SW Florida high school football previews: FBA, CSN, St. John Neumann, ECS, SFCA in Class 1A

The News-Press and Naples Daily News will get you ready for the coming high school football season. Here are team previews for the Collier and Lee County teams competing in Districts 1A-10 and 1A-11.

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

District 1A-10

Evangelical Christian Football

Coach: Mack Mitchell (third season)

Last season: 6-5, made playoffs (lost to First Baptist in Class 1S-Region 4 semifinal)

Overview: It was a bit of feast or famine for the Sentinels last season, who won their six games by an average of 38.3 points and played just a single game decided by one score: a 27-26 loss to Community School in the regular season finale. ECS lost its four other games by an average margin of 24.8 points. The Sentinels have plenty of offensive firepower with senior Jamarion McElroy, who played wide receiver last season, moving under center as a dual-threat at quarterback and sophomore running back Mack Mitchell V poised to become the team’s lead running back. ECS also returns the bulk of its offensive and defensive lines, led by seniors Jordan Nader, Carson Joslin and Bryce Valiquette. Defensively, the Sentinels lost a number of key players to graduation but do bring bay senior playmaking linebacker Derek Washington.

Season outlook: ECS has a road-heavy schedule with just three regular season home games. Closing the season with four consecutive games away from home, including the regular season finale at Community School, should help steel the team for what should be another postseason appearance. “It’s a little bit of a challenge but I’m hoping we can meet that challenge,” Coach Mitchell said. “And if we’re in a situation like we were last year on the road in the playoffs (a 50-27 regional semifinal loss at First Baptist), hopefully we can conquer that if it presents itself again.”

Schedule: Aug. 23 vs. Palmetto Ridge; Aug. 30 at Island Coast; Sept. 6 at Cambridge Christian; Sept. 13 at Somerset Academy; Sept. 20 vs. Moore Haven; Oct. 4 vs. Oasis; Oct. 11 at Lakeland Christian; Oct. 18 at Westminster Academy; Oct. 25 at SFCA; Nov. 1 at Community School

SFCA Football

Coach: Roy Stabler (second season)

Last season: 3-7, missed playoffs

Overview: The King’s will enter their second season under head coach Roy Stabler with reason for optimism. One is that the program has made changes to the coaching staff, adding position coaches to help personally train players. The team will need to replace the production of Eli Moore at quarterback after Moore started for the team for five seasons. A mix of his younger brother, Brady Moore, and Logan Waldrup will help fill the role. “We’re very excited to see what those guys can do this year,” Stabler said. “Eli left us in a great spot, and I’m just hoping that these guys can carry the load.” The No. 1 target for the offense should be Aiden Matyas, who caught 22 passes for 424 yards and six touchdowns last season. Matyas was also a standout at safety, recording 41 tackles, one interception, and one fumble return for a touchdown. Defensive back Craighnan Mitchell will factor in after getting crucial experience last year as a freshman. The secondary will also feature Lawson Polhill and ECS transfer Terrence Simmons Jr., who led the Sentinels in breakups last season. After giving up 34.5 points a game last year, the King’s will need the front seven to match the strength of the secondary in order to succeed in 2023.

Season outlook: One thing the King’s haven’t had to worry about for years is the quarterback position. If they can get that settled, there are plenty of reasons to believe this team is moving in the right direction. The investment in the program, including the hiring of additional coaches, is a positive for the Stabler era, and there are several experienced players shoring up this roster.

Schedule: Aug. 23 vs. Santa Fe Catholic; Aug. 30 at Canterbury; Sept. 6 vs. Sarasota Christian; Sept. 13 vs. Gateway Charter; Sept. 20 at Oasis; Sept. 27 at St. Petersburg Catholic; Oct. 11 vs. Glades Day; Oct. 18 at St. John Neumann; Oct. 25 vs. Evangelical Christian; Nov. 1 at IMG Blue

District 1A-11

Community School of Naples Football

Coach: Mike Stannard (second season)

Last season: 8-2, made playoffs (lost to Moore Haven in Class 1S-Region 4 semifinal)

Overview: The Seahawks have loaded up on talent in the offseason and are looking to get over the district championship hump and make a run in the state playoffs. Five players of note have transferred to CSN in the offseason highlighted by Lely’s one-two combo in Jayce Cora and Jayvian Tanelus. Cora, a 6-foot-3 athlete who boasts offers from Notre Dame, Illinois, and Louisville is primed to be a matchup problem at both wide receiver and defensive back, while Tanelus posted 6 yards per carry with six touchdowns on 76 carries through five games for the Trojans last year. He’ll line up behind a strong front led by Ole Miss commit Taren Hedrick and George Haseotes, who holds a slew of Power Four offers. Returning at quarterback is Cale Austin, who completed 90-of-172 passes for 1,778 yards and 14 touchdowns with just three interceptions. On defense, defensive back Emhre Pray returns for his senior season. The 6-foot-3 Army commit had 35 tackles, two interceptions, two forced fumbles, and four blocked punts last year, and will help make the defense a no-fly-zone alongside Cora. The schedule is beefed up considerably this year for the Seahawks. Last year, CSN tallied four shutouts and had an average margin of victory of nearly 30 points. But this season, CSN will play an Archbishop McCarthy squad that went 9-0 last year in week one, 1S State Champion Cardinal Mooney in week two, and the Moore Haven team that bounced them from last year’s playoffs later in week eight. Not to mention the week nine matchup with next-door neighbor First Baptist, a 1S Final Four team that beat the Seahawks by 40 points in last year’s district championship. “I feel like fighting through adversity to start off the season will help us a lot,” Hedrick said. “I feel like some of the games we had last year were too easy. They were way too easy. Then we got to the back end and we got to really high competition, so we just didn’t know how to fight through that.”

Season outlook: The Seahawks have the schedule to match the mix of new and returning high-level talent. If they can stay healthy and put the pieces together, there’s a good chance you’ll be reading about CSN still playing in December.

Schedule: Aug. 23 vs. Archbishop McCarthy; Aug. 30 at Cardinal Mooney; Sept. 13 at Barron Collier; Sept. 20 vs. Northside Christian; Sept. 27 at St. John Neumann; Oct. 4 at St. Brendan; Oct. 11 at Moore Haven; Oct. 25 vs. First Baptist; Nov. 1 vs. Evangelical Christian

First Baptist Football

Coach: Billy Sparacio (16th season)

Last season: 9-3, made playoffs (lost to Trinity Catholic in Class 1S state semifinal)

Overview: Like CSN, the Lions know they needed to load up on talent, especially after losing 4-star wide receiver Winston Watkins to Venice, 6-foot-4 wide receiver Landon Wolny to Fort Myers, and hybrid defender Tommy Cusick to graduation and Boston College. First Baptist got the Golden Gate trio of Broxson Trophy winner Bradley Martino (520 all-purpose, 11 TDs; 3 INTs, 1 fumble recovery), Micah Fils-Aime (90 tackles, 30 TFLs, 12 sacks, 15 hurries, 2 fumble recoveries), and center Christanley Joseph, who helped the Titans average 7.2 yards per carry last season. Ethan Crossan will have proven playmakers at his disposal, headlined by 4-star wide receiver Jayden Petit, who eclipsed the 1,000-yard plateau last season as a sophomore, along with running back Sam Sparacio and Martino. "His confidence has gone up," Crossan said of Petit. "He's grown into his body a lot more, so now that he has that confidence, we try to push him as much as we can, because I don't think anyone can hang with him on the field. He has all the measurables. I'm really excited for him. If the pocket breaks down, I know who I'm going to." Defensively, the Lions return a pair of tacklers who eclipsed the century mark in Kansas State commit Logan Bartley and Trent Maloney, along with Andres DiGrigoli, D'Angelo Mesidor, Deacon Jansen, Kevin Silva, Dom Davis, and others. Returning the amount of personnel FBA returns, it could position the Lions to be the top team in Southwest Florida by season's end.

Season outlook: The schedule remains tough for the Lions, who will get their share of tests this season. A two-game local stretch against Port Charlotte and Bishop Verot, both at home, will be defining whether or not the team will be able to compete once again in Class 1A, which includes powers like Chaminade-Madonna, Clearwater Central Catholic, as well as competitive teams in the region in Cardinal Newman and Benjamin. With a good football coach in Billy Sparacio still on the sidelines, don't be surprised if the program wins at least eight of nine games this season against the schedule they're facing this year.

Schedule: Aug. 23 vs. Westside (Ga.); Aug. 30 at Calvary Christian; Sept. 6 vs. Orlando Christian Prep; Sept. 20 vs. Port Charlotte; Sept. 27 vs. Bishop Verot; Oct. 4 at Ensworth (Tenn.); Oct. 11 vs. St. John Neumann; Oct. 18 at Lehigh; Oct. 25 at Community School

St. John Neumann Football

Coach: Rich Crosby (second season)

Last season: 5-4, missed playoffs

Overview: The Celtics enter the 2024-25 season with a lot of new faces, having nearly doubled their roster size to over 60 players in the offseason. One new face that excites Crosby is Peyton Frontino, a junior quarterback by way of St. Ignatius in Ohio. Frontino is poised to take some of the load off of Jake Bruni, who tallied 1,686 passing yards with 18 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while also punching in five touchdowns on the ground as St. John Neumann’s signal caller, all while getting reps as a safety. “Well I’m not going to give everything away,” Crosby said. “Jake, as our leader last year [was able to do a lot] in his first year running the offense. But they’ve been in a good competition since spring. We’ve had Jake rep a little bit at running back for us. These are two very good football players, so they’re going to be on the field together. So how we use that, we’ll let everyone see in the fall.” The Celtics will be without their two biggest producers from last year, Luvinson Pierre and Decker Crosby. Pierre reeled in 41 passes for 633 yards and six touchdowns in his senior season, while Crosby posted 542 passing yards and six touchdowns on 41 receptions. But last year’s third-leading receiver Logan Bartelt is back and is poised to rake in the lion’s share of looks after going for 355 yards and a team-best seven touchdowns as a sophomore last year. A lot of last year’s players on last year’s squad were playing both ways, and Crosby says that reared its head in the fourth quarter of close games. He hopes with a much bigger roster, they won’t be the case nearly as much.

Season outlook: The Celtics are in arguably the toughest district in the area with Community School and First Baptist. Outside of district play, St. John Neumann has a schedule that sets the stage for another winning season, and there’s a world where the Celtics go the first four weeks of the year without seeing a loss.

Schedule: Aug. 23 vs. Bradenton Christian; Aug. 30 at Dr. Joaquin Garcia; Sept. 6 vs. LaBelle; Sept. 13 vs. Oasis; Sept. 20 at Gateway Charter; Sept. 27 vs. Community School; Oct. 11 at First Baptist; Oct. 18 vs. SFCA; Oct. 25 at Coral Shores; Nov. 1 vs. Somerset Academy

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: SW Florida high school football previews: FBA, CSN, St. John Neumann, ECS, SFCA in Class 1A