Week 6 Roundup: Cape, North Fort Myers, Bishop Verot, Riverdale, Immokalee, Lely, Cypress win

This is a roundup of Southwest Florida high school football games played on Friday, Sept. 27 through Monday, Sept. 30, 2024.

OT Thriller: Naples gets revenge on Dunbar, escaping with overtime win on failed two-point conversion

MONDAY

SFCA 21, St. Petersburg Catholic 14

Brady Moore had two receiving touchdowns and the defense caused three turnovers, including interceptions by Terrance Simmons and Connor Watermeierfor the King's (5-1). Logan Waldrup scored on Austin Hill’s third touchdown pass late in the third quarter that turned out to be the deciding score as the King’s held off a late comeback attempt by stopping St Pete on fourth-and-12 at the SFCA 41 with a QB sack.

Canterbury 17, Bishop McLaughlin 15

Collin Meagher scored on an 80-yard punt return and JT Huether connected with Kyle Scharlau on a 30-yard touchdown for the Cougars' touchdowns. A 35-yard field goal by Mathias Perez provided the difference. On defense, Canterbury got interceptions from Anthony McFarlane and Jet Langford.

The Cougars will be working on a short week as they play at IMG Blue on Thursday.

Palmetto 48, Gateway 6

After storms delayed this matchup 72 hours, Palmetto (5-0, 2-0) dominated Gateway (0-6, 0-2) to extend its undefeated season.

Palmetto began the game with back-to-back scoring drives. Running Back Marquez Brydson scored first off with a 22-yard rushing touchdown followed by wide receiver Maurice Carter converting a checkdown pass for a 19-yard touchdown.

Palmetto kept scoring in the first half with two touchdowns on the ground in the redzone and one touchdown by the defense via a 1-yard pick-six to make it a five-score game at halftime.

It took until seven minutes into the third quarter for Gateway to put its first points on the scoreboard. Running back Justin Jean-Louis caught a 5-yard pass for a touchdown for the Eagles’ only points of the game. The Tigers responded with two more touchdowns.

Gateway takeaways

1. Passing offense needs consistency. Quarterback Parker Ellis went 8 of 16 for 109 yards with one touchdown and a pick-six. If the offense wants to get the ball moving they need to control the pressure put on the backfield and make smarter decisions when under pressure.

2. Not enough points. The Eagles have struggled to score points this season as they have been outscored 299-37 through its first six games.

“We got to be physical,” Gateway coach Charlie Powell said. “We can't wait until we're down 28-0 to decide to try to fight back. We have to do it from the time the ball is kicked off.” 3. Palmetto unstoppable. Whether it was in the secondary or on the defensive front the Eagles’ defense struggled to stop everything that was thrown at them. They allowed six offensive touchdowns, 183 receiving yards and 192 rushing yards.

— Jeffrey Hrunka

SATURDAY

Cape Coral 28, Charlotte 11

On an evening where the Cape Coral offense struggled most of the night, it was the defense that kept the Seahawks ahead until Charlotte was too tired and frustrated to keep up.

Jermaine Skinner scored two long touchdowns and Michael Rodriguez Garcia had a pick-six as Cape Coral pulled off the win over Charlotte in the District 5A-10 opener for both teams.

Skinner, who had just 31 yards rushing at halftime, ended up with 193 yards rushing on 19 carries. His first long run early in the fourth quarter went for 58 yards and broke open a game that had been stuck at 14-3 for more than two full quarters.

Charlotte (3-2) tried to get back in the game, responding with a touchdown from Jazzy McDaniel with 7:41 left to make it 21-11 after a two-point conversion.

Charlotte quickly got the ball back on Derek Hooker's fumble deep in their territory and drove inside the 5. On fourth down, eschewing the short field goal to make it a seven-point game, they went for it and failed.

A few plays later, Skinner found daylight again and raced 82 yards for the clinching score with 3:27 remaining.

On its first possession of the game, Cape Coral (4-1) went 45 yards on 10 plays, with Hooker going the final 5 yards for a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter.

Charlotte got on the board with a 32-yard field goal from Noah Wooten to make it 7-3 and quickly got the ball back. However, Tarpon quarterback Teagen Lipke was picked off by Rodrigues Garcia, who raced 53 yards for the score and a 14-3 lead, where the game stayed as both defenses held strong.

A third quarter fumble by Hooker gave Charlotte the ball at the Cape 26. Two plays later, Jermaine Green got an interception along the sideline to end the threat and bring the momentum back to the Seahawks.

Charlotte coach Cory Mentzer was frustrated after losing to a team that on paper they should have beaten and now they could be on the outside looking in for the postseason.

"We didn't come to play. It was terrible football on both sides of the ball. We shot ourselves in the foot time and time again," Mentzer said. "We had our chances in the fourth quarter and we couldn't execute."

1 The Cape defense never rests . Those 11 were the true heroes of this game, keeping the Seahawks ahead while the offense was trying to figure things out. They got three turnovers and a stop on downs deep to preserve the lead and scored six on its own. David Treible got a final fumble to end things. If coach Tyler Murphy could cut the game ball into 11 pieces and give it to the defense, he would. "It was ugly, but we'll take it. We just could not pull away. But the defense has been big for us all year. They allow us to be aggressive on offense. That fourth down stop was huge and Michael's pick. Anytime you can score on defense, it increases your odds of winning."

2 Jermaine Skinner figured it out eventually . The junior tailback was a different player in the second half and otherworldly in the fourth quarter with those two long touchdown runs against a tired Tarpons defense thanks to great offensive line play. Murphy said it was an ugly game, but they found a way to pound the rock. "I'm proud of the guys and how far we have come. We have to keep getting better," Murphy said, looking at it through a team perspective rather than the individual.

3 Cape Coral is in the catbird seat for the district title with this win . Nothing is guaranteed in district play, but the odds sure look good for the Seahawks who have Mariner and Ida Baker left. Just don't think that Murphy is looking past those teams, especially with two weeks to prepare for Riverdale before those two district games. "We're not going to overlook any opponent. I was at Florida when we lost to Georgia Southern, so we're going to use this bye week to prepare ourselves for Riverdale that we're not going to take lightly," Murphy said.

— Chuck Ballaro

FRIDAY

North Fort Myers 33, Fort Myers 30

Following some early dominance by its offense, North Fort Myers needed its defense to step up with Friday’s District 5A-11 game against visiting Fort Myers hanging in the balance.

Boy did it ever.

With the Green Wave only needing about 25 yards to give senior kicker Vaughn Lennon a shot at a game-tying field goal, Red Knights senior linebacker Jordan Carr sacked Fort Myers quarterback Dom Ardezzone on consecutive plays for a net loss of 14 yards. That left the Green Wave facing a fourth-and-24 at its own 27 with under a minute remaining.

On fourth down, Ardezzone faced pressure again but escaped to his right and lofted a pass beyond the sticks to sophomore Jyden German but it glanced off his fingertips and fell incomplete, sending Moody Field into a frenzy as North Fort Myers held on to win the 57 ^th edition of the Battle of the Caloosahatchee.

“This means everything; it’s the game of the year,” North Fort Myers junior quarterback Caedon Conn said. “It’s like Michigan-Ohio State. You’ve got to win that game to have a great year.”

Whether or not the Red Knights achieve greatness this season remains to be seen, but for the first half Friday, they came pretty darn close. North (5-1, 1-0) controlled the line of scrimmage against Fort Myers, averaging nearly 10 yards per play while building a 26-7 lead at the break. The Red Knights outgained the Green Wave 297 yards to 67, including rushing 15 times for 180 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown burst by senior Kirtis Denham and a 55-yard gallop by junior Christian Weber.

“All credit to them; they took it to us on both sides of the ball,” Fort Myers coach Sam Sirianni Jr. said.

The Green Wave (5-1, 0-1) responded in the third quarter, getting a 53-yard field goal by Lennon and a 1-yard touchdown run by junior Macrae Thompson to make it 26-16 with 2:12 left in the third quarter.

But it took the Red Knights just two plays to answer with yet another big offensive play, this one a 68-yard touchdown pass from Conn to senior Byron Flemming to go back up by three scores.

Following a 26-yard touchdown run by junior Trevor Moate early in the fourth quarter, Fort Myers got a seismic defensive play by senior Luke Fleming who intercepted a Conn pass at the Red Knights 11. On the next play, Ardezzone connected with sophomore Fred Jackson for the touchdown and following a successful 2-point pass to junior Adrian Burdette, the Green Wave stormed within 33-30 with 8:35 left to play.

But Fort Myers would get no closer as the Red Knights earned their 15th all-time victory over the Green Wave, the most wins for any Lee County team over Fort Myers.

Fort Myers takeaways

1. A first half to forget. Sirianni said he emphasized to his players all week that the more physical team would come out on top. North’s offensive line opened huge holes in the first two quarters which put the Green Wave on their heels and allowed the Red Knights to play from in front the entire game.

“No one’s ever taken the ball and run at us like that,” Sirianni said. “The first half was a nightmare in terms of we got outplayed, got outcoached, everything.”

2. A second-half surge. Fort Myers came out firing in the third quarter on both sides of the ball. The Green Wave held the Red Knights to 131 second-half yards, 68 coming on the Conn to Flemming touchdown. With time running out and North needing just two yards to pick up a first down and essentially close out the game, star defensive lineman Kendall Guervil came out with two big stops to force a Red Knights punt and give Fort Myers a chance.

“We had our chances,” Sirianni said. “I was happy with the way we fought back.”

3. Too many penalties and no Madrid Tucker. The Green Wave committed 15 penalties for 121 yards, including one questionable third-down pass interference call that kept an eventual North touchdown drive alive. Fort Myers also was forced to play without the explosive Tucker, who was ejected during last week’s 42-21 win over Charlotte.

“We have plenty of talent to where we can get it done,” Sirianni said. “We’ve just got to play better. We had that same thing we’ve had every week, not playing clean.”

North Fort Myers takeaways

1. Offensive explosion. The Red Knights put to rest any chance that Friday’s game would be a tight defensive battle with their early offensive fireworks. A team whose typical identity is to grind teams into submission with its steady running game instead displayed its big-play ability.

“We’re starting to click at the right time,” North Fort Myers coach David Pasquale said. “These are all the things we’ve been working on since the spring: to execute in the moments we need to execute.”

2. Conn playing a bigger role in offense. The junior, who missed most of the first three games after suffering a knee injury in the first quarter of the season opener, showed he could deliver in the biggest game to date of his varsity career. His 29-yard touchdown pass to senior Adrian Scott on the game’s opening drive was perfectly placed and came on a third-and-15 play. North’s coaches are asking Conn to do more than just manage the offense but spearhead it and he is getting better at doing just that. The junior finished with 188 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions, one of which came on a fourth down play into the end zone late in the second quarter.

3. Clutch defense when it counted. North’s defense had some uneven moments in the second half but its pass rush blew up the Green Wave’s final two drives which saw them sack Ardezzone four times.

“The message had always been that no moment’s too big,” Pasquale said. “The expectation is for them to go out there and make a play and that’s what they did.”

– Dan DeLuca

Bishop Verot 34, First Baptist 28

Bishop Verot handed First Baptist its first loss of the year on Friday night, downing the previously unbeaten Lions 34-28.

It may not have been pretty for the Vikings (4-2), but the defense was stout enough and the offense consistent enough to overcome the recurring self-inflicted wounds.

“It’s definitely a big win,” said Bishop Verot head coach Richie Rode. “Definitely a big win against a great program - an undefeated program ranked highly in the state. So our kids feel really good about that. A lot of self-inflicted stupidity that we have got to clean up, but you know you’ve got to know how to win ugly. And I thought we won ugly tonight and a win is a win against a great program.”

The teams traded blows all night, starting with the Vikings drawing first blood on a 3-yard keeper from Michigan commit Carter Smith midway through the opening frame.

The Lions (4-1) responded in short order with a 30-yard touchdown carry from Sam Sparacio. The first half ended knotted up at 14-14, and First Baptist recovered an onside kick to start the second half.

They capitalized with a 33-yard touchdown pass from Brady Quinn to Minnesota commit Bradley Martino, and took a 21-14 lead early in the third quarter.

Bishop Verot scored three unanswered touchdowns would prove to be the deciding factor. The first came on a 48-yard touchdown pass from Smith to Leo Berman, who shook off a defender in the open field and jogged in for the touchdown. Four minutes later, Smith made a jump-pass to Marquan Young near the line of scrimmage, who then hit the burners for a 56-yard touchdown.

Deshon Jenkins had a grown-man 22-yard carry that saw him break four tackles on the way to the endzone. The Lions managed one more score in the form of a Sparacio touchdown reception from Quinn, but the Vikings moved the chains twice and then took victory formation to close things out.

Bishop Verot takeaways

1. The secondary played lights-out . The Lions boast arguably the best wideout tandem in Collier County in Martino and four-star junior Jayden Petit. But the Vikings rose to the task, especially Jadrien Carmo.

Carmo had an interception and a pair of pass break-ups, including a critical break-up at the goal line on a pass intended for Petit. The defense held the Lions’ star duo to just two passes that went for more than 20 yards despite missing star corner Marquis Young and Eli Cochran.

“Absolutely [lights-out],” Rode said. “We had one of our best corners out, we’re banged up from this stretch and we had a lot of other guys. We had a freshman step up, we had a sophomore step up, we had some moving pieces. But super proud of them…We were excited about our secondary and waiting for them to get challenged, and we knew this week was going to be a big challenge. They got turnovers, they made a couple of mistakes but my God, with all the guys that they’ve got they’re going to make you look silly at some point. But they came back and showed some resilience.”

2. The offense put together another great all-around performance . Bishop Verot finished with 438 yards of total offense in the win led by Smith. He went 12-of-16 in the air for 181 yards and two touchdowns and added 131 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. He accounted for 73 percent of the Vikings total offense.

Jenkins added 88 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. He and Smith both were nowhere near 100 percent healthy, but still helped move the chains on critical third and fourth downs all night.

Young tacked on 79 yards and one touchdown on four receptions, and Berman rounded out the receiving corps with 53 receiving yards and one touchdown on a pair of catches.

3. Bishop Verot overcame needless penalties all night. It was assumed Friday’s game would be a spirited ordeal, and both teams obliged with late hits, personal fouls, and unsportsmanlike conduct calls.

The Vikings specifically caught most of the laundry, with an unsportsmanlike conduct being called on back-to-back touchdowns, then a third on a missed PAT attempt after a Viking player threw his helmet into the turf in frustration.

On the Lions’ last drive, Bishop Verot drew two defensive holding penalties that moved the chains on third down. It set First Baptist up for a Sparacio touchdown catch, and then Bishop Verot saw yet another flag be thrown their way after a dust-up on the kick return.

“A lot of mistakes, it was really ugly” Rode said. “But they showed a lot of resilience to fight and just grind it out, and I’m very proud of that.”

First Baptist takeaways

1. The Brady Quinn era has arrived . The freshman has the starting gig for First Baptist and is beginning to grow into the role. He finished the night 15-of-25 with a pair of touchdown passes, and plenty of those incompletions came as dropped balls to wide-open players.

Quinn already holds offers from Missouri, Nebraska, Ole Miss, UCF and others. He’s primed to be one of the area’s most exciting quarterbacks for the next three years as he grows over time.

2. Jayden Petit is open… a lot . Petit, a highly-touted Power Four recruit, is as solid of a route-runner as it gets, and his size makes him an easy target down field. But towards the end of the loss, he began to get understandably frustrated as he worked himself open to no avail.

He caught a majority of his targets, and finished with 117 receiving yards and a touchdown on five catches, but did cough up a fumble. Half of the issues were just how solid the Viking secondary was, and the other half were from a freshman quarterback still getting used to the flow of the game.

3. There’s nothing like a close loss to fuel the fire . The Lions are almost a shoo-in for an appearance in the Final Four year-over-year, but they haven’t gotten there without at least one loss on the way. Even though First Baptist fell just short of a marquee win, the loss may help a team with championship expectations.

– Nick Wilson

Riverdale 48, East Lee County 14

Through the first five weeks of the season, no team has been able to slow down the Riverdale offense.

Facing a rival out east, the Raiders’ first district contest proved to be no exception. Led by a second consecutive 5-touchdown performance by Cole Hayes, the team gashed the Jaguars for nearly 400 yards of offense on Friday night.

Hayes did most of his damage in the first half with four touchdowns, finishing the game with 166 yards on 20 carries.

He was complemented in the backfield by a big-play threat in Lovensky Blanchard, who took 15 touches for 146 yards and a score.

“When you got two of the best backs in Lee County, it’s easy to do that,” Riverdale head coach Kendoll Gibson said. “And we got a good o-line. They’re feisty, man. They get after it. We don’t get tired. We rely on our summer workouts and our offseason training.”

Riverdale quarterback Theo Harris Jr. found Aiden Boyd in the corner of the end zone for a 20-yard touchdown late in the game to add to the onslaught.

The Raiders shined in all three phases with the defense limiting East Lee to one offensive touchdown – a 46-yard Lazaro Rogers rushing score where the Northern Illinois commit put on the burners to outrun the defense. The Jaguars also got on the scoreboard with a Jacorie Darrisaw pick-6.

Even the special teams showed out as the Raiders recovered a fumble on a pooch kick, had several fruitful returns and made big plays on East Lee punts that set up the team with good field position.

Riverdale improves to 6-0 to match the team’s start to the 2018 season, and, just as important, 1-0 in Class 5A-11.

“You always want to win your district games,” Gibson said. “Last year, we weren’t fortunate to do that, so it feels to get a district win.”

Riverdale takeaways

1. Hayes does it again. Over the last two weeks, the senior has gone for about 500 yards and 10 touchdowns, bringing him to 16 on the season.

On Friday, he showcased his nose for the end zone, scoring from 3, 5, 23, 4 and 11 yards out.

“I’m not biased because I’m his coach – this man is a true, old school just baller,” Gibson said.

2. The Raider defense stymied East Lee. For the fourth time this season, the unit held a team below 15 points. All the more impressive against a Jaguar team led by a talented back in Rogers.

“They felt a little bit disrespected,” Gibson said. “They wanted to come out and show they could stop Laz. There’s been a lot of chatter that we couldn’t stop him. We gave up one touchdown and we threw a pick-6 that gave them the other one. Holding that Jaguar team to 7 points is awesome for us.”

Defensive end Julian Correa, who leads the Raiders in tackles, put together another strong performance, coming up with a fumble recovery in the win.

3. The victory was meaningful on multiple levels for Gibson. Beyond staying unbeaten, the win came against his alma mater. Gibson was a part of the first East Lee County graduating class and was the first player to earn an athletic scholarship on the football team.

“It means a lot, man,” he said. “I respect the hell out of (head coach Herbans) Paul. He’s doing a good job over there. It’s always been my dream to coach. It’s always fun beating your old school and being the guy that did it. I’m a Jaguar at heart, but I’m a Raider now and it just feels good beating them.”

East Lee County takeaways

1. The defense knew what was coming but couldn’t execute. The Raider offense owned the time of possession as they pounded the ball again and again, and the Jaguars couldn't get off the field.

“They’re going to run a very simple offense," Paul said. "They’re going to run the ball, so there’s going to be limited mistakes. But we got to make sure that we’re tackling. They got guys that know exactly what’s happening, and they’re not shy about it."

2. Rogers saw less opportunities. He finished the game with 111 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries – including just 3 in the first half. Rogers was split out wide on several plays, but the passing game never got going.

Paul explained this was intentional in order to try to open up the offense. Running back Jesiah McKnight had some solid gains early.

“You got to adjust, right?” Paul said. “We had seen some things in the week before where they tried to stack the box, and so our idea is like, ‘Hey, let’s see how you’re going to stack the box when he’s not inside the box.’ And we had an opportunity to run the ball real well at the beginning.”

3. The Jaguars hung around but missed some chances. The team was able to respond to Riverdale in the first half with the Rogers touchdown and the pick-6 to make it 8-7 and 20-14, respectively.

But the team suffered mishaps on special teams and committed costly penalties, totalling 17 on the night.

“We went out there, and we started fighting,” Paul said. “We did some real good things, but our mistakes started to bite us in our rear ends and we didn’t capitalize on big opportunities.”

– Dustin Levy

Lely 90, Barron Collier 56

After 48 minutes of high-powered offenses going at one another, Lely’s ground game gots the better of Barron Collier to spoil its homecoming.

Lely opened the game with back-to-back scoring drives. Running back Nino Joseph scored first with a 51-yard rushing touchdown followed by quarterback Carter Quinn keeping an option for a 54-yard  touchdown. After both scores the Trojans went for a two-point conversion, which was a common theme throughout the night.

It wasn’t until the start of the second quarter that Barron Collier scored its first points on a 6-yard rush by quarterback Brian Williams.

Over the next 11 minutes, the teams traded points. Lely scored their next 16 points via a 40-yard rushing touchdown by Joseph and a 46-yard touchdown catch by wide receiver Zephaniah Diamond. Barron Collier scored 15 points from touchdown catches in the red zone by wide receivers Brady Thomas and Caiden Hudson.

Barron Collier ended the first half down eight points. This is the closest they would be to the lead as over the next 24 minutes they were outscored 52-28.

“We're excited about any game we win,” Lely coach Ben Hammer said. “You don't ever want to lose. [Lely players] responded to some adversity, found a way to get a couple stops and won a ball game.”

Barron Collier takeaways

1. The defensive line needs to be reevaluated. When a defense nearly 500 rushing yards and 7 rushing touchdowns, something needs to be addressed. The defensive line did not pressure the Trojans backfield through the night. In the few times that they did, Lely adjusted and scored through the air.

2. Not enough points. It’s difficult to talk about not putting enough points when you end the game with 56 but simple mistakes recovering the ball on special teams, dropped handoffs and underthrown snaps set the Barron Collier offense back when in scoring range.

"We scored 56 points,” Barron Collier coach Mark Jackson. “I think we've moved the ball pretty well, but we shot ourselves in the foot a couple times.”

3. Passing offense missed opportunities. Although the Cougars passing offense went 31 of 50 attempts for 303 yards, receivers were overthrown on numerous occasions when open.

Lely takeaways

1. Nino “Chops” Joseph is a star. Joseph dominated the Barron Collier defense rushing for 424 yards and seven touchdowns. He completed this feat averaging 23.5 yards per attempt.

“Nino Chops is freaking good,” Hammer said.

2. Passing offense cannot be overlooked. Although it was the rushing offense making all of the noise, the Trojans found success through the air. Quarterback Carter Quinn went 14 of 23 attempts for 295 yards, four touchdowns and completed 6 of 7 two point conversion attempts through the air.

3. Unnecessary penalties. Numerous unsportsmanlike conduct and unnecessary roughness penalties by the Lely defense helped Barron Collier sustain drives. Several times the Trojan defense had the Cougars stopped, but penalties after the play put Barron Collier into the red zone.

– Jeffrey Hrunka

Immokalee 44, Golden Gate 12

Led by a strong defense and about 367 yards of offense, the Indians registered a District 5A-12 win over the Titans, getting a leg up on the district title race.

Jayden Mixon rushed for 154 yards and four touchdowns. Jontay Hais also had 79 yards rushing and a score for Immokalee (5-1, 1-0).

Solomon Powell had 104 yards rushing for the Titans. Sam Powell also threw for 119 yards for winless Golden Gate (0-6, 0-2).

Golden Gate heads into a bye week next week. Immokalee meanwhile plays at home against Lely.

Immokalee takeaways

1. The Indians defense has only allowed 30 points in the last 12 quarters . The Indians’ defense has kept opposing offenses honest during their three-game winning streak.

“Basically, we’ve been trying to win the first down with the other team,” Immokalee coach James Delgado said. “We try to make then earn everything they get, including third-and-long or fourth-down situations. The important thing is to make them earn everything they get.”

Immokalee’s defense ended an important Titans scoring threat in the first half. Elijah Hicks picked off Sam Powell’s pass deep in Indian territory to end an impressive Golden Gate drive.

Leeopald Dessamar also recovered a Golden Gate fumble near midfield in the third quarter. Yet another turnover forced the game into a running clock early in the fourth.

“I’m proud of the guys,” Delgado said. “I’m especially proud of how we played in the trenches.”

2. Immokalee makes its few passes count. Immokalee moved the ball mostly on the ground against the Titans. But a few long passes were vital to the outcome.

Chris Germinal threw a 49-yarder to Marshon Jackson for a first-quarter score. Then with time running short in the first half, he went down the middle to Kervensly Laurent for a 52-yard gain. That put Mixon in position to score to give the Indians a 30-6 lead right before the break.

3. Immokalee's special teams help offense. A blocked punt led to a TD, and a successful onside kick to start the second half.

“The special teams made some big opportunities,” Delgado said. “They made some big plays, and we’ve got to see more of that as the season goes on.”

Golden Gate takeaways

1. Titans named Powell played well. Sam and Solomon Powell were a source of pride for Golden Gate coach Nick Citro after the game.

“Sam is just an unbelievable quarterback,” Citro said. “He is starting to come into his own as a passer. His touchdown pass late in the game was great to see. Solomon played well, and we’re looking for him to continue to do well as the season goes on.”

2.  Citro takes responsibility for team's hiccups. The Titans were all that prepared for the kickoff, and Citro feels he could do a better job despite what the players do on the field.

“Immokalee just took it to us tonight, and we were not ready to play,” Citro said. “That is 100 percent on me, too. I’ve got to do a better job in getting us ready to play. That’s something we’ll have to work on when the bye week comes up.”

3. Immokalee defense made life hard on Golden Gate. Citro was impressed by the Indians “D”, especially Izzy Lobe and Jamesly Jean-Louis.

“Those two had great games,” Citro said. “And their defense was very disciplined. But we didn’t execute well at all. We couldn’t execute at any level tonight. We’ve got to execute.”

– Thomas Corwin

Cypress Lake 48, Estero 9

Cypress Lake brought its aerial circus to the Estero homecoming Friday night, claiming its first District victory.

Estero struck first thanks to a 55-yard strike from Maddox Strewart to Owen Maurizi giving the Wildcats a first-and-goal from the Panthers 10.

Estero ran the ball to the Cypress Lake 4 before the Panthers’ defense stiffened resulting in a Carter Finley 22-yard field goal.

Then the game began to unravel for the Wildcats as Panthers quarterback Joey Dube-Garrett began picking Estero’s defense apart. Two touchdown passes later and Cypress Lake closed out the first quarter with a 14-3 lead.

The second quarter was more of the same as Zeke Dube-Garrett gathered in a short pass from his brother and raced 59 yards for another score with 11:08 left in the half.  That’s three touchdown passes in 5:50.

Dube-Garrett was far from finished tossing two more touchdown passes powering the Panthers to a 42-3 halftime lead with a mind-numbing 322 yards and five touchdown passes.

The clock was now running for the second half and Cypress Lake kept throwing. Dube-Garrett threw his sixth and final touchdown pass of 25 yards to Rashawn Anderson with 10:51 left in the game.

Estero finally managed to get its ground game going against the Panther second-string defense with most of the damage coming from running back Erick Gomez.

Stewart hit Martino Pecoraro on a 5-yard slant to score the game’s final touchdown as the clock clicked down to :00.

The Panthers now stand 1-0 in Class 3A District 13 and 2-4 on the season while Estero slips to 2-4 with its first loss in district play.

Cypress Lake takeaways

1. Who needs a ground game? The Panthers ran the ball eight times. Technically two of the runs were sacks of quarterback Joey Dube-Garrett. The senior must have been arm-weary by night’s end going 23 of 37 for 412 yards and six touchdown passes. “We told him the ball is going to be in your hands tonight. We’re going to throw the ball around and we’re going to go empty and see what they can do,” said Panthers head coach Joey Mendes

2.  Spreading the ball around. Five different Cypress Lake receivers were targeted by Dube-Garrett including brother Zeke who caught 4 balls for 108 yards and two touchdowns. But the big receiving night belonged to Rashawn Anderson who contributed with 11 catches for 228 yards and two touchdown catches.

3. Don’t forget the defense. The Panthers defense frustrated Estero for much of the night. The Wildcats had negative rushing yardage going into the fourth quarter. Cypress Lake limited Estero to just 28 yards on the ground. The defense also developed a major blow recovering an Estero red zone fumble midway through the second quarter that led to another score.  “Eleven after the ball, that’s what we stressed all week, we stress it every week and we did a lot better with tackling this week,” said Mendes.

Estero takeaways

1. Ending on a positive. Down 48-0 with a little more than eight minutes to go, Estero took the ball on its 20 and began driving. Quarterback Maddox Stewart did a good job of mixing up short passes and a grinding ground game to take the Wildcats 80 yards. Maddox ended the night 10 of 20 with 138 yards with one touchdown pass. “We wanted to win the second half and I think we did that,” said Estero head coach Darren Nelson.

2. No surprise. The aerial assault didn’t catch the Wildcats off guard. “I expected them to throw the ball. But our coverage wasn’t ready for the underneath crossing routes and that really hurt us,” said Nelson. “We did a better job with our coverages as the game wore on."

3. A bright spot. Junior kicker Carter Finley is a positive for the Wildcats special team. He’s got a big leg nailing the 22-yard field goal which would have been good from 42. Finley also handles Estero's punting duties and deftly handled the pressure Cypress Lake brought against him.

– John Rinkenbaugh

Island Coast 32, Lemon Bay 26 (2 OT)

ENGLEWOOD - Gervaris Leaphart's 6-yard touchdown run in the second overtime gave Island Coast a 32-26 victory over Lemon Bay in the District 3A-13 opener for both teams Friday night. The win moves Island Coast to 3-3 overall and 1-0 in district play.

The teams traded scores on their first possessions of extra time. The Gators scored first on a 10-yard pass from Dominik Rosado to Kennari Shorter, but Leaphart was stopped just short on a two-point conversion run. Asher Spring scored on a 10-yard run for the Mantas, but a bobbled snap on the PAT attempt kept the game tied.

Lemon Bay got the ball first in the second overtime, but moved backward, giving to Gators the opportunity to win with a score. It took Leaphart two carries to score his third touchdown of the night to give Island Coast the victory.

The teams battled to a 12-12 tie through three quarters, but Lemon Bay put together a 14-play drive that took nine minutes off the clock and took the lead with 2:59 to go on a 1-yard run by Spring. A two-point conversion pass made it 20-12.

The Gators took over on their own 44 after the kickoff and quickly faced a fourth-and-10. Jervontae Johnson made a leaping catch for 16 yards to keep the drive alive and Island Coast scored three plays later when Keenan Moore caught a 25-yard TD pass from Rosado and Leaphart ran in the tying two-point conversion with 1:14 left in regulation.

Earlier, Leaphart scored on 81- and 20-yard runs in the first half, while Spring had a 1-yard run and Adam Schwartz a 36-yard burst up the middle for the Mantas.

Island Coast takeaways

1. The Gators offense had been shut down for most of the second half, but needing to score after Lemon Bay pulled ahead, the Island Coast passing game kicked into gear.

"It was a team effort," Gators coach Tyran Jones said. "All 11 guys came together this summer and said, 'We're going to buy in and take adversity.' We had some challenges at the beginning but we said we want to be in a moment like this and we want to come out on top."

2. After both teams scored at the beginning of overtime, the Gators defense pushed the Mantas backward on their next possession.

"They finally understood after really five quarters what they were doing," Jones said. "They finally dug deep and they finally listened. So much credit to Lemon Bay for what they did tonight. They brought everything out of us."

3. Offensive stars. Leaphart finished with 157 yards on 12 carries for the Gators. Rosado was 12 for 15 passing for 119 yards and two touchdowns.

"That's big for us," Jones said. "We've always been that last-tier team and we want to attempt to change that this year."

The Gators will travel to Charlotte for a non-district contest next week.

– Bruce Robins

Mariner 56, Ida Baker 17

The Tritons picked up their second win of the season and first win in district play as their offense finished the night scoring a touchdown on 7 of 9 drives.

Mariner started the game with an opening drive touchdown and would do so five more times on five more possessions. A pick-six by Kaelan Davidson would help the Tritons score 49 first-half points on their homecoming night.

In the second half with a running clock, the Tritons would find the end zone once more. Quarterback Owen O’Leary tied a school record by passing for five touchdowns and ran for two more scores.

“That’s a pleasant problem,” Mariner head coach, Brian Staats, said after the victory when talking about the options on offense. “When Owen has a chance and we see it well, we can go to a bunch of guys. Even over the course of the game, they change the coverage here or there to stop someone, well someone else comes open.”

Defensively, the Tritons allowed two touchdowns, one being a 2-yard rush by Baker’s Elias Vargus and the other on the first play of the second half as Reed Verblaauw threw the ball over the top of the secondary for a 63-yard score to Carter Long.

Mariner takeaways

1. Kaelan Davidson scored four times and on both sides of the ball. He caught three passes for 54 yards and three touchdowns, all in the first half, and took an interception back 99 yards for a score. His first touchdown came after special teams caused a fumble on the kick return setting him up for an 18-yard score, followed by his longest reception for 34. The pick-six would make it three consecutive scores for Davidson, then on the last play of the half, he would motion across the line of scrimmage and score in the flat for a 2-yard score.

2. Owen O’Leary shows off dual threat ability while tying Triton single game passing TD record. O’Leary would finish the game with 300 all-purpose yards, two rushing touchdowns, and five passing touchdowns. He showed poise in the pocket while his offensive line gave him time to look at his second read on nearly all his drop backs. O’Leary showed his ability to tuck the ball and run as well as carrying the ball 12 times for over 100 yards and got the first two scores of the game using his legs. In each half he also found receiver, Jamarion Corbett, for touchdown passes.

“I run the ball a lot, growing up I was a running back so I’m really confident in the run game,” O’leary said. “The O-line played great, and the play calling was great.”

3. Complete game. Mariner easily reached its season high in points, topping its previous best in an 18-14 win against Bonita Springs. They forced the Bulldogs to punt four times and recovered two turnovers, scoring points both times as well.

Ida Baker takeaways

1. Reed Verblaauw continues to show athletic ability. The senior wears a lot of hats for the Bulldogs as the team's punter, kicker, receiver, and is the team's leading scorer. His ability with his leg allows him to flip field position on punts, and he hauled in four receptions for 74 yards, he passed for a 63-yard touchdown, scored five points as the kicker, and rush for about 25 yards on a field goal attempt where he picked up a fumble and took off getting down inside the 5.

2. Capitalized off short-field opportunities. The Bulldogs' touchdown in the first half came off Mariner missing a chance to get its defense off the field. A fumbled snap on a field goal resulted in the Bulldogs getting inside the 5 and one play after the field goal turned run, Vargus scored on a 3-yard run.

In the second half, Mariner attempted a fake punt from their own 34 and Baker would have a seven-play drive resulting in a field goal.

– Ty Maranzatto

Port Charlotte 56, South Fort Myers 3

PORT CHARLOTTE - The South Fort Myers football team found itself behind the eight ball before the game started after losing its starting quarterback Will Bichler to injury.

The Wolfpack had to rely on freshman James Kelley to run the offense against one of the better defenses in the region. And although he tried his best and flashed some promise, it wasn't nearly enough.

Logan Flaherty threw for four touchdowns, two to Dallas Lambert, and Ike Perry rushed for two more as Port Charlotte won the District 4A-12 opener for both teams.

Port Charlotte scored early and often. Flaherty led the Pirates on a short drive before finding Jaylen Henry on a 7-yard TD pass and a quick 7-0 lead. After another three-and-out and short punt, it took one play for Flaherty to hit Dallas Lambert for the first of his two scores and a 14-0 lead.

Kelley and South Fort Myers (2-3) showed some of that promise on the Wolfpack's next possession, throwing a 21-yard completion to Camiron Hawkins to help set up a Julian Lopez 28-yard field goal late in the first quarter.

It was all Pirates from there as Flaherty heaved a 30-yard scoring strike to Justice Becerill for a 20-3 score after a blocked PAT. After another TD pass to Lambert, the Pirates handed the ball to Perry, who scored two touchdowns late in the first half to make it 42-3 and a running clock for the entire second half.

Juluis Roach and Bruce Blanden added touchdowns late for the Pirates.

Port Charlotte (4-2) had lost its last two games against Venice and First Baptist, two of the top-ranked teams in the state. It prepared them for this game.

South Fort Myers takeaways

1. Tough spot for freshman quarterback. The Pirates defense was not easy on James Kelley and it allowed them to key on running back Victor Jenkins. Jenkins had minus-13 yards rushing in the first half and ended up with 6 yards on 11 carries. Kelley had that one successful drive in the first half and toward the end of the game against Port Charlotte's reserves. He was 9 of 15 for 75 yards, which pleased Wolfpack head coach Matt Holderfield. "James did a really good job. Our problems were not with James. I don't know if we're feeling sorry for ourselves. We had everything going our way and now with this injury we're trying to get right."

2. District play will be a beast for South Fort Myers. In World Cup Soccer, the Wolfpack's district would be called the "Pool of Death." With powerhouses Dunbar and Naples joining Port Charlotte, it's only going to get harder for them. The key, Holderfield said, is to worry less about their opponents and worry about themselves. "We have to find that positivity and the good things we can do for ourselves. We've run into a bump in the road and need to get back on track. Hopefully, we'll be alright. We have to get ready for Cypress Lake."

3. Port Charlotte provided the Wolfpack some valuable lessons. Getting two weeks to prepare for them and watching the way the Pirates run their offense and the way they played against Venice let them know what they were in for. Their games against Riverdale and Fort Myers showed there were things they can do, Holderfield said. "We were able to do things against those teams, but tonight we weren't able to take care of ourselves. Port Charlotte is a great football team. But it's still early in the season."

– Special to The News-Press

Venice 50, Lehigh 7

The Indians (6-0) methodically took care of business on both sides of the ball during the first quarter, outscoring the Lightning (0-5) by 21 in the first nine minutes of play. The Venice offense — led by backup quarterback Alex Schafer — scored on its first two offensive drives, helping the Indians own a 14-0 advantage with 6:00 left in the first. Schafer played a majority of the game, going 11-of-18 for 111 yards, two TDs and an interception. He also rushed for 77 yards and a score.

Lehigh avoided the shutout behind a 65-yard rushing touchdown by Lehigh’s Sean Battle in the third quarter.

The Venice defense stopped two Lehigh drives deep in Indian territory with timely turnovers.

The first was an interception by linebacker Tanner Ruh with Venice up 21-0 in the first quarter, while the other was a red zone fumble recovery in the fourth that prevented the Lightning from scoring double digits on the night.

Additionally, a blocked punt by defensive lineman Brock Hupp in the first half set up Venice for its fifth touchdown of the game during the second quarter.

– Special to The News-Press

Aubrey Rogers 52, Bonita Springs 34

Caden DiLoreto threw seven touchdown passes, two each to Romeo Sararo, Trevon James and Alex Konstantopolous and one to Cullen Wentworth as the Patriots improved to 3-2. Patriots kicker Carter BeBee was 7 for 7 on point after attempts hit one field goal from 40 yards.

– Staff Reports

LaBelle 42, Avon Park 0

Steaver Moore, Wyatt Milks, and Marquay Bradshaw scored first-half touchdowns on offense and Aaron Garcia picked up a fumble for a score as the Cowboys built a 28-0 halftime lead. Aldrich Myer picked up a blocked punt by Luar Cuellar for a score and Bradshaw scored a second touchdown as LaBelle improved to 6-1.

– Staff Reports

OTHER SCORES

Community School 58, St. John Neumann 13

Gulf Coast 42, Palmetto Ridge 0

– Staff Reports

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Week 6 Roundup: Cape, North Fort Myers, Bishop Verot, Riverdale, Immokalee, Lely, Cypress win