NORTH PORT — The North Port football team struggled to get out of its own way on the climb back to .500 against DeSoto County in a game that was moved to Monday night due to Hurricane Helene.
The Bobcats led wire-to-wire in a 40-6 win in which they held the Bulldogs to 46 yards from scrimmage, but also lost three fumbles, muffed a punt and committed 115 yards worth of penalties along the way at North Port High School.
“That absolutely bugs me because it’s like, ‘OK how do we find the right discipline to get these guys to not do stupid penalties,’” said North Port coach Garon Belser, whose team incurred 11 personal fouls or unsportsmanlike penalties in its last game, a 33-21 loss to Key West. “We’re clearly winning by a lot, so like, why? You can try to justify it by saying we have some edge, but they have to be smart.
“We have to hammer discipline and keep these guys accountable.”
If not for the miscues, North Port likely could have reached a running-clock margin early in the second half.
A fumble and personal fouls stalled North Port early, keeping the Bobcats off the board until Kadyn Palmer ripped off a 30-yard touchdown run with 58.9 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
The Bobcats added one more touchdown before halftime — a six-yard rush by Peter Kalphat — but a muffed punt and a fumble stopped them from adding on to their lead.
Once the second half started, North Port put its foot on the gas.
North Port scored four second-half touchdowns on a three-yard run by Kalphat, a 17-yard run by Palmer, a six-yard pass from quarterback Gino DiBene to Palmer and a 70-yard run by Isaac Smith.
DeSoto County quarterback/safety Rylan Unruh prevented his team from being shut out when he snatched up a North Port fumble and returned it 10 yards for a touchdown with 4:21 to play.
By the end of the onslaught, four Bobcats ball carriers recorded 50+ rushing yards, including Smith (129 yards), Palmer (89 yards), DiBene (56 yards) and Kalphat (55 yards).
“I think part of it was not practicing for a few days, and I hate that excuse,” Belser said of the penalties and mistakes. “Not practicing didn’t help us, and I really think our guys underestimated those guys, which was my biggest worry. They came out and played flat, and that’s why the first half went the way it went. That was the most frustrating part.”
KEY STATS: The Bulldogs struggled to get their offense going coming off their first win since 2022, and it gave them little-to-no chance against the Bobcats. Christopher Lincoln Jr. led the offense with nine rushes for 25 yards. Aside from him, the next leading ball-carrier, Caleb Thompkins, had six rushes for 12 yards.
Unruh was held to 4-of-15 passing for 14 yards, with one pass intercepted by Makai Bernard.
KEY PLAYS: Palmer had several chunk plays during his three-touchdown night, but the most important ones came early. He ran for 31 yards on a 4th and 20 that set up his 30-yard touchdown run at the end of the first quarter, which helped jolt North Port out of its slow start.
A 30-yard run by DiBene on North Port’s opening drive of the second half led to a three-yard touchdown by Kalphat that put North Port up, 20-0, and in firm control of the game.
QUICK HITS: The win gives North Port a chance to finish with a winning season a year after recording the first winning season in program history.
The Bobcats (3-3) have four games remaining against Bayshore (0-5), Hardee (2-3), Mulberry (5-0) and Lemon Bay (1-4).
QUOTE: “I think there’s a very strong possibility. We have a good chance to put on a good run here. We have some tough cookies coming up after a bye week with Mulberry and Hardee. But I think our kids will do well if we keep focusing on discipline and doing things the right way. That’s my biggest thing.” — Belser on finishing with an above-.500 record
BOYS GOLF
Charlotte 162, DeSoto County 174: At Twin Isles Country Club, Charlotte’s Miguel Guzman matched DeSoto County’s reigning two-time Golfer of the Year Marquez Angeles shot for shot as the Tarpons’ depth led to victory.
Guzman and Angeles each fired a 38 for medalist honors, but it was the Charlotte duo of Cooper McLaughlin and Tanner White who paved the way to victory for the Tarpons, each carding 41s.
Madonna Sullivan’s 42 sealed the deal for Charlotte.
Monday’s match was the beginning of a busy week for the Tarpons, who will travel to North Port on Tuesday, then on to The Palms at Rotonda for the final round of the Charlotte County Championship.
Local News
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