Week 11 football: Bishop Verot, Dunbar win districts; ECS, Gulf Coast, Lehigh, Estero prevail (2024)

Here is the roundup of Southwest Florida high school football games played Thursday and Friday, Nov. 3 and 4.

Dunbar 29, Fort Myers 27 (OT)

Taking down the Tigers remains the toughest task in Lee County football.

With their overtime victory – spurred by a 14-point comeback in the last three minutes of regulation against the Green Wave – the team extended its local dominance to 16 consecutive wins in the county and earned the Class 3S-District 15 title on Friday night.

Time and time again, Fort Myers was just a play away from the win, whether it was the offense needing a conversion on third down or the defense defending fourth-and-long or a two-point conversion. But Dunbar denied the Greenies each time.

“You got to believe,” Dunbar head coach Sammy Brown said. “We’ve instilled in these guys that we fight until the end.”

Dunbar scored in the first five minutes of the game on a quick pass from quarterback Landon Winterbottom to TJ Abrams that Abrams took for a 53-yard score. The Tigers wouldn’t get in the end zone again until the final three minutes after trailing 21-7 for most of the contest.

Week 11 football: Bishop Verot, Dunbar win districts; ECS, Gulf Coast, Lehigh, Estero prevail (2)

It wasn’t Winterbottom’s most accurate game, but the strong-armed signal-caller came through in the clutch, hitting Abrams, Anthony Benjamin and Eric Fletcher for nice gains before Winterbottom punched in a score from the goal line. The extra point attempt bounced off the upright, so the Tigers needed 8 points to stay in the fight.

The Dunbar defense forced a punt on the next series, giving the Tiger offense two minutes to work with to try to tie the game.

Their momentum appeared to stall and, on fourth-and-long, Benjamin hauled in a 25-yarder that Winterbottom later said was a pass intended for Abrams that he overthrew.

“I think Ant really saved the game there,” Winterbottom said. “That was the best play of the game by far.”

Winterbottom found Fletcher for a 5-yard touchdown, and Javieane Stevens powered through the end zone for a successful 2-point conversion, tying the game and sending it into overtime.

“Two-minute drills are the most fun thing, especially when they work,” Winterbottom said. “It was just amazing for sure.”

Week 11 football: Bishop Verot, Dunbar win districts; ECS, Gulf Coast, Lehigh, Estero prevail (3)

In overtime, the Tigers offense made quick work of their possession with running back David Perkins bounding to the 1-yard line to set up Winterbottom’s sneak for a score. Brown opted to go for 2, and once again they turned to Stevens’ legs to convert.

“I knew we were going to get it because we got it before,” Winterbottom said.

The Greenies started backed up on a holding call but were rescued on third down by a roughing-the-passer penalty. Quarterback Chris McFoley punched in a score at the goal line, setting up a 2-point attempt to force another overtime.

However, it wasn’t to be with Grant Coppens unable to come up with McFoley’s pass.

Dunbar’s boldness earned them thevictory and the trophy in the inaugural Edison Corridor Showdown, a program hosted by the City of Fort Myers that saw two students from each school earn scholarships.

Brown said he felt relief after the game’s final play as his team celebrated and gave him a Gatorade shower.

“That feeling was probably the best feeling I ever felt playing high school sports ever – winning this game tonight,” Winterbottom said.

It was a different sentiment on the other sideline. After winning six consecutive games from an 0-2 start, the Greenies finished the regular season how they started: with an overtime loss.

Head coach Sammy Sirianni Jr. called it a “tough pill.”

“Our kids deserved a better fate,” he said. “All power to Dunbar – they got off the deck. They made every play when they had to make them in the fourth quarter.”

Up to that point, the Greenies had done enough to win. The defense had kept Dunbar’s explosiveness contained and won the turnover battle with Spencer Yeager and Garyan Burger coming up with interceptions.

The team tied the score at 7-7 with a 7-yard touchdown run by Ricardo Noel in the first quarter.

Week 11 football: Bishop Verot, Dunbar win districts; ECS, Gulf Coast, Lehigh, Estero prevail (4)

The Greenies scored on a pair of touchdown passes in the second – the first for 13 yards from McFoley to La’Ern Bonelli and the other came in the final 20 seconds when both Fort Myers’ Alex Thelusma and Dunbar’s Kelby Tyre came down with a 25-yard throw from Madrid Tucker. After a discussion, the officials declared it a touchdown, giving the Green Wave a 21-7 lead at the half.

The best chance for Fort Myers to score again came late in the fourth quarter when the team had a fourth-and-10 at the Dunbar 20. With a missed 48-yard field goal attempt earlier in the night, Sirianni opted to go for it and stick with his defense to protect the 14-point lead.

“I didn’t trust our kicking game enough to kick a field goal down there,” he explained, citing the team’s game against North Fort Myers when a botcheattempt was returned for a touchdown.

Fort Myers will now have to go on the road to kick off its postseason campaign.

“I’m a half-full guy, and a half-full guy says it’s a little different if you’re packing your stuff up now vs. getting a chance to go win the tournament,” Sirianni said. “Everyone’s 0-0.”

Brown called it a “huge deal” for the Tigers to be able to play in front of their home crowd. But, as he explained, in the Fort Myers-Dunbar rivalry, everyone is neighbors, and the fans got a memorable showcase on Friday night.

“These guys, they were really tough man,” Brown said. “They came out, they had a game plan, they executed pretty good. We just had to dig down deep and try to figure them out. It took us friggin’ three-and-a-half quarters to get it done, but we got it done.”

— Dustin Levy

Bishop Verot 48, Key West 14

KEY WEST — A 31-year wait is over for the Bishop Verot Vikings.

Bishop Verot secured its first district championship since the 1991 season Friday night, completing a sweep of District 2S-16 opponents with a 48-14 win over the Conchs of Key West in the Keys.

Verot head coach Richie Rode, who also broke a 24-year district championship drought during his tenure at Cypress Lake, praised his senior class following the team's celebration, which included freshly minted district championship shirts.

"This journey started back in the summer, and this team is a relentless group who just left a legacy," Rode said. "I am so incredibly proud of this senior class; there are only 11 of them, but they are a special group with exceptional leadership qualities"

The Vikings jumped out to a 22-0 lead on their first three possessions, with the connection between quarterback Carter Smith and wideout Matthew Turner taking center stage. Smith hit Turner for touchdown passes of 12, 17, and 79 yards to put the Vikings in full control.

After Key West scored its first touchdownto cut the Verot lead to 22-7, the Vikings scored 17 points in 47 seconds to put the game away. Smith tossed his fourth touchdown pass to Tookie Watts, then the Vikings got the ball back on a Greg Caldwell interception. Smith's next pass went to Tookie's brother Trevontay, a 39-yard strike to make the score 36-7. Verot then recovered an onside kick, and Deaglan Camron kicked a 38-yard field goal to make it 39-7.

The Vikings enacted the running clock within the first four minutes of the second half, thanks to a safety and a sixth Smith touchdown pass to Riley Bowe. In the win, Smith, who completed 11 of his 14 passes for 269 yards, became the first Vikings quarterback to throw six touchdowns in a gameand eclipsed 2,000 passing yards on the season, as well as 1,000 rushing yards and 5,000 all-purpose yards for his career.

Friday's win sets up Bishop Verot as the No. 1 seed in Class 2SRegion 4, with home-field advantage throughout the regional playoffs.

"Our goals for the season are not complete, but a district title was definitely the first step," Rode said. "We will be the number one seed in the region, and we can’t wait to play in front of our incredible student section next week."

— Ryan Murphy

Gulf Coast 24, Barron Collier 7

The Sharks took home a hard-nosed Catfish Bowl victory over the Cougars, led by an efficient night from quarterback Konner Barrett and a dominant defensive effort.

It was touch-and-go for the Sharks’ offense in the first half, giving up three turnovers in the second quarter alone, one of which turned into the Cougars only score on the night.

“Our defense played so well and gave us so many opportunities in the first half, we just couldn't capitalize,” said Barron Collier head coach Mark Jackson. “Their defense played better than our offense, they did a good job.”

Gulf Coast held Cougar quarterback Tommy Mooncotch to one touchdown pass with 125 passing yards on 12-of-30 attempts. The Shark secondary reeled in three picks and deflected seven of Mooncotch’s passes in their dominant win, including a pick-six from Marven Simeus.

Gulf Coast handled business on the ground as well, holding Barron Collier’s backfield duo of Jackson Polly and Bryan Daniels to 31 rushing yards on 17 touches.

The Cougars also tried their luck with kicker Rocco D’Angelo, but hit the same spot of the left upright on both tries to finish 0/2 from 33-yards and 21-yards.

Week 11 football: Bishop Verot, Dunbar win districts; ECS, Gulf Coast, Lehigh, Estero prevail (6)

“We knew coming in we were probably a little more physical football team,” said Gulf Coast head coach Todd Nichols. “So we just need to do our thing. So I give credit to the kids, they didn’t flinch.”

In the second half Gulf Coast’s lockdown defense, paired with an efficient offense, opened the floodgates for the Sharks. They scored all three of their touchdowns in the third quarter while keeping the Cougars scoreless, despite several trips to the red zone.

“I just said hey, we’re not going to panic, we’re one play down,” Nichols said. “The thing I’ve said for the last three weeks is it’s a snap, a play, a quarter, a half, a game at a time. That’s all you can focus on, and that’s what we did. They heard it, and they responded.”

Barrett threw for 111 yards on 12-of-15 passing, and tacked on 74 rushing yards and a 3-yard keeper touchdown. Will Pasternak tacked on 66 rushing yards on 15 touches and a rushing touchdown the win.

Week 11 football: Bishop Verot, Dunbar win districts; ECS, Gulf Coast, Lehigh, Estero prevail (7)

Cooper Holman was true for a 21-yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter to put the Sharks up three scores and keep things out of reach for the Cougars.

With the win, the Sharks earned their first 8-win season in school history.

"Nothing with this team surprises me," Nichols said. "They're going to be the group that everyone talks about, that 2022 Gulf Coast football team."

— Nick Wilson

ECS 67, CSN 41

Lots and lots of big plays turned a physical football game into a track meet and it turned out to be the Sentinels who crossed the regular-season finish line undefeated at 8-0.

“It’s a credit to these young men who lost their head coach last year (Earnest Graham) and they dedicated themselves to do this during the offseason,” said ECS coach Mack Mitchell.

Week 11 football: Bishop Verot, Dunbar win districts; ECS, Gulf Coast, Lehigh, Estero prevail (8)

ECS and CSN combined for 14 plays of 30 yards or more.Remarkably, the Seahawks had nine of them but it wasn’t enough to stop the offensive juggernaut that is ECS.

After an early Sentinels touchdown by running back L.J. Blackwell (20 carries, 234 yards), the Seahawks hurt themselves on their first possession when quarterback Decker Crosby threw an interception. Sentinels linebacker Tyler Edwards returned the ball 24 yards setting up ECS for Blackwell’s second rushing touchdown.

Blackwell set up his third touchdown with a 58-yard run and then took it in from1 yard out.

CSN finally got on the scoreboard early in the second quarter when Crosby (12-30-1, 413 yards) hit a streaking Grayson Kerscher for 45 yards to set up a Chase Atterbury 9-yard touchdown run.

Immediately after the kickoff, ECS quarterback Tanner Helton (14-16-0, 270) hit a streaking Timothy Miller for a 74-yard touchdown pass.

The game turned into an offensive shootout with Helton throwing five touchdown passes for ECS while Crosby had four TD tosses.

“We lost three starters in practice this week so we had to play some freshmen and sophomores,” said ECS head coach Mack Mitchell.ECS lost two more defensive starters during the game, including standout junior defensive back Trae Guttery.

Week 11 football: Bishop Verot, Dunbar win districts; ECS, Gulf Coast, Lehigh, Estero prevail (10)

The Seahawks faced the same difficulties playing a lot of underclassmen on defense. “This is the worst defensive performance I’ve ever been a part of but a lot of that is playing a lot of freshmen and sophomores,” said Seahawks head coach Paul Selvidio.

The nail in the Seahawks' coffin came when Blackwell went 71 yards late in the fourth quarter for his fourth score.

ECS finished with 560 yards running and passing while CSN rolled up 504 yards of offense.

— John Rinkenbaugh

Estero 35, Bonita Springs 17

The Estero Wildcats were able to bounce back in the win column after suffering their first defeat of the season to Bishop Verot last weekbydefeating rivalBonita Springs in the fifth annual Claws vs. Jaws game.

On the Bull Sharks’ opening drive, Bonita Springs’ workhorse Josiah Sessler took his team down into field goal range, where they put up the night’s first points via a field goal from Anthony Larkin.

It did not take the Wildcats long to respond. On their first offensive possession, they scored on an explosive 55-yard run from Luke Ghannam. Ghannam would score on another big run in the first half.

On the next offensive series, the Bull Sharks repeatedly relied on their rushing attack. This time they were able to score on a short run from Riley Deremer. With only 29 seconds left in the first quarter. The Bull Sharks were able to take the lead, but that would be the last lead they would have for the night.

In the second quarter, the Wildcats were able to create separation behind a huge rushing touchdown by Ghannam and a 30-yard passing touchdown from Matt Wilson to Malik Allen.

The second half was not much different for Bonita Springs. The Bull Sharkscontinued to rely on Sessler, who ran for 230 yards on 32 carries and a touchdown. He was able to find help from Deremer, who carried the ball 11 times for 37 yards.

The Bull Sharks’ defense was able to come up big at times. In the third quarter, Bull Sharks defender Joshua Johnson picked off Wilson’s pass that was intended for the end zone.

“We want to be as balanced as possible, and we want to be dynamic,” said Estero Coach Darren Nelson.

Estero was able to get four different players into the end zone on five of their touchdowns and put up 337 yards of total yards as an offense. Ghannam who ran for 106 yards on four carries with two touchdowns, caught two passes for 18 yards and threw a score on a reverse at the end of the game.

Jonathan Quintanilla was also a significant part of the Wildcat offense, carrying the ball 15 times for 85 yards and a score.

“We are comfortable with adversity,” said Nelson. “We have an incredible amount of belief. We just kept fighting and wanted to win the war of attrition by sticking together.”

Estero has its eyes set on the postseason finishing the regular season 7-1. As for the Bull Sharks, they finish their season 2-7.

— Conner Johnston

Mariner 25, Island Coast 18

The last time Mariner had a winning record in football, coach Josh Nicholson was at Lehigh. As a player.

The Tritons intercepted threepasses and overcame a 12-point deficit to beat crosstown rival Island Coast, 25-18 on Friday night, securing the program's first season of more wins than losses since 2007. Unless they are able to sneak into the playoffs when the last finalrankings come out Sunday, they will have finished 5-3.

"We ask a lot of these guys," Nicholson said. "We ask them to do a lot of things differently than our school has done before. We wanted a different result. These guys have bought in."

For the senior-heavy Gators team (3-4), it was an emotional last game. With 23 seniors on the roster, it was tough to finish with a loss at home.

"They graduated the game of football and now it's on to bigger and better things," Island Coast coach Christopher Burnett said. "It's a milestone. As a young man, (stuff) does not go your way. They just learn to be resilient, learn to be young men, and we just got to get back at it. I'm a little emotional myself."

At first, it looked as though the game was going to go the Gators' way. They opened up with Jason Richardson II taking the opening kickoff all the way to the 49-yard line. Then on the first play from scrimmage, quarterback Joshua Anderson faked a handoff, rolled left and launched a high-arcing pass 48 yards to Bruno Montrond. Anderson followed that with a 3-yard run for a touchdown. A failed extra-point attempt kept the game at 6-0.

Early in the second, Anderson tossed another big pass, this time with Denaidrick Cook running a go route up the middle between the safeties. Cook caught it and ran it into the end zone for a 30-yard touchdown pass.

"When we're on, we're on. When we're off, we're off," Burnett said.

The Tritons then announced in a big way that they were back in the game. On the ensuing kickoff, sophomore Kaelan Davidson fielded the ball at the 10-yard line on a bounce that he had to jump and catch with his fingertips to reach. He then sprinted 90 yards to the end zone, putting Mariner on the board.

Later in the second, Mariner got another productive drive going. Marcus Kelley Jr. finished itfrom the quarterback position as he took the ball, swung left, and turned up 10 yards into the end zone to give the Tritons the lead.

"We just trusted each other, stayed calm, trusted the game plan, and kept running it, and it started popping," Nicholson said.

In the closing seconds of the first half, Gabriel Chica kicked a 38-yard field goal to make it 18-12.

The third quarter was trouble for both teams, as they traded interceptions and penalties. But the Gators took an opportunity to score when Anderson launched a 36-yard bomb to Montrond. The receiver tried to scoot into the end zone, but a tackler was holding his leg and brought him down at the 1. Anderson finished the drive with a bulldozer rush behind his offensive line to tie the game.

The Tritons retook the lead for good with a breakout performance by McNathan Sainvil. He scored a 15-yard run late in the third. He ran over one tackler, then ran into two more, forcing his way to get the ball across the plane of the goal line. Chica's kick made it 25-18.

"That's something he's been doing for two years at practice," Nicholson said. "We finally saw it in a game, so that's huge."

The Tritons now have to wait and see if they rank high enough to qualify for a playoff spot when the FHSAA announces them this weekend.

"Now it's up to the MaxPreps gods and see what that algorithm shoots out," Nicholson said.

— Dave Montrose

Lehigh 41, Ida Baker 0

Quarterback Dorian Mallary and Lehigh’s offense got off to a slow start Friday night but when the Lightning found their groove, it proved electrifying.

After going three-and-out on its first three possessions, in which Mallary went 0-for-4 passing and took two big sacks for minus-17 yards, the Lehigh quarterback connected on six of his next seven attempts for 101 yards and four touchdowns. Backup Darryl Hodge added a 3-of-4 effort for 39 yards and a touchdown pass of his own as the Lightning built a 35-0 halftime lead.

Mallary continued his solid play after he threw for 166 yards and ran for 73 yards and two scores in a 35-0 win against Riverdale last week. He actually scored on the game’s first play against Baker but his 65-yard scramble for a touchdown was called back due to a holding penalty.

“I think we got to get off to a faster start, you know, we got to understand that,” said Lehigh coach James Chaney, whose team finished the regular season 4-3 and a perfect 3-0 in District 4S-15. “You know, the game starts when the whistle blows. And I thought we got off to a slow start. I was aggravated by it. But, you know, we'll work on that in practice next week.”

All that action through the air was on purpose and left Lightning star running back Richard Young in a complimentary role. He didn’t take the field for the first two drives and only carried the ball six times for 38 yards but his 28-yard romp on the fourth drive energized the offense. Two plays later Mallary hit Terrance Smith for the first of his TD passes with 12 seconds left in the first quarter.

“We gotta give our opponent something to work on,” Chaney said. “And you know, everybody wants to load the box. Everybody wants to stop Richard Young and that's what I would do too if I was a D coordinator. But if we can get our quarterbacks making great throws and moving the chains, man that just gives people something to work on.”

The Lehigh defense certainly continued its dominance with a second consecutive shutout and was the offense’s best friend Friday. Ida Baker (3-4, 0-3 district) only managed 7 yards of offense on its eight first-half drives and committed five penalties for 45 yards. Ida Baker’s only first down of the game came on a Lehigh unsportsmanlike conduct penalty halfway through the third quarter.

Ida Baker’s best play was a blocked punt at the end of Lehigh’s third drive. Set up at the Lehigh 41, the Bulldogs only gained 1 yard on four plays to turn it over on downs and start the Lightning’s first scoring drive.

A big punt return by Kirby Joseph set Lehigh up in Ida Baker territory again and Mallary found Ranod Smith down the left sideline for a 40-yard TD pass at 10:26 of the second quarter. Lehigh’s Andre Jocelyn intercepted Baker’s DeQuan Forte two plays later and returned it to the Bulldogs’ 20. Mallery hit Darrell Rowe from 16 yards at 8:52 to make it 21-0.

Lehigh’s Anthony Alcazar recovered a Baker fumble at their 17 three plays into their next drive and on the very next play, Hodges connected with Ranod Smith for a 17-yard score. Pinned deep in their own territory after a tackle for a loss and a 10-yard sack, Baker tried to punt from its own 3 but the ball only traveled 10 yards. Lehigh needed five plays to travel 13 yards as Mallary lofted a soft toss to Joseph from 3 yards out to make it 35-0.

The Lightning deployed their backups in the second half and third-sting QB Ladarius Ridley hit Marqun Young early in the fourth quarter for a 61-yard touchdown for the game’s final score.

Lehigh will now wait for its first-round regional playoff opponent, but Mallary thinks the Lightning offense will be ready for whatever team that might be.

“I mean, it's clicking at the right time,” he said. “You know, we get everybody getting the ball, everybody can make sure that they're a playmaker, so it's not everybody can just focus on Richard. So it's clicking at the right time.”

— Ed Reed

Lely 20, Immokalee 17

The Lely football team came into its game Friday night against Immokalee “on the bubble” as a playoff contender, and the Trojans may have run their way into the postseason.

Guerschom Guerrier gained 156 yards on the ground and Jakeem Tanelus added 135 as the Trojans ran their way to a victory over Immokalee.

The Trojans (6-4) led 20-3 in the second half before the Indians (4-5) made it interesting in the final few minutes. Chandron Pierre scored on a 2-yard run to pull the Indians within three points with 2:46 left in the game, but the Trojans recovered an onside kick and then ran off the rest of the clock.

“It was close at the end. We got emotional after Immokalee’s last few drives,” said Lely coach J.J. Everage. “And when you get emotional, you get confused. Immokalee never quit and played a good game.”

The focus on defense for Lely was keeping everything in front of pass coverages.

“We played some soft coverage,” Everage said. “We put our best defender in the middle of the field. We calmed ourselves down on defense and rallied to the football. We’ve played some close games this year, and our experience helped in fighting and winning close games.”

Justin Compere led Immokalee with 69 yards rushing.

“Lely did exactly what they needed to do to beat us,” said Immokalee coach James Delgado. “They’ve turned their season around. We showed resiliency and fought back. I had hoped we would win, so we could’ve had another week with all the players. I’m proud of our guys because in years past we might have just packed it in.”

The Indians scored first with a field goal. Immokalee traveled 60 yards for the score yet its key play on the drive was a few yards. The Indians converted on a fourth down inside the Trojans' 15-yard line. Lely soon bottled up Immokalee after that, so Immokaleesettled for Julian Saldani’s 19-yard field goal.

Lely, meanwhile, took control with two first-half touchdowns. Guerrier would score on runs of 2 and 17 yards before halftime.

— Thomas Corwin

North Fort Myers 36, Cape Coral 0

Another game, another lights-out performance from the North Fort Myers defense.

The Red Knights held Cape Coral to less than 150 total yards and forced six turnovers in notching their fourth shutout of the season. North, which wrapped up the District 3S-14 championship last week, improved to 6-1 overall and 3-0 in league play. The Seahawks dropped to 2-5 and 0-3.

Offensively, the Red Knights rushed for more than 300 yards, led by senior Bo Summersett, who scored two first-quarter touchdowns to give North an early stranglehold on the game. He finished with 132 yards on 15 carries.

Summersett’s second touchdown was set up when Red Knights senior Hayden Hood recovered a Cape Coral fumble at the Seahawks’ 30-yard-line. In all, four of North’s touchdowns came following Cape Coral turnovers, including back-to-back short kickoffs that the Seahawks failed to secure early in the third quarter.

The first, which came off the opening kickoff of the second half, led to a 35-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Gabriel Duross to junior Rashad Snow on the next play that put the Red Knights up 24-0. The second, which junior Virgil Maloy recovered at midfield, was cashed in four plays later when Duross scored on a 25-yard run to give North a 30-0 advantage.

“They are a veteran team with a lot of seniors,” Cape Coral coach Larry Gary said. “All I want our kids to do is fight hard and they did. But we cannot do the foolish things like penalties, giving up big plays and the turnovers like we did tonight.”

The Seahawks will wrap up their season Thursday when they host Ida Baker in a postseason bowl game. Gary said it’s a great opportunity for his sophomore-laden team, which entered the season with just one player with a full year of varsity experience, to have another chance to play.

The Red Knights, however, have bigger goals in mind. North will host a regional quarterfinal next Friday against a yet-to-be-determined opponent. Red Knights coach Dwayne Mack said that no matter who it is, North is expecting a hard-fought battle.

“It’s going to be a tough task having teams like Dunbar, Fort Myers, Barron Collier, Port Charlotte and Naples in our region,” he said. “We’ve got to be ready to play.

“Our defense they’ve been performing but the playoffs, that’s a whole different ballgame. It’s win or go home. We’ve got to make sure that we’re ready that our offense is ready to play.”

One bright spot for Cape Coral fans was the opportunity to watch the inductions of five Seahawkslegends into the school's Hall of Fame during a halftime ceremony. They were Bill Beatty, the school's first athletic director; Phyllis Conroy, Lee County's first state champion female high school golfer; current Seahawks' assistant football coach Isaac Harvin, who won a state 200-meter track and field championship at Cape, setting a state record; Curtis Kitchen, a standout basketball player at Cape who was a sixth-round draft pick of the Seattle Supersonics; and Jaylen Watkins, who played defensive back at the University of Florida and played six seasons in the NFL, winning a Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles.

— Dan DeLuca

Gateway Charter 35, Harvest Community 14

It was a night of firsts for Gateway Charter. The Griffins played for the first time on their new turf field. Running back Lazaro Rogers became the program’s all-time leading rusher. And Gateway Charter won its first Sunshine State Athletic Conference title, claiming the Class 4A crown with the win.

“First off, I want to thank God, because a year ago today where we are standing, we would have been standing in mud,” said Griffinscoach Ben Daley. “Now we are standing on a million-dollar turf field.These kids get it out of the mud every single day.They know we have to grind every single day. Ian hit us really hard, and it took a lot to rally the troops and get back on track.You see what happens when you prevail through tough times.”

The Griffins would open the scoring on their second possession as Rogers would break a 35-yard run down to the Warriors' 1-yard line and would punch it in for a 7-0 lead. Rogers finished the game with 160 yards, giving him 1,261 for the season.

With their first possession of the second quarter, Rodgers would again find a crease, break a tackle, and find the end zone on an 80-yard run to 14-0 with 9:25 left in the half.

With 3:15 left in the half, trailing 14-0, Harvest Community QB Bryce Foti would get the Warriors on the board as he scrambled for a 33-yard touchdown, breaking two would-be tackles on the way to make the score 14-6.

Harvest Communityhad some momentum after its touchdown and forcing Gateway Charter to punt deep in its own territory after going three-and-out.The Warriors brought pressure to block the punt, but punter Chris Requina Jr. sprinted to his left, breaking four tackles on his way to a 90-yard touchdown run, extending the Griffins’ lead to 22-6 at halftime.

Harvest Community was able to recover a fourth-quarter Gateway Charter fumble inside the 10-yard line.The Warriors would find the end zone on a 1-yard run cutting into the Griffins’ lead to 22-14 after a two-point conversion.

But Gateway Charter would strike on an explosive 85-yard kickoff return by Walter Tucker.

With the score 29-14, Harvest Community would start airing it out.The Griffins would be able to seal the victory with 2:14 left as Ronaldo Charles would return an interception 73 yards for the final score.

“Our season wasn’t that great,” said Daley, whose team finished with a 3-5 record.“We are a young team. We have to build on this and keep getting better. On the field and in the classrooms, capitalize on this and keep moving forward.”

— Ryan Caudill

Charlotte 48, Riverdale 7

Charlotte senior running back Connor Trim made his final game one to remember.

Trim rushed for 132 yards, scored five touchdowns, and recovered a fumble as Charlottefinished its regular season on a strong note with a victory over Riverdale in a District 4S-15 matchup.

After losing their first seven games, Charlotte finished by winning their final two. Riverdale, which was on the fence for a playoff berth, did itselfno favors.

Riverdale, which celebrated its Homecoming, ended its season at 4-3. Itwill have to wait until Sunday to learn their fate. Riverdale coach Frank Hepler had his fingers crossed.

"It's not what we wanted. Our kids have prepared better than that. We made some mistakes in the middle of the game that snowballed on us," Hepler said. "We know we're better than this and I'm disappointed. But I love our guys and we'll come back sometime, either this year or next."

The Raiders got a good dose of Trim on the Tarpons first drive as he carried the ball six times before catching a 17-yard TD pass from Michael Valentino to give the Tarpons a 7-0 lead.

Riverdale got even on its first possession when Terry Jackson scored on a 20-yard run to make it 7-7, but it was all Charlotte from there, with Trim scoring on a 20-yard run to make it 14-7 late in the first quarter.

Charlotte took advantage of an Avant Harris interception midway through the second quarter. Trim again scored on a 20-yard scoring run to make it 21-7 at halftime.

Trim scored on Charlotte's first possession of the second half and Jaden Palmer added another score at the end of the third to make it 34-7.

Trim scored his fifth touchdown early in the fourth and after recovering a fumble, and Shy Goudette added a 12-yard touchdown run moments later to make it 48-7 and force a running clock.

Jackson had 59 yards rushing and another 34 receiving to lead Riverdale.

— Chuck Ballaro

LaBelle 62, Miami SLAM 6

It was a successful end to the season for the Cowboys (4-4), who wrapped up the year withan offensive explosion. Hayden Saxon, Jose Dimas, Ty Murray, Calvin Miller, Keyandre Thompspn, Clifford Love and Isaac Santamaria all found the end zone for coachMaurice McClain's LaBelle squad. TheCowboys won their last two games of the year.

First Baptist Academy 41, Frostproof 0

The Lions (6-2) prepped for the Class S1 state playoffs by rolling over Frostproof. Olsen Henry scored three touchdowns for FBA, with Sam Sparacio, Preston Shemansky and Jaden Booker adding a TD each. The Lions won their last two regular-season games by acombined score of 83-0.

Cornerstone Charter 30, Oasis 14:In the SSAC Class 2A championship, the Sharks fell on the road in Bell Isle to end the season 2-5.Isaiah Lozada and Colin Anderson scored rushing touchdowns for Oasis.

Lake Placid 40, St. John Neumann 8: The Celtics dropped their last two games to end the season 4-5.Dealing with injuries forcing eight players to go both ways, the Celtics wore down in the late going. Jake Bruni passed to Zach Molina for a TD pass and again on a two-point conversion. Within 18-8 and driving for a potential score, Neumann ran out of downs, and then out of gas. Lake Placid scored three touchdowns in the last six minutes.

Golden Gate 35, Palmetto Ridge 0: The Titans finished 5-5 with a shutout win against 1-7 Palmetto Ridge. Bears highlights included an interception by Steven Rousseau and sacks by Khari Bendolph and Colby Blocker.

THURSDAY

Gateway 20, East Lee County 0

Lee County’s newest program took a big step Thursday night.

Hosting the Jaguars in the regular season finale, the Eagles defense feasted, forcing six turnovers and delivering the first shutout in school history.

Gateway head coach Cullen O’Brien was doused with a Gatorade shower as time expired, and the team hoisted the a trophy from the Kiwanis for their triumph in a game dubbed 'The Ruler of the Realm.'

“We’re establishing what we want to do,” O’Brien said.

Since the school opened a year ago, Gateway honored just four seniors – Dylan Alif, Luke Binkowski, Ibrahim Shaw and Daniel Cabrera – on Senior Night.

“Our four hardest workers on our team are our seniors, and when your four hardest workers are your best players and your leaders, it makes things a heck of a lot easier,” O’Brien said. “We challenged our younger guys to step up and follow the model that they started.”

High school football: Week 11 previews, predictions for all Southwest Florida games

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Alif said he has seen considerable improvement from his teammates this season.

“I remember when these kids were all scrawny and they were always coming up to me asking me questions, and I’d always tell them what to do and I saw progress and, sure, I was a pain to them at times,” he said. “They may have hated me, but it’s all just tough love, and it shows off. I’m really excited for the future.”

Alif caught three touchdown passes from quarterback JJ McElroy, making some tough grabs in tight coverage.

“I told coach, ‘Keep checking it to me and I’ll make it happen,’ and I knew it was my last game so I have to get all I can left in the tank, and that’s exactly what I did,” said Alif, who was named the Eagles’ player of the game.

Each of the passes, from 15, 20 and 16 yards out, came in the first half on Alif's first three receptions. Alif also connected with Jermaine Redden for a 55-yard completion on a trick play.

“All year, they’ve been the guys,” O’Brien said of McElroy and Alif. “They’ve been our offense, they’ve been who we’ve leaned on to get our points and to be successful.”

Gateway's Justin Jean-Louis recovered a fumble on the Jaguars’ first series, setting the tone for the rest of the night.

Jean-Louis also picked off East Lee quarterback Gary Hagan, and Lennox Fomby and Derrique Mytial came up with interceptions too. Curtis Hood and Keenan Wanbaugh recovered fumbles in the takeaway spree.

"I’m extremely proud of our defense and the effort they gave the entire night,” O’Brien said. “It’s exactly what we were looking for.”

Week 11 football: Bishop Verot, Dunbar win districts; ECS, Gulf Coast, Lehigh, Estero prevail (11)

Despite a solid rushing performance of close to 200 yards on the ground,the Jaguars often got in their own way, stopping drives with penalties or turning the ball over.

“We just got young guys, and they’re doing their best to try to make plays, but then the bigger things like protecting the ball – it’s not really there just yet, so we got to emphasize that a lot more,” East Lee head coach Herbans Paul said.

The Jaguars went winless in Paul’s first season – he stressed that it will be important for the team to retain and bring in players in order to continue building.

“You got to put in the work, and you can’t just see the glitz and the glamor and want to be a football player just for Friday nights,” he said.

East Lee senior Malachi Walker, who intercepted a pass in the loss, was named the team’s player of the game.

O’Brien would like to see improvement on the team’s 2-6 record going forward, but, coming into the season, the East Lee and Gateway Charter games were the ones on the schedule he believed the team could take the next step in, and his squad delivered.

“Our blueprint is there to be successful,” he said. “If we just keep our guys in it and we get these leaders to come back and help some of these guys and coach them along, we’re going to be just fine.”

Week 11 football: Bishop Verot, Dunbar win districts; ECS, Gulf Coast, Lehigh, Estero prevail (2024)

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