SW FL Week 1 high school football: South, Bishop Verot, Naples, FBA, Fort Myers notch wins

A roundup of high school football games played in Southwest Florida on Thursday, August 22 and Friday, August 23

SW Florida high school football: Your guide to the 2024 season in Lee, Collier and LaBelle

SATURDAY

South Fort Myers 54, Gateway 19

The Wolfpack clearly had their morning coffee.

In a game rescheduled from Thursday, South got it done on the ground and through the air, piling up more than 500 yards of offense against Gateway.

“It would’ve been nice to get this over with Thursday night, but it is what it is,” South head coach Matt Holderfield said. “We’re only worried about us. That’s not disrespectful to any other team. We’re just trying to make sure we’re playing the best South can play, and we didn’t really do that perfect today, but it’s a start for Week 1.”

The team scored five touchdowns in the first quarter and continued to create big plays with several different players getting in on the action.

On the first play from scrimmage, South quarterback Will Bichler found Joshua Raphael downfield for a 38-yard completion and finished the drive with a score on a quarterback sneak.

He also connected with Kah’ni Watts for a 9-yard touchdown.

Gateway responded when Justin Jean-Louis put together a few good gains on the ground, completing the drive with a 69-yard touchdown run.

South answered back immedialy with and 80-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Jimarien Braxton, who also scored a 7-yard rsuhing touchdown.

Wolfpack running back Victor Jenkins added to the South first quarter onslaught with a 5-yard touchdown.

The second quarter was quieter until the last minute when, set up by a Pierre Holmes interception, Jenkins took one 80 yards to the house.

Getting good field position off the return, Gateway quarterback Ty Williams found Chris Davis, who shed his defender for a 40-yard touchdown as the half expired to make it 40-13.

The Wolfpack kept it going in the second half – backed up in his own territory, Bichler hit Tadarien Green who made multiple tacklers miss for a 99-yard touchdown. Bichler also zipped a 6-yard touchdown pass to Nathan Ogrodzinski to make it a running clock.

Williams found Anjay Boyd with a fade for a 19-yard touchdown in the game’s last scoring play.

“We just have to understand that we have to stay within ourselves, play our game, not make mistakes because, ultimately, that is what cost us the game,” Gateway head coach Charles Powell said.

South Fort Myers takeaways

1. Opponents are going to have to worry about the Wolfpack offense. Jenkins looks even faster than last season and finished the game with 174 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries. The team has multiple big-bodied playmakers in Raphael, Watts, Braxton and Green.

Holderfield said the challenge has been getting everything to mesh together and praised his first-year offensive coordinator Sean Downing.

Bichler, in his first game as a starter, went 16-of-25 for 326 yards and three touchdowns, plus a rushing score.

“It sort of speaks for itself,” Holderfield said. “There’s still little things that Will can do better, but he definitely has command of the offense. I think we knew last year that Will was pretty much ready to make that next step.”

2. There were lapses on defense and special teams, but some encouraging signs too. The defense came away with three interceptions from Green, Holmes and Watts, and Za’Jarrius Gibson blocked a punt that set up a South touchdown.

“We want our kids to play aggressive and fast and mean,” he said.

3. Next week’s matchup against Riverdale will be intriguing. The Raiders’ coaching staff includes a former assistant in head coach Kendoll Gibson and South’s head coach the past five years in offensive coordinator Willis May. However, that is not a focus for South coming into the contest.

“We know what’s coming,” Holderfield said. “We know who’s over there, but our goal right now is to be the best South we can be.”

Gateway takeaways

1. Missed tackles doomed the Eagles. Powell thought his players up front made some good plays against the run, but once any South player got to the second level, that spelled trouble for Gateway.

“That’s was our biggest downfall today – a lot of big plays, a lot of explosive plays,” he said. “Once they got to the secondary, we just couldn’t tackle.”

2. Have a day, Chris Davis. The 6-foot-4 receiver caught eight passes for 137 yards and a touchdown against South.

“I love Chris Davis’ play,” Powell said. “I think we need to get him the ball more.”

3. The return game was a bright spot. Jayden Starr-Howard gave the South kickoff team fits, flipping the field multiple times with swift returns up the sideline.

“Blocks were set up well, and he was just hitting the hole,” Powell said. “And with his speed, he can get to the outside.”

— Dustin Levy

FRIDAY NIGHT

Bishop Verot 48, Jesuit 34

Tampa Jesuit handed Bishop Verot its only regular-season loss last season.

It took Marquan Young 16 seconds to show this year would be different. After bobbling the opening kickoff at his goal line he found a seam and raced 100 yards for a touchdown. It was the first of many for the Vikings, who would score in all three phases in a dominating 48-34 win.

Verot’s ability to put points on the board was on full display in the first half as Ira Dale scored on a 78-yard run on the Vikings’ second play from scrimmage with a JJ Bolz two-point run added on. After a rare punt (one of only two in the game), Verot found the end zone again on defense as Justin Rode picked off Jesuit quarterback Will Griffin and returned it 30 yards for a 22-7 lead with 1:31 left in the first quarter.

“We take a lot of pride in working all those extra details,” Verot coach Richie Rode said. “And to see that come to fruition, I'm really happy for the boys, for Quan hitting the kickoff touchdown to start the game. What an instant spark. And then, you know, obviously seeing the pick-six was really cool for a couple reasons. I never had a doubt in our offense … We never worried. We knew what we had. We knew what we had to do. And it was good to see us get back to that.”

S.J. Green answered for the Tigers with a 90-yard kickoff return but Verot kept rolling as Carter Smith capped a 75-yard drive with a 30-yard touchdown pass to Ayden Gonzalez to make it 29-14 and after a Griffin to Trent Teeling 31-yard score, Smith ran it in from 4 yards to make it 36-20 with 7:29 left in the second quarter.

After a defensive stand on fourth down at their own 32, Verot drove again with tight end Leo Berman catching a ball tipped by a defensive back and dove to catch the 12-yard throw for a touchdown and a 42-20 lead, which the Vikings carried into the half.

Jesuit came out in the second half and drove for a score to make it 42-27 but it was on the Vikings' next possession where Verot made the pivotal decision. Facing fourth-and-goal from the 6, they decided to go for it and Smith rolled right, put his head down and dove into the end zone for a back-breaking touchdown and a 48-27 lead with 3:01 left in the third.

“I was getting in either way,” said Smith, who completed 12-of-18 passes for 144 yards and two scores and carried 8 times for 31 yards and two scores. “There was no stopping it, but even if I didn't, you know, I had full faith in my defense, we would have gotten a stop, and I would have got the ball right back. So, you know, life is good right now.”

Bishop Verot takeaways

1. Vikings defense shows out. Yes, the scoreboard showed Jesuit scored 34 points but that doesn’t really tell the defense’s tale. Trailing 36-20 midway through the second quarter, Jesuit drove to the Verot 33 and faced fourth-and-3. Griffin threw a quick pass to Green, but he was gang-tackled for only a 1-yard gain and a turnover on downs. On their next series, Jesuit drove to the Verot 24 and faced third-and-3. The Vikings again answered with back-to-back sacks by Micah Anderson and Ryan Peterson to preserve a 42-20 lead. And Jesuit suffered a third turnover on downs with 11 minutes left in the game in Verot territory and the series after that Jesuit’s Green was stripped at the 1 and Bolz recovered it in the end zone for a touchback.

Griffin, a Florida commit, completed 31-of-47 passes for 305 yards and one score, but his longest pass play went for 41 yards as the Vikings made him settle for shorter throws. Notre Dame commit Justin Thurman had 99 yards on 20 carries and scored three touchdowns, but one came with 18 seconds left in garbage time.

“The defense played great,” Richie Rode said. “You know, (34 points) is deceiving. It's a cheap one at the end, which we wanted to stop them, but it's all good. And then a kick return, which I'm disappointed with our kickoff team. We got to fix that. But that's not on the defense. The defense scored one. So now, really, they're negative 14 on that, which I'll take all day long. That's a really good team, a really good offense.”

Then, of course, there was the pick-six by Justin Rode, who may have earned some extra dessert at the dinner table this week at home.

“That's my first one of my career. I just felt good. I saw the ball come my way. I had to do something with it,” Justin Rode said.

Added the proud father Richie: “He's worked really hard, and he's earned his spot, and he's earned the respect to the team. And to see that as a defense, I get really, really excited. And then, you know, when I leave the field here to see it as a dad, man, I'm so proud.”

2. Verot has a weapon at tight end. Berman showed he had hands. Two of his four catches were grabs thrown behind him and then the tip-drill catching the end zone. Overall, he led the team in catches (4) and yards (49) and had the one score. When not hauling in passes he was working the end of the line as a blocker.

“Being around Carter for four years and working every day and catching balls every day. And when you get your moment and you're ready, this is what happens,” Berman said.

Added Smith, “Leo and I are great friends. I mean, obviously we have a great connection on the field, but an even better one off the field. You know, I love him to death. We worked hard over the summer, working on kind of his routes from tight end and obviously, it's showing now. It’s fun to see.”

3. Special teams (mostly) special. Young opened the game with his big kick return and Marquis Young had a 49-yard return in the second quarter that set the Vikings up at the Jesuit 45, a drive that ended in Smith’s 4-yard touchdown. Smith punted twice, sending high arching kicks 39 yards and 36 yards, both flipping field position. The only blemishes were the Green 90-yard kick return following Rode’s pick-six and an attempted onside kick that didn’t go 10 yards.

— Ed Reed

Naples 47, Riverview 14

After a week of practice in which Naples coach Rick Martin challenged his team, the Golden Eagles delivered.

And it happened with the blink of an eye. Naples running back Caleb Dume opened the game with a 75-yard rush before Shawn Simeon capped off the drive with a 5-yard score a play later.

“We got out of the gate exactly the way we wanted to,” Martin said.

From there, Naples never looked back, posting 437 yards of offense in a 47-14 blowout of the visiting Rams. Friday’s 33-point margin over Riverview was the largest margin of victory in the MaxPreps era for either side, as the last four contests dating back to 2004 were decided by a combined 35 points.

Riverview’s offense was under duress from the Naples front seven from the outset, as Khari Bendolph notched his first sack of the season just 99 seconds into the season. Quarterback Anthony Miller fumbled, and the Golden Eagles forced a safety.

Naples takeaways

1. Defense, defense, defense. The Golden Eagles continued to make life miserable for opponents on the ground, limiting Riverview to minus-5 yards rushing. Bendolph, Albertini Tenor, and LaCarlos McGee all notched sacks, while Eli Chery blocked a pair of punts on special teams.

“Anytime you give me the opportunity, I’m gonna tell you: I’ve got one of the best impressive defensive staffs in the entire country,” Martin said. “Those guys work their tails off to get them boys right. Our special teams with coach (Derek) Woods and coach (Adam) Weikel. The other coaches that do a great job in practice all week long, getting these guys ready. It’s a mindset for us – we know we have to play all three phases. We also know that all of our guys can be special. All of our guys at any point can change the momentum of a game. That’s really what we’re about this year.”

2. Saint Jean. The near 1,700-yard rusher at Golden Gate showed he’d be able to find his place in the Naples backfield, taking advantage of his 8 offensive touches. Jean went for 134 yards and three scores, making his mark early on against a physical Rams defense that had trouble tackling the senior.

“He just keeps getting better,” Martin said. “When he got here, that was the gameplan. Let’s just take it slow, let’s be simple, and let’s let him be comfortable in this thing. He just continues to grow, and I can’t wait to keep watching him get better every week.”

3. Molina flashes again. The junior quarterback completed both of his pass attempts for 60 yards, and added 19 rushing yards on the ground with a pair of touchdowns. Molina broke ankles on the touchdown run, tip-toeing the sideline to stretch the lead to 32-7 in the first quarter.

Riverview takeaways

1. Keep slinging it. Despite the pressure Miller faced against the Naples defense, he had some solid moments too in the Ram’s RPO system. Miller completed less than half of his passes going 7 of 16, but threw for 196 yards and two touchdowns. Jaden Wheeler and Yahshua Edwards both managed to capitalize on Naples coverage busts, scoring from 84 and 32 yards, respectively.

2. Sloppy. The minus-5 rushing yards for Riverview wasn’t on a single person, but a healthy spread of protection breakdowns, bad snaps, and penalties plagued the Rams throughout Friday night. As a team, Riverview finished with 191 yards offensively, all of which Miller was responsible for through the air.

3. Resilient. The defensive effort out of the second half was stout, as the defensive line managed to bottle up Shawn Simeon for short gains. The Toledo commit finished with 97 yards on 18 attempts, a respectable statistic against a 2,000-yard rusher who closed the 2023 season as good as anyone in the state.

— Alex Martin

Fort Myers 35, Mariner 7

Boom-or-bust defined the matchup between Fort Myers and Mariner on Friday night.

It started with the first play from scrimmage when Fort Myers’ John Holcy parted the Mariner defense and ran 74 yards for a touchdown. It was one of three plays in the game that went for more than 70 yards.

However, the contest wasn’t all razzle dazzle as the teams combined for more than 150 penalty yards.

“We should have made a big jump this week, and I don’t think we did,” Fort Myers head coach Sam Sirianni said. “That’s on me. I’ll take responsibility, but we just got to get better. Flash and dash gets you so far.”

The Greenies played lights out defense, consistently giving the team good field position, but the offense wasn’t always able to capitalize with turnovers and penalties holding them back.

Fort Myers extended their lead with a Mac Thompson 8-yard touchdown in the first quarter. The Greenies wouldn’t score again until just before halftime when Mariner was flagged for roughing the kicker on a field goal attempt. This set up a 10-yard touchdown pass from Dom Ardezzone to Madrid Tucker.

The Tritons responded right out of halftime when quarterback Kaelen Davidson found the edge and put on the burners for an 80-yard touchdown.

Fort Myers answered back as if it was a track meet with a 75-yard touchdown run by Jyden German.

The Greenies would get in the end zone one additional time when a scrambling Tucker hit Landon Wolny for a 16-yard touchdown.

“They’re good, and we weren’t quite as good as we needed to be tonight is what it comes down to,” Mariner head coach Brian Staats said.

Fort Myers takeaways

1. Outside of the Davidson touchdown run, the defense played phenomenal. On the first defensive series, Tucker stripped the Mariner ball carrier and Adrian Burdette recovered. Micky Georges also recovered a fumble on a botched handoff.

Kendall Guervil led the defensive line to limit the Triton run game, and John St. Surin, Holcy and Thompson helped plug the holes.

“Our defense did more than enough to give our offense a chance to really light up the scoreboard,” Sirianni said.

2. The offense is a work in progress. Despite the fireworks, Sirianni was not pleased with the execution on that side of the ball. The team has multiple players – Ardezzone, Tucker and Aadi Chaudhari – cycling in under center. Ardezzone had the most pass attempts, completing 7 of 9 passes for 74 yards and a touchdown, while Tucker scrambled for 34 yards on four attempts and found Wolny for a score.

“It’s a unique situation, breaking in new quarterbacks,” Sirianni said. “It’s a big puzzle, and offense always takes a while. So I understand that. Thankfully our defense is playing pretty good football right now, but offensively we’ve got to step up to the plate.”

3. Strong special teams boosted Fort Myers in the field position battle. Vaughn Lennon only punted once but was able to pin the Tritons inside the 5 yard line. On kickoffs, he went 5-for-5 in touchbacks.

Mariner takeaways

1. Davidson is going to make a lot of plays in a Mariner uniform. He finished the game with 13 carries for 138 yards and a touchdown.

“He’s just explosive, and that’s one of the reason he’s back there is take one of your best kids and put the ball in his hands every play,” Staats said.

Outside of Davidson, the Mariner offense was, like the night’s conditions, stuck in mud. Only one other play – a 17-yard run by Eric David – exceeded 15 yards for the Tritons.

2. The Tritons had too many backbreakers on defense. Despite some good play from Jesse Wilson and Shedrick Townsend, and takeaways by Jamarion Corbett and Jesse Wilson, Mariner couldn’t avoid giving up big gains that set them back in the matchup.

“Giving up the big plays hurt us, and then we didn’t have enough big plays on offense,” Staats said.

3. Staats felt his team was closer to being in this than the final score indicated. He cited “seven or eight” plays where the offense was on the brink of a breakout play.

“We can’t change it, but we can go about the business of fixing it, and that’s what we’re going to do come Monday,” he said.

— Dustin Levy

First Baptist 49, Westside (Ga.) 0

First Baptist Academy didn’t leave room for doubt in its first offering of the 2024 season.

The Lions 49-0 crushing win against Westside (Ga.) at home Friday was their largest shutout home victory in nearly three years. They beat Evangelical Christian 47-0 on September 24, 2021.

For First Baptist coach Billy Sparacio, he was most impressed with the teams balanced effort. Four different players accounted for the seven touchdowns the Lions scored.

“I was pleasantly surprised at our energy,” Sparacio said. “I thought the kids executed well for week one. You know, I was really pleased with that. I thought they played well as a team, and I was just pleased with both offense and defensive lines.

First Baptist takeaways

1. On a team with many playmakers, running back Sam Sparacio’s performance arguably stood out the most on Friday. Sparacio found the end zone in three different ways. He set the tone by returning the opening kickoff 80 yards to the house then he rushed for a touchdown on the Lions opening drive. In the second quarter Sparacio broke free and caught a pass for big gain that resulted in his third score. His versatility could prove to be vital for the Lions this season.

“He's a good athlete,” Billy Sparacio said of his son. “He does a lot of things for us, running the ball, catching the ball, just getting him in space is a good thing for us. He does well in space.”

2. The Lions defense proved to be way more than the Seminoles could handle on Friday. Westside runs were stifled by FBA’s front line and passes were broken up by the secondary. By the time the Seminoles were able to piece together a long-standing drive, the game was already out of reach.

“I just think we played great team defense,” I think our coaches did a great job getting them prepared and educating them and putting them in the right spots. But the kids made the plays and they played. They just swam to the football.

3. It’s hard to see the downside in a win as dominant as the Lions had on Friday night. But if First Baptist hopes to claim state title honors once again there's a few things the team needs to clean up. “We dropped some balls,” Sparacio said. “I think we got to continue to work on our run game. I think we got to tackle better. There's a lot to work on, but I was really proud of their effort.”

— Aaron Mammah

Archbishop McCarthy 23, Community School 6

Community School of Naples fell in their home opener on Friday after struggling to piece together momentum on either side of the ball.

Archbishop McCarthy found success on the ground, and put together around 300 rushing yards with quarterback Robert Kearns leading the charge. The Seahawks never managed to put a stop to Kearn’s keepers despite having the size advantage in the trenches.

CSN’s depth of talent couldn’t click in their first game of the year. There were bright spots in the loss, but little things like missed blocks, penalties, and misreads kept the door closed for the Seahawks, who managed just a pair of field goals.

The Seahawks set up a challenging schedule, and starting the season against an Archbishop McCarthy squad that went 9-0 last year was no accident.

“My message to the kids is that we put together a hard schedule,” said head coach Mike Stannard. “It’s one of the hardest ones out there. The thought process being, if you look at Trinity Catholic last year, they did the same thing. They were 3-6 at the end of the regular season, I want to say, and then ran their butt all the way to the state title game because they were used to excellent competition.”

Community School takeaways

1. The Seahawk defense was gashed all night. Kearns went for 124 yards on the ground with ten carries, including a 54-yard touchdown in the first quarter, while Damien Grant added about 100 rushing yards on 12 touches. The Mavericks tallied eight carries of 10 or more yards, many of which came from behind the sticks.

Archbishop McCarthy put together some big plays in the air as well, including a 56-yard touchdown pass from Kearns to Ja’Kobi Williams.

Stannard sent Ole Miss commit TJ Hedrick and Adidas All-American George Haseotes to the defensive line on pivotal series, and that’s when the Seahawks pieced together some stops. But when they were on the sideline, the Mavericks had little issues moving the ball

“The main message to them is that y’all need to come together and understand we’ve got some things to fix, and if we fix them usually your biggest improvement is between weeks one and two,” Stannard said.

2. The loaded CSN roster is still finding its groove. If the Seahawks had played a preseason game, it may have helped the process along. As Stannard said, the Seahawks left a lot of points off the board because this was their first test against another opponent, and the offense had trouble converting in the red zone.

Cale Austin finished the night 16-of-27 with two interceptions, while a frustrated Jayce Cora didn’t see his targets increase until later in the game despite finding himself open more often than not.

Cora, who was regularly defended by a Maverick at least eight inches shorter than him, went the entire first quarter without a target, and finished the first half with three targets. He finished the game with five receptions for 90 yards.

“Honestly it was first game stuff,” head coach Mike Stannard said. “A lot of mental errors, a lot of missed opportunities. There were a lot of things we could’ve capitalized on. We probably left 28, 35 points out there. It’s just a first game deal, if that makes sense.”

3. Jayvian Tanelus will be a key part to a balanced Seahawk offense. Tanelus tallied about 90 yards on 14 tries. His yards-after-contact moved the sticks often in the loss, and he was the most consistent part of the offense.

While the rest of the offense builds cohesion, Tanelus will be the ever-constant anchor, especially with Hedrick and Haseotes on the line. Charlie Youngs added some effective rushes as well, and finished with 54 yards on six carries.

— Nick Wilson

East Lee County 33, Lehigh 13

With the “Beast of the East” trophy securely in the hands of the Lehigh Senior High School football program for the past 10 seasons, it was only fitting that East Lee County end the streak on the Lightning’s home turf Friday night. Capitalizing on several Lehigh errors on special teams, the Jaguars cruised to a win in their season-opener.

After a safety, East found the end zone early when junior Javirin Singleton rushed for a 6-yard touchdown to give the Jaguars a 9-0 lead in the first. After another snap miscue that led to a safety for the Lightning, East running back and Northern Illinois commit Laz Rogers rushed up the middle for a 7-yard touchdown, his first of two on the night. Rogers finished with 17 carries for 118 yards.

Just before halftime the Lightning finally got going when senior quarterback Ladarius Ridley connected on a 54-yard pass to senior Shawn Pierre to set up Ridley's 4-yard rushing touchdown to get the Lightning on the scoreboard. Despite a strong defensive effort by Lehigh and senior tackle Jeremiah Rugama, who finished with four sacks, East's defense matched their opponent’s intensity with sophomore tackle Bomani Francis spending much of the game wreaking havoc in Lehigh’s backfield.

East Lee takeaways

1. Accountability worked to fix errors from the previous week . Last week against Ida Baker, the Jaguars were bitten by the penalty bug on numerous occasions. Friday against Lehigh, the Jaguars were a more disciplined team with coach Herbans Paul crediting some physical 'encouragement. “Gassers, we ran them first thing Monday morning," Paul said.

2. The rivalry between the Lightning and the Jaguars is shaping up to be one of the best in the area . Paul remarked on the history of the rivalry as a former player at East, and he lamented on feeling “disrespected for not being allowed to play the game last year.” He stated when he took the job at East his goal was to make the Jaguars one of the most respected programs in Lee County.

3. Rogers stars . The explosive back showed again why he is one of the top talents in the area. With his power running, the Jaguars were able to control most of the game clock to their advantage.

Lehigh takeaways

1 . Tough defense shined through adversity. In addition to Rugama’s play, Lehigh found a spark with junior Jai’kee Robinson getting a pick-six midway through the third quarter. Lehigh’s never-quit attitude is a bright spot in the difficult start to the season for coach Antwan Dixon.

2. “Turnovers, tackling, and discipline.” That's what Dixon summed up as the biggest obstacles facing the Lightning at the moment. He added his main priority for the coming week is to focus on the little things.

3. The Lightning must rebound quickly . Lehigh has no time to feel sorry for themselves after tonight’s contest because next week they travel to Edison Stadium to take on Fort Myers.

— Melvin Whitlock

Immokalee 59, Barron Collier 28

A strong running game turned into a running clock – as well as an easy victory – for the Indians Friday night at Cougar Stadium.

Immokalee piled up more than 400 rushing yards to power past Barron Collier in the season opener for both teams.

Jontay Hais led the Indians with 287 yards on the ground scoring three touchdowns, while Jayden Mixon added 171 rushing yards and another score.

Barron Collier takeaways

1. The Cougars couldn’t overcome a slow start. Barron Collier head coach Jackson felt the Indians controlled the game from the outset. “You have to give them credit for the way they had control,” he said. “They deserve respect for the way they took it to us tonight on both sides of the ball. We came into the game injured tonight but it was no excuse.”

2. Barron had two offensive bright spots. Quarterback Niko Boyce passed for 121 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for another score. Simon Hincapie added 135 rushing yards.

3. Too many mistakes for the Cougars. “We moved the ball well several times, but then we shot ourselves in the foot,” Jackson said. “I was proud of that, and the fact that we finished the game well.”

Immokalee takeaways

1. The Indians put the hammer down early. With three scores in the first nine minutes, Immokalee was well on its way to winning its opener. The Indian backfield made a lot of its own opportunities. “The running backs did a great job of finding the holes,” Delgado said. “The offense found a way to win, which is special.”

2. Turnovers helped Immokalee pull away. Marshon Jackson picked off a Boyce pass in the end zone in the first quarter. Gilbert Charles also had a pick deep in Immokalee territory late in the first half. Quinton Anderson also intercepted Boyce in the fourth quarter, returning it 47 yards for a touchdown.

3. The Indians won the battle in the trenches. Delgado liked the play of his offensive line Friday night. “We were very physical up front,” he said. “It all starts there, you know? Barron Collier did a good job of changing things up on defense. On defense, our defensive line kept Boyce in the pocket. We couldn’t let him make easy throws. We wanted them to be honest throws.”

— Tom Corwin

Riverdale 42, Estero 14

The visiting Raiders spoiled the debut of the new turf field at Jeff Sommer Stadium, scoring in all three phases of the game and unveiling a surprisingly effective passing attack.

Riverdale (1-0) opened the game with a 12-play scoring march, capped by quarterback Theo Harris Jr.’s four-yard touchdown run.

Estero (0-1) quickly answered, knotting the score on sophomore quarterback Maddox Stewart’s 14-yard scoring strike to Owen Maurizi.

The Raiders built a 22-14 cushion, aided by a 32-yard interception return for a score by Carlton Williams.

Riverdale grabbed control for good early in the third quarter when LaTroy Pender blocked an Estero punt then picked up the ball and raced into the end zone.

Riverdale takeaways

1. Riverdale showed off a balanced attack . The Raiders ran the ball 28 times and threw it 25. In addition, the Raiders played two quarterbacks with Harris Jr. (109 passing yards) and Tykeem Parker accounting for three touchdowns on the ground.  Riverdale ended the game with 308 yards of total offense.

2. Pick-six a turning point. Raiders coach Kendoll Gibson said Williams’ interception allowed them to play what he called ‘Riverdale football.’  “We can be really good, if we limit mistakes and do what we do,” he said. “Now we’ve shown everybody we can run the ball and pass the ball.”

3. Raiders are strong up the middle. Running into the teeth of the Riverdale defense isn’t going to be easy.  The interior features 6-foot-6, 380-pound junior Jabbarry Belfleur, who clogged up the middle against Estero and showed surprising agility for a young man of his size.

Estero takeaways

1. Wildcats are better team than Friday’s score. The two touchdown returns and three killer penalties were the difference in the game.  Despite the departure of two key starters including star running back Malik Allen, Estero coach Darren Nelson said his squad is going to surprise people.  “This team showed me we have some fight and we’re not going to go quietly into the night,” he said.

2. Stewart is Estero’s X-factor. The Wildcats will likely go only as far as Stewart can carry them.  Despite facing constant pressure, the sophomore passer completed 14 of 25 attempts for 225 yards and two touchdowns, including a 49-yard bomb to Waldo Roca. He also showed some running ability but a handful of Riverdale sacks and an errant snap that resulted in a 20-yard loss proved costly for the Estero offense.

3. A three-headed running attack The trio of Landon Brown, Nathan Watters and Elijah Westfall will try to replace the departed Allen, who recently transferred to Orlando’s Lake Nona. The three backs racked up 112 yards on 25 carries, a respectable effort given Estero was forced to pass in an effort to get back into the game.

— John Rinkenbaugh

North Fort Myers 7, Cape Coral 0

The Red Knights opened their season with a win on the road against the Seahawks as the defense led the way and second-string quarterback Caleb Curls, found the end zone for the game's lone score late in the third quarter.

The tone for a tight defensive game was set on the second snap of the game. Cape Coral’s defense recovered a fumble inside North’s 45. This would be the first of three turnovers in the first half for the Seahawks’ defense.

North’s defense caused just as much chaos in opening two quarters as they allowed only about 50 yards.

Both teams lost their starting quarterbacks to early injuries. North junior Caedon Conn left the game with a knee injury and did not return while Cape senior Ivan Harvin missed the final drive in the first half but did get back on the field in the second.

North grabbed the momentum by securing a fumble on the first play of Cape Coral’s opening drive of the third quarter and with the help of two unsportsmanlike penalties, took over on the Seahawks’ 20-yard line. Seven plays later, Curls found the end zone on the read option from about the 2-yard line for the game’s only score.

North Fort Myers takeaways

1. Limit the mistakes. North allowed fumbled snaps and snaps over quarterbacks' head along with flags early in drives that set their offense up with bigger holes to dig out of. Continuing their performance of last week, the running game did shine at times with Kirtis Denham, Christian Weber, and Kayden Capaldi all toting the rock. However, when set up with 1st and 2nd downs longer than 10 yards it's harder to move the chains on the ground. The Knights had 3 fumbled snaps and 3 flags that had negative yardage outcomes,

2. James Johnson and defensive front continue to disrupt offenses. Johnson and Adrian Rivera showed up on money downs to force a stop to a Seahawks’ threat late in the game but throughout the game, Cape’s quarterbacks did not have much time in the. “They got after the quarterback, made the quarterback move around, eliminated the run,” North coach David Pasquale said.

3. Curls stepped up. After Conn’s injury, Curls was called upon to lead a run-heavy offense and used his legs to pick up first downs for the Red Knights, rushing for 42 yards and a touchdown.

Cape Coral takeaways

1. Missed opportunities on offense . Cape looked to run first and allow its quarterbacks to create opportunities with their legs anytime they see open grass. The offense had opportunities to tie the game up but were not able to complete a drive start to finish although there were glimpses of what the offense could do.

2. Strong defensive effort. The Seahawks took the fight to North, creating opportunities for their offense while fighting for field position. In the second half, Cape’s defense forced North to punt three times. It was a marked change from last year’s meeting which saw North running-clock the Seahawks 49-7.

3. Find a way to finish. Cape’s offense had three drives inside North’s 25-yard line but could not capitalize.

— Ty Maranzatto

Charlotte 27, Gulf Coast 6

You are not going to win many games when you turn the ball over five times and play atrocious special teams.

That is what Gulf Coast did in its season opener against Charlotte, turning it over five times while allowing Charlotte to block a punt, return a muffed punt for a touchdown and have a negative punt in the season opener for both teams.

Jackson Hay scored twice while Teagen Lipke threw for a touchdown and ran for another while the defense allowed just 80 yards of total offense and got those aforementioned turnovers.

It was a bizarre first quarter as Gulf Coast didn't run a single offensive play. That's because Charlotte went on two long drives, the first of which ended in a blocked field goal by Macly Lormil, who took it and ran 85 yards for a touchdown and a 6-0 lead after a missed PAT.

The other was stopped inside the Sharks five. However, a punt of minus-2 yards gave the Tarpons the ball at the three, Hay scored his first touchdown two plays later to give Charlotte a 7-6 lead.

Charlotte's next possession was a three-and-out. Levi Wooten's punt went straight in the air and in the scrum at the line of scrimmage where a Shark touched the ball. Trent Curliss took the muff and dashed 75 yards for a touchdown and a 13-6 lead after a missed two-point try at the half.

Charlotte nearly let the Sharks back into the game when a bad snap on a punt gave them the ball at their 23. However, Luke Wadsworth came up with the huge interception to deny the threat.

That proved costly as Lipke hit Hay with an 18-yard connection for a score, and after Curliss recovered a fumble, Lipke dashed on a 17-yard quarterback draw to paydirt and a 27-6 lead late in the third.

Charlotte later blocked a punt and got interceptions from Seven Bullock and Damarco Fryzowski.

Gulf Coast takeaways

1. The Sharks really need to work on special teams. Charlotte didn't exactly bring the house down with theirs, either. But Gulf Coast had a muffed punt brought to the house, a punt blocked, missed an extra point and had two really bad punts. They returned a blocked field goal for a touchdown, but there were many more bad things than good. "We believe we are a better team and we did not put that on display tonight. The ball is live on the punt and we touch it, a blocked punt. You can't win ball games when those things add up over the course of a game," Gulf Coast head coach Manual Evans said.

2. The Sharks really need to work on holding onto the football. It didn't help that starting quarterback Jace Seyler didn't play due to injury, but five turnovers won't win you many games at any level. They certainly would have been in the game were it not for them. One of the big plays was, after a high snap on a punt gave the Sharks the ball inside the Charlotte 25 with the game still 13-6, an interception by Luke Wadsworth two plays later ended the threat. Charlotte scored from there and added another later off another fumble. "We never got into any rhythm on offense in the run or pass. But you're not going to win with those turnovers," Evans said.

3. The defense wasn't that bad. Those five turnovers and special teams nightmares and the defense allowed just 27 points, minus the six on the muffed punt. The first two long drives by the Tarpons ended up with no points and two of the touchdowns came on very short fields for Charlotte. They bent but didn't break unless you backed them into a corner. "We couldn't stop them at first, but we were giving an effort. We got the locked field goal. Whenever we got the defense in the groove, we had a special teams snafu," Evans said.

— Chuck Ballaro

Booker 46, Lely 0

It didn’t take long for the Booker High football team to start to resemble the squad that made it to the Class 2S state semifinals last season.

Coming off a Kickoff Classic loss to Cardinal Mooney last week, the Tornadoes dominated Lely in a wire-to-wire victory with a running clock for the entire second half at Booker High School on Friday night.

Booker is adjusting to new starters at several key positions and the loss of head coach Scottie Littles for the first four regular season games due to a suspension from the FHSAA.

But the Tornadoes looked as if all of that didn’t faze them a bit.

“I’ve known Littles for a very long time,” interim head coach Carlos Woods said. “So, to be his interim, we can finish each other’s sentences. It’s just putting our best foot forward. He was with us every step of the way as far as the process of getting these guys prepared. I’m just out here as a figurehead.”

Booker looked as if it would be locked in a battle with Lely from the opening drive as the Trojans drove all the way down to the Tornadoes 5-yard-line.

But a turnover on downs was followed up with an 88-yard completion from junior quarterback Joel Morris to junior receiver Tyren Wortham two plays later, and Booker was off to the races.

The Tornadoes rotated Morris and senior quarterback Ryan Downes for much of the night to near equal success.

Morris finished a perfect 7-of-7 passing for 179 yards and three touchdowns with one rush for 20 yards. Downes completed 6-of-10 passes for 149 yards and three touchdowns.

The six touchdown receptions — two by Wortham, two by Chauncey Kennon, one by Dylan Wester and one by Ryan Simmons — were often the result of Booker outracing the Lely secondary, or finding holes in busted coverage.

The game got out of hand quickly, as Booker was leading, 20-0, after one quarter and 40-0 by halftime, but Lely never packed it in.

Trojans junior quarterback Carter Quinn faced pressure often, but often made the right decision — throwing the ball away to avoid several sacks during a turnover-free night.

He completed 19-of–40 passes for 197 yards as Lely had to all but abandon a run game that produced just 41 yards on 28 rush attempts.

“Mooney is a really good, well-coached football team,” Woods said of bouncing back from last week’s loss. “They just came off a state championship and a core nucleus of those guys returned from that team, so they know how to win. We’re trying to get there.”

Lely takeaways

1. Trojans fought ‘till the end. Lesser teams would have given up and ran the clock out, but Lely kept pushing for a score until the final seconds. The Trojans threw several times on the final drive and even took a timeout with 5.1 seconds left to give Quinn one last shot at finding the end zone. Though they came up short, that fight should serve them well in the weeks to come.

"We played a really, really tough team this week,” Lely coach Ben Hammer said. “We also showed a little bit of our youth. But, I’m extremely proud of our kids for fighting ‘till the very end. The never gave up and kept working hard, trying to get better.”

2. All systems go. Speaking of gunning for it, the Trojans took several stabs at converting fourth downs on Friday night. That wound up not working out in their favor as they finished with six turnovers on downs and just one punt, but the belief that Hammer showed in his offense has to fuel their confidence.

3. Playmakers abound. Lely easily could have made this score much less lopsided if not for some untimely stops. The Trojans turned the ball over on downs at the Booker 10, 27 (twice), 1 and 3 yard lines. Many of those long drives were set up by impressive playmakers such as athlete Ty Collins (24 rush yards, 3 rec, 30 yards), receiver Brandon Baptiste (6 rec, 69 yards) and tight end Zephaniah Diamond (6 rec, 74 yards).

— Vinnie Portell

LaBelle 33, Canterbury 0

The Cowboys (2-0) put together a standout performance in all three phases Friday against the Cougars (1-1). Junior Steaver Moore rushed for one touchdown and threw for another while junior Epifanio Hernandez ran for another score.

Sophomores Aldrich Meyer and Jacobo Perez combined for three interceptions with Perez nabbing a pair. On special teams, LaBelle blocked two Canterbury punts with senior Wyatt Milks recovering both for touchdowns.

— Staff Reports

Evangelical Christian 26, Palmetto Ridge 0

The Sentinels (1-0) opened the regular season by shutting down the Bears. Linebackers Donovan Barthlomew and Mack Mitchell led the defense with multiple tackles for loss while Mitchell forced an early fumble that jump-started ECS.

Senior running back Frank Worthington broke loose for a 75-yard touchdown run while sophomore wide receiver Jahquez Outten had a pair of touchdown receptions.

Michael Nguyen played outstanding on both sides of the ball for Palmetto Ridge, making multiple interior tackles and also playing every offensive snap at center. Freshman Jayden Cowgill got the start for the Bears at quarterback and showed glimpses of promise.

— Staff Reports

SFCA 22, Santa Fe Catholic 7

The King’s (1-0) got a strong defensive performance and just enough offense to pick up a season-opening win over the Hawks.

SFCA’s defense forced five Sante Fe Catholic turnovers, including two interceptions by sophomore defensive back Craig Mitchell.

The King’s led wire-to-wire, grabbing an early lead on a 35-yard touchdown run by senior quarterback Logan Waldrup in the game’s opening drive. Waldrup would add another scoring run in the second half for the King’s, who also got a 46-yard touchdown sprint by Mitchell. SFCA’s offense got a big boost from the return of senior Colin Furiosi and sophomore Lucas Henrique on the line.

The King’s will visit Canterbury (1-1) next week.

— Staff Reports

Port Charlotte 50, Island Coast 6

Island Coast stalled out the Pirates’ opening march by stuffing Juluis Roach on a 4th-and-3 at the Gators’ 12.

Any good feelings the Gators might have enjoyed in the moment evaporated four plays later when a high punt snap following a three-and-out sailed out of the end zone for a safety.

Finally, after misfiring on his first three pass attempts of the evening during the opening drive, Logan Flaherty hooked up with Cam Becerril for a 23-yard touchdown on the short field following the safety, opening the floodgates for Port Charlotte.

The Pirates led 37-6 at halftime and both teams agreed to a running clock at the water break of the third quarter, making up for time lost when the game’s start was delayed by rain and lightning.

Island Coast was held to 64 total yards of offense, thanks in large part to the two botched punt snaps, which cost a total of 37 yards. Gervaris Leaphart had 10 carries for 53 yards.

Other scores

Bonita Springs 14, Ida Baker 10

Victory Christian 28, Golden Gate 14

THURSDAY NIGHT

Dunbar 30, Cypress Lake 15

Cypress Lake came out with a surprise for host Dunbar.

Chartrael Jenkins threw a halfback pass to Deveon Simmons that went 79 yards on the game’s first play for a quick 7-0 Panthers lead. They then used an aggressive rush on defense to keep the Tigers offense off balance and held the lead until Vidarian Maloy took a slant and ran 61 yards to give Dunbar a 10-7 lead at 8:53 of the second quarter, a lead it would take into halftime.

SW Florida high school football: Week 1 previews and predictions

“We figured if we come out and try to hit a big shot, you know, just try to get some momentum right from the start of the game and build it from there, then we kind of stalled out but that was kind of our thinking going into it,” Cypress Lake coach Joey Mendes said.

Dunbar coach Sammy Brown and his staff, which led their team to the Final Four last year, showed why they are still dangerous. With adjustments made, they righted the many young players new to the Tigers lineup and scored three touchdowns in the first five minutes in the third quarter to give them the cushion they needed to win their season opener.

“We were trying to pick it up with some young guys. Kind of made the adjustment at halftime and got some things picked up,” Dunbar coach Sammy Brown said. “And were able to get the ball in some playmakers’ hands and just make plays.”

Getting the ball to open the second half, quarterback Austin Price went 4 for 5 passing for 66 yards, capped by a 4-yard scrambling throw to Kalonji Hamilton. After Dunbar forced Cypress to a three-and-out, The Tigers charged up the middle and blocked the punt with Cloudy Dorjuste scooping it up and returning it 42 yards to make it 23-7 Dunbar.

SW Florida high school football scores: Lee, Collier FHSAA, SSAA live updates from Week 1

After another quick Cypress series, the Panthers punter’s knee hit the ground fielding the snap, blowing the play dead at the Panthers 33. Two plays later Price hit Da’Mari Loggins for a 13-yard touchdown to make it 30-7.

Cypress never stopped trying to come back. Quarterback Joey Dube-Garrett connected with Jenkins for a 15-yard score and brother Zeke for the two-point conversion with 4:03 left to pull within 30-15.

Cypress Lake takeaways

1. Jenkins does everything. The senior athlete was everywhere for the Panthers. Besides throwing for and catching the Panthers’ touchdowns, he also played linebacker on defense. He picked off a tipped pass deep in the Cypress zone to end a Dunbar drive late in the third quarter that could have put the game away much sooner.

“Chartrael playing both ways was huge for us, and he really stepped up,” said Mendes, who also commended safety Kamarian McKay for his play.

2. Qurterback-wide receiver connections look promising. Panthers quarterback Zube-Garrett connected on 7 of 13 attempts for 63 yards in the first half and after his team fell behind he had to throw a lot on the second half, throwing 27 times and completing nine of those for 148 yards. His favorite target? Rashawn Anderson hauled in 6 passes for 100 yards. Zeke Zube Garrett pulled in three passes for 53 yards from his brother.

3. Need to finish drives. The Panthers did have some chance to put more points on the board. They had a first-and-goal from the 10 midway through the second quarter trailing 10-7 but a hold put them back 10 and they had to settle for a field goal attempt that went wide.

After falling behind 30-7, Cypress did have a drive that allowed them to run seven plays from within the Dunbar 10 as penalties kept moving the ball and downs up and down. The final fourth down pass from the 5 was batted down. The Panthers also drove within the 10 on their final drive and could not score with the last play an untimed down due to a defensive penalty.

“Yeah, we got some fight in us and that's a good thing,” Mendes said. “That's something we can start off with building, we went down to the last second. So I was proud of them for that. We just got to get back to the drawing board and keep working.”

Dunbar takeaways

1. Austin Price heats up in the second half. The Tigers quarterback did hit 9 of 15 passes for 124 yards in the first half but he had a move out of the pocket quite a bit to make throws and half those yards came on the big hit to Maloy for his 61-yard touchdown. He then came out in the second half and hit 5 of his first 6 passes for 79 yards and two scores. He finished the night 18 of 31 for 222 yards.

“What he needed was to get him some protection, make sure he felt like he was good, get three, four seconds where he can read the defense and get the ball out,” Brown said. “So we came out the second half trying to get the ball out quick, throwing some hitches. And then we kind of snuck a guy off the scene and I think we broke it open after that. … They wanted us to beat them in the air so we hit them a couple times up top, and then, I think we got the job done.”

2. Special teams make a difference. Brown admitted because of reduced practices outside because of the weather, his team did not install their special teams formations until right before last week’s preseason game. A game in which they had a punt blocked. A week later the Tigers saw much improvement. Besides the punt return for a touchdown, Dunbar tipped another punt.

More importantly, the Tigers look like they found a kicker/punter. Mateo Lopez hit a 29-yard field goal, converted on three of four extra points, put his kickoffs around the 10-yard line, and put air under his punts. His most impressive play may have been scooping a bad snap and still kicking a 30-plus-yard punt.

“He’s lights out, man,” Brown said. “We got him off the soccer team. He's gonna do well for us. We just got to protect his foot and let him do his job.”

3. Early bye week may be handy. Brown said he wasn’t happy to see a Week 2 bye when his schedule was completed, but now he sees it as a plus.

“We still gotta get better,” Brown said. “Got the bye week, we can go back and fix up a couple things. A lot of the young guys that played for us tonight, a lot of young guys trying to get them some development, try to get them some game speed. So this week will be good, the bye week. I didn't like it at first, but it's in a great position, but we can go back and kind of clean some things up.”

— Ed Reed

Oasis 40, Gateway Charter 14

Five minutes.

That’s how long it took for the Oasis Sharks to score 27 points in the first quarter of their 40-14 win against Gateway Charter Thursday night, moving to 2-0 on the season.

The performance was reminiscent of Oasis' 38-0 shutout victory against Gateway Charter last season. Sharks coach Brice Bearman said that his team built its lead by playing in sync and with hardnosed effort.

“What I'm most proud of is the effort these guys are putting in,” Bearman said. “They go hard to the whistle. We got up pretty good there, and they just kept going. They play hard all the time. And I'm proud of that. That's what we teach, run to the ball, stay on blocks until the whistle blows, running the ball to the whistle blows, doing everything until the whistle blows.”

Gateway Charter head coach Ben Daley said the final half gave his team something to build off in their next time out.

“I don't really care about the result,” Daley said. “They give full effort and look like brothers on the field. And the fight is something that you can definitely take away from this game.”

Oasis takeaways

1. Sharks stout defense sets the tone. Like their last time out against Saint Stephens’, Oasis high’s defense propelled them to an early lead. The Sharks forced a safety and recorded two picks. One of those takeaways was returned for a score (a interception by junior safety Kaleb Stengel – with 14 seconds remaining in the first quarter). While Bearman praised the secondary, he credited his defensive line for putting pressure on the Griffins’ quarterbacks.” They're really buying into it,” Bearman said. “It's simple. They're enjoying it. They're flying around the ball, and not just the secondary guys, the guys up front, are doing their job. They're maintaining pressure. They're maintaining their rush lanes so the (opposing offense) can't get out. They keep them in the pocket, force bad throws. It's all a combination of everyone working together as a team and getting it all together.”

2. Junior varsity reps. Bearman subbed out most of his starters during the second quarter after Oasis built a sizeable, running clock lead. This allowed their JV unit to take snaps and gain experience before their season starts in the coming days.  “We wanted to make sure we got as many guys as we could into the game,” Bearman said. "We emptied the bench. So, a game like this, you don't get your starters hurt, but we want to get those other kids some playing time too and give them a little bit experience before they start their JV season.”

3. One week at a time. The Sharks have started the 2024 season in dominant fashion under Bearman. They’ve outscored their opponents 67-14 in their first two games. While Bearman is proud of his team’s performance he emphasized that they cannot get ahead of themselves. “The thing that we're gonna focus on is us,” Bearman said. “That's all we can control. So that's what we're going to do. We're just going to come out and play hard. Whoever shows up on the other sideline, that's who we're going to play.”

Gateway Charter takeaways

1. Penalties. Daley said his team’s point of emphasis through the last two games is limiting penalties.  The Griffins were hindered by penalties in their 34-20 loss to Canterbury last week and it also happened against the Sharks. Daley cited many delays of game penalties that stalled their momentum of their offense. “it's a small mistake,” Daley said. “I'm saying things that we can clean up, so that's the bright spot. We can watch film, we can analyze it, we can clean that stuff up in order to play better games in the future.”

2. Still fought. Despite what the scoreboard looked like Daley said he was proud of his team for playing until the end. The Griffins ended up scoring on their final two drives. “We could have easily laid it down,” Daley said, “but then we wouldn't have had that 80-yard pass to Preston Garland, we wouldn't have punched it in at the end with Juan Ibarra. We wouldn't have had that touchdown run by Chance Reeves. And that also goes good on paper for them. So, we keep fighting to the end, and good things happen.”

3. Special teams was a positive. Daley praised his special team’s unit for making big plays and setting up the Griffins offense in starting position to score in the second half. “That whole group in general, that kickoff return team, hats off to them. They were trying to scheme it up by themselves, communicating on the field.

— Aaron Mammah

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: SW FL Week 1 high school football: South, Bishop Verot, Naples, FBA, Fort Myers notch wins