keep the drive alive.
Fort Myers was able to tie the game again, thanks to junior linebacker Bryson Colyer recovering another Riverdale fumble, this one at the Raiders’ 4-yard line. Ardezzone hit senior Trevon Moate for the touchdown, making it 21-21 with 5:35 left in the third quarter.
Riverdale would take the lead for good less than a minute later when Harris hit senior wide receiver Alex Hagen for a 31-yard touchdown.
Riverdale takeaways
Defensive front seven dominated. The Raiders were in the backfield all night, making life difficult for Ardezzone. Senior linebacker Coby Hayes had one of the biggest plays of the second half, sacking Ardezzone on fourth-and-5 from the Riverdale 11 with Fort Myers trailing 28-21. Senior defensive lineman Jabarry Belfleur was an immovable force while Gordon and senior Kaleb McIntyre also impressed.
“I thought we picked it up in the second half, a little bit better than we did in the first,” Gibson said of his defense. “We can always count on the D-line. They’re old reliable for us.”
The Young brothers are dynamic. Their presence in the running game on sweeps helped soften the middle of the Green Wave defense for Blanchard. Marquis Young also came up with two stellar catches, finishing with 97 receiving yards on four grabs.
“The scary thing is they’re still learning,” Gibson said. “They’re getting better and better every week.”
Riverdale will play for the district title in two weeks. The Raiders will host North Fort Myers, which defeated East Lee County Friday night to also move to 2-0 in district play, on Oct. 24 with the championship and automatic playoff berth up for grabs.
“We’ve still got some work to do but I love our guys,” Gibson said. “They have fight, they have grit, they’re positive, they work hard. They’re buying in.”
Fort Myers takeaways
Second-half struggles continue. One week after squandering a 20-point lead in a 30-26 loss to North Fort Myers, the Green Wave were outscored 23-0 in the final quarter-and-a-half against the Raiders.
Offensive line struggled to hold up. Fort Myers gained just over 150 total yards, including 76 net rushing yards on 30 carries. Riverdale forced Ardezzone to vacate the pocket early and often. The senior quarterback finished with 85 passing yards on seven completions for two touchdowns and one interception.
Green Wave with longest losing streak in more than half a century. Fort Myers’ six-game losing streak is its longest since 1971 when the Green Wave dropped their final eight games to finish 1-8-1. That was legendary Fort Myers coach Sam Sirianni Sr.’s third year with the Green Wave.
−Dan DeLuca
St. John Neumann 54, First Baptist 0
St. John Neumann senior wide receiver Jayden Petit had a career night against his former team. Just a day after his 18th birthday, the Wisconsin commit broke the Southwest Florida career receiving yards record formerly held by FBA's Olsen Patt-Henry. Petit, who transferred before this season, caught 8 passes for 215 yards and six touchdowns. Petit needed just 187 yards to break the previous record of 3,162. The six touchdown catches were also one shy of matching the state record set by Orlando Colonial's Ralph Santana in 1998.
“It was amazing. Just seeing the guys playing and doing well,” said Petit when asked about playing against his former team.
Senior quarterback Peyton Frontino had a game as well, passing for 322 yards and seven touchdowns.
Petit's first touchdown came when Frontino found Petit on a 4-yard goal-line fade. The second was set up by a First Baptist fumble which led to a one-play, 34-yard pass to Petit.
With 4:34 left in the first quarter, the game was stopped due to lightning. Two hours later, the Celtics came out ready for more.
On the first play after the delay, Lions’ senior quarterback Josia Pellant threw an interception to senior cornerback Thomas Raley. This put Neumann on the 50. After a 19-yard run by freshman running back Louvens Bazile, the Celtics were on the First Baptist 36-yard line. On the next play, Frontino found Petit for yet another touchdown.
After a short punt by First Baptist Academy, the Celtics found themselves on the Lions’ 46-yard line. Frontino took a shot downfield on first down to Petit, who broke free for his fourth touchdown of the game in only the first quarter.
His fifth score came after a 71-yard drive, capped off with Petit wide open in the endzone for a 7-yard TD. Pellant threw his second pick of the game, putting Neumann on the Lions’ 40-yard line. On the first play of this drive, Frontino found junior receiver Rony Raposo wide open for a score. The Celtics’ next drive saw Petit’s last TD catch of the game, after yet another deep ball by Frontino from 33 yards.
On the first play of the Celtics’ next drive, Frontino found Petit on a bubble screen. Petit took it 55 yards to break the career receiving record.
”I feel great about that,” Petit said. “Gotta give it all to God, my teammates, my O-lineman, my quarterback, and my receivers that helped me get it done.”
On the next play, Bazile found the endzone on a 10-yard run. Neumann benched their starters at the end of the second quarter.
−Jack Penney
Estero 42, Lemon Bay 22
For one half, Estero's high-powered passing offense and Lemon Bay's ground-and-pound rushing attack went back and forth and up and down the field.
The second half was a different story as the Wildcats defense put the clamps on the Manta Rays and Estero went on to a 42-22 victory in a Class 3A-13 football game Friday night.
Maddox Stewart's four touchdown passes countered Carlos Serrano's three rushing scores and gave Estero a 28-22 lead at halftime.
But the Wildcats kept the Mantas offense off the scoreboard in the second half while Stewart led a third-quarter drive that ended with his 1-yard scoring run to increase the lead to 35-22 midway through the period.
An interception by Kyle Lackey gave Lemon Bay some hope later in the quarter, and the Mantas moved to the Wildcats 9-yard line before Kevin Yanes recovered a fumble on an errant pitchout.
"We didn't make too many adjustments at halftime," Estero coach Darren Nelson said. "I would say maybe a little bit more attitude adjustments. A few little wrinkles here and there, but I think we just executed better. We got a couple of stops, got off the field, got them behind the chains a little bit, and things just kind of worked out our way."
Nathan Watters added a 9-yard TD run with a minute to go after the Wildcats kept the ball for nine minutes in the fourth quarter.
Stewart's first-half touchdown passes went to Kegan Kreuscher for 19 yards, Andrew Parkinson for 51 yards, Taegen Ruud for 7 yards, and Ruud again for 52 yards. Serrano had TD runs of 1, 17, and 79 yards for Lemon Bay.
Estero takeaways
The Wildcats needed a win after dropping their district opener to Cypress Lake. "The way the game unfolded was a little bit of how we thought it might go down," Nelson said. "Kind of a battle of systems, and obviously they're really good at what they do, and we're pretty good at what we do as well, and that was what you saw in that first half. But I'm just so proud of the way we came out in the second half. The defense finally got some stops, we got a timely turnover, the offense made enough plays and then that last drive was a championship-caliber drive. We kind of flipped it on them and gave them a bit of a dose of their own medicine."
Stewart leads the way. The quaterback threw for 180 yards in the first half before the Wildcats went to a more ground-oriented attack in the second half to run time off the clock and keep the ball away from Lemon Bay. He finished 12 of 19 for 240 yards, four touchdowns and one interception.
"He's really good and I feel like if we needed him to do more in the end he's certainly capable," Nelson said. "I didn't like the turnover there when I thought we really could have put them to bed, but then the defense stepped up. We knew our passing attack was going to have to score a lot, and they came through in that first half."
Ruud was the top receiver for Estero with 4 catches for 72 yards. Watters finished with 55 yards on 11 carries while Stewart added 35 yards on 10 attempts.
Estero improved to 4-3 overall and 1-1 in district play. "We haven't had a lot of things go our way this year," Nelson said. "In terms of our last game...we blew it. And then we lost two really close games early against some good teams. So this still a little bit of a young group and so to be able to finally finish and get over the hump, I think is really going to catapult us for the rest of the season."
−Bruce Robins
Lehigh 43, Sarasota 33
SARASOTA – The Lehigh Lightning (3-4, 1-1) treated their new head coach to a 43-33 Class 7A-District 8 road victory over the Sarasota Sailors (4-3, 0-2) on Friday night at Cleland Stadium at Ihrig Field.
Mark Flaherty was Lehigh’s offensive line coach last week, and Antwan Dixon was the head coach.
“He had some personal things going on, so he decided to step aside, and give it over to me,” Flaherty said. “Now, I’m the official head coach.”
Lehigh sophomore quarterback Rayful Guest threw for nearly 300 yards and tossed four touchdown passes as the Lightning rallied from a 9-point, first-half deficit. Guest threw touchdown passes of 48 and 22 yards to J’Zaya Brown and hit Levi McKenzie for scoring passes of 35 and 7 yards. The Lightning also scored on a 15-yard run by LaTroy Pender and a 50-yard scamper by Dexter Smith, along with a 32-yard field goal by Anthony Berrios.
The Lightning also won last year’s October game against the Sailors at home, 19-10.
Meanwhile, Sarasota’s sophomore quarterback Hunter West did all he could by throwing for more than 300 yards. He threw touchdown passes of 15 and 23 yards to Scotty Wells, as well as a 7-yard scoring pass to Viktor Monoki. Senior Colton Dempsey, who rushed for more than 100 yards, scored on runs of 21 and 3 yards.
"We’ve been battling all year,” West said. “I think we’ve still had a lot of positive moments from this year. We just need to fix our mistakes."
Lehigh takeaways
Now that’s how you make your debut as head coach. The offense ran wild in Flaherty’s first game as head coach. The Lightning racked up nearly 500 yards in total offense and scored the most points they have all season. The defense was also deceptively effective. “It was a fantastic first game for us,” Flaherty said. “The points might not look it at 33, but our defense really did play well tonight. We got some athletes here.” The Lightning sacked West seven times.
The Lightning found their quarterback. Lehigh had been rotating quarterbacks, but Guest stated his case for the job. The slim sophomore threw for 296 yards and did an excellent job avoiding defensive pressure. “He stepped right in and manipulated the pocket perfectly,” Flaherty said.
Now that’s a road trip. Traveling 98 miles on I-75 on a Friday afternoon like the Lightning did to get to Sarasota is no stroll in the park. But next week’s trip to Key West to take on the Conchs in a non-district contest is a serious quest. That bus ride will be 268 miles and take some five hours or more, depending, of course, on traffic. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. The Lightning remain at home for their game on Friday, Oct. 24. But their visitors are the powerful Riverview Rams in another district matchup set for 7:30 p.m.
−Jim Brockman
Cape Coral 48, Ida Baker 0
The Seahawks put up 21 points in the first quarter as former head coach Tyler Murphy looked on from the stands.
Murphy resigned last month in response to what was reported this week to be a sexual encounter with a player’s parent on school grounds. Supporters have asked that he be reinstated and some were enthusiastic to see him at the game. But they have also rallied behind Jaylen Watkins, who was elevated from defensive coordinator to interim head coach.
“I think it’s a good thing that they get a chance to see him before the game and after the game, because he’s a big part of all this,” Watkins said of Murphy. “I definitely want people to understand that what you guys see on the field, … the guy that put the standard in place has been Coach Murphy, so it’s good to pay him back while he watches us.”
The Seahawks (8-0) opened with an onside kick attempt that the Bulldogs (3-4) recovered. However, they failed to capitalize, going three-and-out. And on fourth down, the long snap went over the punter, giving the Seahawks the ball on the 50-yard line. Cape capped off the ensuing drive with a 3-yard touchdown run up the middle by James Hall.
Cape started its next drive on its own 22 and sophomore Kaden McMaree scored with a 78-yard run in his varsity debut.
In one of the few moments that a Cape drive was in danger of failing, after three straight incomplete passes, running back Jermaine Skinner went in to play his only down of the night. It was a fourth-and-10, and quarterback Derek Hooker sent a short pass to Skinner, who got the first down. The drive ended with Hooker completing a 30-yard touchdown pass to Soldier Morris. Briggs Conway’s kick made it 21-0.
Hooker found Nate Ogrodzinski for a 30-yard touchdown. And before halftime, Hezekiah Jones made it 41-0 with a 69-yard pick-six.
With the running clock in the second half, Cape scored only one more time, a 45-yard touchdown pass from Hooker to TJ Schley.
Baker had its best chance to score in the fourth quarter when it successfully ran a flea-flicker play. Quarterback Brody Root handed the ball to running back Patyrell Coleman, who tossed it back to him. Root then launched it 32 yards to wide receiver Caelum Craigin, who landed at the 12. The Bulldogs got to fourth-and-3 on the 5-yard line, but Neyo Miranda intercepted the pass at the goal line to preserve the shutout.
Ida Baker takeaways
There’s a gleam: The Ida Baker teams of 2023-2024 would have come in with the “here we go again” look on their faces the moment Cape first scored. But this year’s Bulldogs have experienced winning, so there was much less shoulder-slumping. They were still trying to score through their last fourth-quarter drive.
“You could feel that they were still trying to fight back and get back into the game,” Ida Bakr coach Cullen O’Brien said. “They were still trying to move the ball downfield. They were still getting a little bit of success. There’s a lot more fight in this year’s team. Last year’s team would have been: first score, we’re done, pack it up, how fast can they get to 35?”
Tackling growing pains: With the youth and inexperience on the roster, tackling mechanics and pursuit have been a challenge for the Bulldog defense. That was particularly visible with Cape’s speedsters zooming past them. And with the Seahawks giving some of their starters a rest, it was an education in how much further Baker’s defense has to go to contain opponents.
“Yeah, they’re fast,” O’Brien said. “I mean, tackling has been our Achilles’ heel all year. That’s why we’re scoring a lot of points, but we’re also giving up a lot of points.”
Parker out: Left tackle Jaedon Parker left the game with an injury, leaving a hole on the offensive line.
“He was one of our young ones that really stepped up this year, and that’s going to hurt us losing him,” O’Brien said.
Cape Coral takeaways
Presenting Kaden McMaree: With the playoffs drawing closer and a tough test against Riverdale next week, it made sense to give regular running backs Jermaine Skinner and Caleb Cobb a breather. Sophomore Kaden McMaree, who had played two quarters in the JV game the night before, embraced the opportunity.
Getting that 78-yard touchdown run wasn’t easy. McMaree was running away from Hooker and had to turn his shoulders nearly completely around to catch the lateral toss from him. The right tackle missed his block, but McMaree was fast enough to turn past the Baker linebacker going at him. A safety got his hand on his undershirt, but that was the only defender who touched him on the play.
Don’t look forward: The Seahawks are riding high, starting 8-0 for the first time since 2009, when they were undefeated until the second round of the playoffs. The temptation would have been to cruise through this game and look ahead to Riverdale and the playoffs.
But they didn’t. The Seahawks scored on every drive, even converting two fourth-down plays. Compare that to last year’s team, which only beat the then winless Bulldogs 21-6.
“They played us tough, so it was good today to come out and do what we’re supposed to do,” Watkins said.
Learning to delegate: This was the Seahawks’ first shutout win since Watkins took over as interim head coach last month. What made that satisfying was that it validated his decision to step out of his comfort zone and hand off defensive play-calling to the staff while focused more attention to the offense.
“At first I was a little bit worried because I am a defensive guy,” Watkins said. “I don’t have offense, and I’m only one person, but I’m proud of my coaching staff right now for stepping up for Coach Murph and allowing me to come over here and still pitch out shutouts. Because it could have looked different.”
−Dave Montrose
Charlotte 20, Mariner 15
A two-score lead had disintegrated into a two-point deficit. A raucous homecoming crowd that had cheerily belted out “Sweet Caroline” for so long it had delayed the start of the third quarter had gone silent.
The most important possession of Charlotte’s season had gone 4 yards forward and 4 yards back and a quarterback who was learning on the job faced a third-and-10 with the game — the season — on the line.
It all began with quarterback Dylan Szych scrambling for 11 yards on third-and-10 at his own 20 late in the fourth quarter. Running back Jesiah McKnight pummeled his way to 21 yards on two carries, then when he came out for a breather, Connor Crouse took a handoff and carried the Triton defense nine yards to the Mariner 39.
McKnight followed with a 28-yard run to the 6 and two plays later McKnight pulled his way in from 1 yard out to give Charlotte their 20-16 lead with 3:28 to play
On Mariner’s first play from scrimmage on the ensuing possession, Crouse ditched the receiver he was defending and tackled Mariner’s Wenstan Penermon on an ill-fated screen pass from Triton quarterback Owen O’Leary.
The Tarpons (4-3) jumped out to a 14-0 lead following a 5-yard touchdown run by Crouse and a one-yard pass from Szych to Daveon Daniels. It remained that way until the fourth quarter when the Tritons finally hit on a big play. O’Leary found Steven Leon Carter streaking across the middle of the field on a fourth down and Carter did the rest for a 31-yard touchdown.
Charlotte’s ensuing possession handed the Tritons to more points when a punt snap sailed out of the Tarpon’s end zone, cutting the lead to 14-9.
After a long return by Penermon on the resulting free kick, Mariner covered 54 yards in just five plays, the final 38 coming another O’Leary-Carter hookup, this time a 38-yard dime dropped on Carter as he crossed the goal line.
In all, it had taken Mariner less than five minutes in the fourth quarter to erase three quarters of what had been steady Tarpon defensive dominance.
Mariner managed 174 total yards of offense, but just 23 came on the ground. Carter had the two touchdowns among his six receptions for 84 yards. Jamarion Corbett had five catches for 52 yards.
Lely 58, Aubrey Rogers 0
For the second time this season, Lely has shut out an opponent by 50 or more points with a 58-0 win over district foe Aubrey Rogers. This win marks the fifth 40-point victory and second Class 3A-District 14 win for the Trojans.
“We expect to be district championship champions. That's kind of where the bar is,” Lely coach Ben Hammer said. “Our biggest battle all week was getting them not to talk about Naples.”
Lely (5-2, 2-0) came out of the gate scoring, as they put up 36 points in the first quarter. Wide receiver Ty Collins began this scoring run with an 84-yard touchdown on the opening kickoff return. After a quick four-and-out by the Patriots offense, Lely scored its next two touchdowns on both sides of the ball.
Trojans’ running back Ninaud “Nino” Joseph rushed for a 31-yard touchdown for a two-score lead, 16-0. Defensive lineman Noah Brown continued the momentum with a 22-yard pick-six to make it 24-0.
A big part of the Lely onslaught was due to the Patriots’ offensive and defensive lines. The Aubrey Rogers’ (2-5,1-1) offensive line struggled against the Trojans' front seven, giving up multiple sacks and interceptions. As for the defense, open gaps and a smaller-sized unit couldn’t hold off the explosive plays from Lely’s backfield, who combined for three touchdowns.
Another Joseph rushing touchdown, from eight yards out, and a 56-yard rushing touchdown from Lely quarterback Brady Quinn ultimately brought the game to an end by starting the running clock midway through the second. The Trojans scored three more touchdowns before the time ran out.“Our kids prepared hard all week,” Hammer said. “We had goals at the beginning of the year to win the district championship. Kids wanted to go back to back. They played hard and did what they're supposed to do tonight. I mean, it's what we expect.”
Lely Takeaways
Unstoppable front seven. Three interceptions, four sacks, a Brown 22-yard pick-six and an allowed total of 30 offensive yards cap off a dominant Lely front seven that shut out Aubrey Rogers through 48 minutes. This marked the second shutout this season for the group, after they held Golden Gate to 62-0 in the Trojans' home opener.“They've gotten better, Hammer said. “ We've got two coaches down there, Coach [Biff] Wilbur and Coach [Carlos] Cornelio. They do a fantastic job. We challenged Noah Brown at the beginning of the year to be the best defensive lineman in southwest Florida. Those guys work really hard. They hold each other accountable.”
Offense couldn’t be slowed. Lely’s offense was rolling after the momentum from Collin’s opening 84-yard kickoff return, as the Trojans scored three rushing touchdowns and three passing touchdowns.
Joseph was behind Lely’s dominant ground game, rushing for 73 yards of the 141 total yards and two touchdowns. Quinn scored the third rushing touchdown via a 58-yard rush. Through the air, Quinn (10-19, 137 yards) and backup quarterback Luke Trebilcock (2-5, 67 yards) combined for 204 yards and three touchdowns, two of which were over 35 yards out.
All eyes on Naples. It’s been 15 games since Lely defeated Naples and has brought the Coconut Bowl trophy back to Lely High School’s trophy case. While Aubrey Rogers is a conference game, the Trojans’ players have their eyes on putting an end to the one-sided rivalry with one of their best teams in years.
“You don't get any extra points for that [referring to 15-0 streak against Naples], so when we start the game, it's gonna be 0-0. Coach Martin does a great job. Naples is a historical program. We're excited for the challenge, excited for the opportunity.” Hammer said. “Sometimes it's tough to get [players] going for practice, but for Naples, they'll be locked in, ready to go.”
Aubrey Rogers takaways
Passing offense struggled. Quarterback Braden Houser went 1 of 12 for minus-5 yards and three interceptions as he never had time for a play to develop against the Trojans' front seven. The majority of these incompletions came from throwaway balls, as the Patriots’ offensive line was overpowered on nearly every offensive snap, allowing four sacks.
Backfield had nowhere to go. Typically, when your passing offense isn’t clicking, you move to the ground game. However, Patriots’ running backs Tommy Pecaro and Matthew Ramos were held to 35 rushing yards on 12 attempts for 2.9 yards per rush. Outside of a 17-yard gain by Pecaro, neither back rushed for more than six yards on an effort.
Not A Welcoming Reunion. Before Aubrey Rogers coach JJ Everage headed the Patriots program, he coached the Trojans for four years from 2019 to 2022. In the two games he’s coached against his old team, he has lost by a combined score of 110-14.
− Jeffrey Hrunka
Port Charlotte 44, Dunbar 12
Dunbar knew it would have its hands full with regional power Port Charlotte on Friday. It would have its hands even fuller against a team coming off a bye week after two very close games that came down to the final play.
The Pirates scored in each facet of the game and blew the game open in the second half to take an important 44-12 victory in a District 4A-12 contest.
The loss eliminates Dunbar (5-2) from any hope of a district title and sets up a winner-take-all game in two weeks between Port Charlotte and Naples for the championship.
It was a quiet first quarter. Dunbar had a couple scoring chances, but penalties ended up dooming them.
After three possessions resulted in a grand total of one first down, Port Charlotte finally got the offense moving. Peter Kalphat's yard run got the Pirates deep in Dunbar territory. After a 15-yard penalty, Logan Flaherty ran the ball to the Tiger 12, just enough for Karsyn Barghausen to kick a 29-yard field goal to give Port Charlotte a lead midway through the second quarter.
Dunbar quarterback Brandon Seabrook fumbled on the next possession that Bruce Blanden recovered at the Dunbar 31. He then ran the entire 31 yards on four carries. The final eight gave Port Charlotte a 10-0 lead at the break.
Dunbar got the ball to start the second half, but the Pirates defense came to make the big play. Ahmad'dra Greene scooped up a Seabrook fumble and scooted in 50 yards for the touchdown to make it 17-0.
The Pirates (6-1) blew it open from there. Flaherty had a 3-yard run later in the third, and Eli Pearl who had done nothing to that point. Wildcatted in from the eight to make it 30-0.
Dunbar finally got on the board when backup quarterback Caleb Curls hit Andre Moss for a 37-yard touchdown pass.
Things got crazy from there. Pearl made up for lost time on the ensuing kickoff returning a short kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown to make it 37-6.
Tylen Gore scored for Dunbar on a three-yard run with seven minutes left before Flaherty hit Mikael Santa on a 63-yard catch and run to make it 44-12.
Tylen Gore had 60 yards rushing on 13 carries. Caleb Curls went 5 for 7 for 61 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Vindarian Maloy had seven catches for 92 yards.
Dunbar takeaways
Mistakes killed this young team. The Tigers moved the ball fairly well, only to have penalties shoot their drives in the ear. On its first drive, Dunbar got inside the Pirates 30, but a delay of game and a hold put the brakes on them. The Tigers got into the red zone later in the first half, but a personal foul, sack, and delay of game forced them to punt. Of course, the scoop and score by Port Charlotte was the backbreaker for Dunbar. Coach Sam Brown said this young team cannot afford to make mistakes. "It was 3-0 and we put the ball on the ground. Soon it was 17-0, and it started snowballing. It kind of unraveled, and they didn't know how to stop it."
Back-up quarterback Caleb Curls showed some positive things. He threw a touchdown pass to Andre Moss and moved the offense well against Port Charlotte's defense, albeit in garbage time. "We started putting some drives together in the third quarter and didn't quit," Brown said. "We expect guys who come off the bench to give us a spark and he did just that. He put the ball in the end zone a couple times and it gave us a spark."
Dunbar's speed is its greatest weapon. Port Charlotte coach Jordan Ingman said Dunbar's speed was something his team needed to adjust to on the first few drives. Dunbar's mistakes negated that advantage and soon the Pirates figured out how to play that speed by winning the battle in the trenches. "They got us in the box and once the game got to 17 it started snowballing," Brown said. "It was my responsibility to get them back, but I couldn't do it. It's hard to go 10-0 in this district. You have to fight every week. 5-2 isn't shabby, and we'll try to go 6-2 next week."
−Chuck Ballaro
Barron Collier 48, Bonita Springs 0
Over the course of the season, the Barron Collier football team kept getting better and better.
“We’ve been closing the gap,” Barron Collier coach Brannon Tidwell said. “That’s been our goal since I got here.”
With wins not showing up through the first six games, the Cougars finally got theirs, handling Bonita Springs 48-0 to move to 1-6 on the season.
“Tonight, we played a complete game at all three levels of special teams, offense, and defense,” Tidwell said. “It was a good night. It was good to get the first one. This is what I remember, scores like this in the mid 90’s. We hope to keep getting better each week and putting on a better performance every Friday night.”
It didn’t take long for Barron to score and never look back, with a crisp and efficient opening drive capped off by a 5-yard touchdown run from Sam Powell. Powell would score on the ground four more times, rushing for 117 yards on just eight carries, and adding 86 yards and a passing touchdown on 8 of 11 completions.
Simon Hincapie rushed for 58 yards and a touchdown, while Dave Morales added 22 rushing yards and his first varsity touchdown. Barron had 362 yards of offense in the win, propelled by a solid rushing attack that had five rushers north of 20 yards.
The Cougars defense was opportunistic, picking off Bonita Springs quarterback Kevin O’Connell three times and limiting him to a 4 of 16 line for 39 yards. The Cougars conceded just 35 yards in the game, with the Bull Sharks netting more yardage on three Barron Collier defensive pass interference penalties than the 34 offensive plays they ran all game.
“I tell them, to be a solid football program, you have to play defense,” Tidwell said. “You have to get stops. We’ve done that in games this year. We’ve gotten off the field. It’s such an offensive game now which has made it harder on defenses, but you have to be able to have the capability to get off the field. We did that tonight and other parts of this year. Being a complete team is what I’m looking for.”
The Cougars will aim to continue their momentum next week, taking on a Golden Gate team looking to rebuild just like them. It’s just the start of what has the potential to be a winning streak to close the season, taking on the Titans, Aubrey Rogers, and Lakeland Kathleen to close out the year.
“It’s the first of many,” Tidwell told his team after the game.
— Alex Martin
Immokalee 55, Palmetto Ridge 0
On a rainy senior night at Gary Bates Stadium, the Immokalee Indians showed in seniority with a dominant win over Palmetto Ridge Friday night.
Led by a strong running game and a defense that forced turnovers, the Indians registered an important district win over the Bears in a game where the suspense was over early.
Cherlin Michel led Immokalee (5-2, 2-0) with 139 yards rushing and two scores. Marshon Jackson had 89 yards rushing and a touchdown. Quarterback Jayden Cowgill threw for 94 yards.
“We stepped up and made good plays,” Immokalee coach James Delgado said. “A lot of guys touched the ball, and we made big-time stops and turnovers, so I’m proud of our guys. We played hard for each other. We had some guys dominate, especially at the line, and the linebackers played well.”
Immokalee was in control with a 28-0 lead after the first quarter.
“Our quarterback did a great job distributing the ball and making good decisions with the football,” Delgado said of Cowgill. “He worked his butt off at getting the ball to the right people. However, we have to get better at the intangibles.”
The Bears (0-7, 0-2) were shut out for the second straight game.
“We’re young right now, and right now we’re trying to put our kids in the best possible position to be successful,” said Palmetto Ridge coach Jordan Hampton. “And to get to where we want to go, we want to play teams like Immokalee. They’re a talented ballclub.”
In Palmetto Ridge’s main offensive highlights, quarterback Cooper Hall threw for 52 yards, and Daniel Volcy returned an Immokalee kickoff for 40 yards.
“Cooper Hall ran around and made some big plays,” Hampton said. “And the backs had a good game. We had some good things tonight, even though the scoreboard doesn’t show it.”
Immokalee took the opening kickoff and scored immediately, driving 50 yards for a touchdown, which came on Michell’s 3-yard scramble.
The Indians got two more points only seconds later when Hall intentionally grounded the ball in the end zone, giving Immokalee a deuce and a 9-0 lead only three minutes into the game. The Indians completed the “nine-point play” when they took the Bears’ free kick, and Marshon Jackson scored on a 21-yard run, putting Immokalee ahead 16-0 with 3:46 left in the first.
The key to the drive was Jayden Cowgill’s 22-yard bootleg on fourth down to keep the drive alive only seconds before the score.
Immokalee scored again a minute later on Michell’s 12-yard run.
The Indians added three more touchdowns in the first half on Kervensley Laurent’s 14-yard catch from Cowgill, Youvensley Methelus’ 4-yard touchdown run, and another Cowgill scoring pass to Travis Prince.
Cowgill threw for another TD in the third and Methelus tacked on a 35-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth.
−Tom Corwin
Glades Central 14, Bishop Verot 12
Glades Central football's district title drought is over at long last.
The Raiders rallied with back-to-back touchdowns in the second half to beat Bishop Verot 14-12 in Belle Glade. The game was delayed two hours due to inclement weather and played with sloppy, muddy conditions.
Glades Central (7-0, 1-0) clinched an automatic regional playoff bid by winning District 2A-10, which featured just the Raiders and Bishop Verot (3-4, 0-1).
It's the first district championship since 2015 for Glades Central's storied football program, winner of the sixth-most Florida state titles (6) of all-time.
Bishop Verot took a 5-0 lead into halftime thanks to a short field goal and Glades Central's quarterback kicked a fumbled snap out the back of the end zone for a safety.
Glades Central quarterback Taj Barnes got his team back in the game with a go-ahead touchdown pass to Algernod Crawford late in the third quarter. Running back Ar'Maud Stinfort then provided the game-winning score with a rushing touchdown early in the fourth quarter.
Bishop Verot rallied with a touchdown in the final three minutes and forced a quick Glades Central punt on the ensuing possession to get the ball back with less than 30 seconds remaining.
The Vikings threw an incomplete pass on first down, allowed a sack by Glades Central's Sauverson Paul on second down and managed to spike the ball on third down with 1.5 seconds to play. Bishop Verot's final play was lateraled backward into a muddy scramble out of bounds.
LaBelle 27, Hardee 0
A Marquay Bradshaw scoring run and a touchdown pass from Zach Campbell to Arrie Davis Jr. gave the Cowboys a 14-0 lead at halftime. Bradshaw added a second-half touchdown, and Christopher Hernandez also ran one in for LaBelle, which improved to 9-0.
Lakeland Christian 49, ECS 7
Big plays put a damper on a big night for the ECS Sentinels.
A halftime ring ceremony honored the two-time defending State Champion ECS girls’ softball team.
Also, at halftime the Sentinels faced the prospect of a running clock.
It was tough going early for the ECS offense, unable to get a running game going and limited to a dink and dunk passing game.
With the game still within reach at 14-0 Lakeland Christian made its first big play when Devonte Howard stepped in front of a Ty Williams pass and streaked 50 yards to the end zone putting the Vikings up 21-0 at the end of the first quarter.
“It hurt but we were only down three scores and we were still in it,” said Sentinels head coach Mack Mitchell.
Howard continued to be a thorn in the Sentinels' side when he hauled in bombs of 65 and 53 yards for two more scores to put the Vikings up 35-0 at the half.
Lakeland Christian didn’t let up on the big plays, opening the second half with a 65-yard touchdown pass from Brody Brenneman to AJ Trudell.
Enter Liam Avin for ECS. With an injury sidelining running back Lem Baptist, Avin made the switch from wideout to running back, breathing some life into the Sentinels offense
“He gave us a spark and showed what a dynamic player he can be for us,” said Mitchell.
Avin finally put ECS on the board late in the fourth quarter, hauling in a 32-yard touchdown pass from Williams.
The Vikings would close the game out when Drew Cruz took the ECS kickoff 95 yards for one last big play and a touchdown.
−John Rinkenbaugh
SFCA 21, Glades Day 7
The King's struck quickly and early, and that proved to be enough. Brady Moore hit TJ Simmons for a 12-yard score 2:32 into the game, and then SFCA recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff on the Glades Day 28. Moore hit Simmons again to make it 14-0.
Moore struck again in the second quarter, hitting Brendan Sitar for a 21-7 lead.
The game called with 2:58 on the clock in second quarter due to unsafe field conditions and Glades Day was down to 17 players after dressing only 20 due to injuries.
Cypress Lake 52, Island Coast 7
North Fort Myers 42, East Lee County 10
Gateway Charter 26, Babcock 18
Canterbury 29, Bishop McLaughlin 14
Parrish 46, Gateway 7
THURSDAY
Golden Gate 14, North Port 7
NORTH PORT – For all intents and purposes, the playoffs have already begun for the Golden Gate High football team.
If the Titans want any chance of advancing past the regular season, they will have to win most, if not all, of their remaining games.
Golden Gate can cross one of those wins off after it traveled up to North Port on Thursday and handed the Bobcats a 14-7 loss.
“I’m pumped about it,” Golden Gate coach Nick Bigica said. “We told our kids every week is a playoff week from here on out. You never know how things are going to shake out. If we want even a shot at the postseason later on, every week is a playoff game. We have to keep winning.”
A young Titans team that is still learning how to win needed a couple of breaks to go their way, and they had plenty of them against the Bobcats.
After opening with two punts and a turnover on downs, Golden Gate struck first as running back Mikenson Demezier put the Titans into scoring range, and junior quarterback Timothy Stauffer kept it for a 7-yard touchdown run.
North Port (1-6) was held off the scoreboard until the closing minutes of the game. Part of that was due to the pressure that the Titans generated at the line of scrimmage, but much of it was due to costly mistakes by the Bobcats.
Driving in Golden Gate territory in the closing minutes of the first half, North Port quarterback Jax Stoltzfus completed a touchdown pass to Ar’Marian Gilchrist, but it was called back for offensive pass interference. Moments later, Stoltzfus passed to Aydin Guerra for what would have been a walk-in touchdown, but Guerra outran the pass and dropped as he turned back too late.
An especially game-turning string of plays happened toward the end of the third quarter.
An interception by North Port junior Katavion Comadore set up a Bobcats drive that went inside the 20-yard line. Stoltzfus ran in a 14-yard keeper, but it was called back for a hold.
One play later, Stoltzfus ran up the middle on a keeper and fumbled the ball at the Golden Gate 4-yard line.
The Titans handed the ball right back as a pitch from Stauffer was never secured.
North Port took over at the Titans’ 8-yard line, but Comadore fumbled on a modest pickup, and the ball bounced out of the back of the end zone.
“If we clean up one or two of those errors, we walk away with a victory tonight, and it’s a totally different conversation,” North Port coach Devon Gales said.
Golden Gate fullback Josiah Senecharles made it a two-score game on the ensuing drive when he bounced off a few Bobcats tacklers and ran down the right sideline for a 52-yard touchdown.
Though North Port finally put a drive together and scored on a 2-yard run by Comadore with 1:36 to play, Golden Gate recovered the onside kick to put the game away and keep their playoff hopes alive.
Demezier finished with 21 carries for 141 yards as he kept drives alive and gave Golden Gate good field position all night. Stoltzfus was North Port’s only offensive playmaker. He ended his night with 13 rushes for 90 yards and completed 4 of 20 passes for 72 yards.
“I think we’re learning how to win games and not lose games, and that’s huge for us,” Bigica said. “We don’t have a lot of experience on the varsity team, and we’re trying to learn on the fly, and our guys are doing a heck of a job with it. It was about time we got into one of these dogfights, and our kids did a great job with it.”
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: SW FL high school football FHSAA, SSAA Week 8 results
Category: General Sports
