The News-Press and Naples Daily News will get you ready for the 2026 high school football season. Here are previews for the teams competing in District 4A-12.
There’s a distinct Collier County flavor to this new-look, six-team district with Aubrey Rogers, Barron Collier, Golden Gate, Gulf Coast and Naples battling with Lee County’s Estero.
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Three were playoff teams in 2025 (Estero, Gulf Coast and Naples), but in 2026, it could be a wide-open race for the top spot in the district.
Aubrey Rogers
Coach: JJ Everage (fourth season)
Last year: 2-8, missed playoffs
Overview: Now in their fourth varsity season, the Patriots’ seniors have reached a physical maturity that Everage believes will benefit them in 2026. “When we started out, we were basically a varsity team that was playing with 14- and 15-year-olds against 17- and 18-year-old kids,” he said. “Now with the development they’ve done, hitting the weight room, getting bigger, faster and stronger, I feel like we’re on more of an equal playing field.” Junior quarterback Braden Houser is in his second season as the team’s starter after passing for 1,082 yards and nine touchdowns last year. He’ll be joined in the backfield by running backs Liam Neary and Matt Ramos, who will operate behind an improved offensive line led by senior guard Drew Hendry and senior center Aldo Agollari. Wide receivers Harrison Lyons and Cameron Cusick and tight end Luke Parker will be among Houser’s targets in the passing game. Defensively, Cusick, linebackers Jacob Campos and Darien Prosser and senior defensive end Zachary Vanover will be key to improving a unit that allowed just over 35 points per game last year.
Barron Collier
Coach: Andrew Clawson (first season)
Last year: 4-6, missed playoffs
Overview: Clawson, who served as the freshman team’s coach for the past five seasons, was named interim head varsity coach for the 2026 season following Brannon Tidwell’s resignation. He’ll take over a team that’s spent the preseason incorporating many new faces into the program. Those newcomers include senior wide receivers Brandon Baptiste and Jayden Pino, junior quarterbacks Michael Hope and Maximus McKiernan, offensive linemen Gilbens Exavier, Rodney Hygene and Kerwins Servius and senior linebackers Gesnar Nicolas and Ubens Liberus. The defensive transfers should help bolster a unit that allowed more than 30 points per game last season and already boasts a pair of standout linemen in UCF commit Akhcuonam Augustin and senior Grant Harhen. Offensively, whoever wins the starting battle between Pope and McKiernan will have a talented receiving corps in former Lely pass catchers Baptiste and Pino as well as returning senior Ben Brackin. If Clawson and the rest of the Barron Collier coaching staff can effectively integrate all the new pieces, the Cougars could challenge for the district’s top spot.
Estero
Coach: Darren Nelson (ninth season)
Last year: 7-4, made playoffs (lost in the regional quarterfinals to Lely)
Overview: The Wildcats have become a model of consistency having one of the area’s longest tenured head coaches in Darren Nelson and reaching the postseason for five consecutive seasons. Last year, the team had chances in their three regular season losses to Cape Coral, Cypress Lake and Riverdale. “If you look back to last year — successful year, good year, but also maybe a little bittersweet,” Nelson said. “I think we left a lot of things on the table.” Estero returns one of the area’s top signal callers in senior Maddox Stewart, who threw for 2,741 yards and 30 touchdowns against six interceptions last season as well as senior running back Nathan Watters who posted 12 rushing scores last year. There will be different players in the mix at receiver with top target Kegan Kreuscher graduating. Aubrey Rogers transfer Hudson King, senior Andrew Parkinson and junior Jackson Woss will help fill that role. The defense lost eight starters from last season, but there are several players to look out for on that side of the ball. That includes junior defensive back Lincoln Zadach, senior defensive lineman Alexander Lioce, sophomore defensive lineman Brigadier Leach and senior linebacker Leonidas Govedaris, who transferred from Bonita Springs after leading the team in tackles. Nelson said the team has more size on the defensive line. “We’re bigger than we have been, so we’re going to try and maybe do some different things schematically.”
Estero is the lone Lee County team in this district, which Nelson described as a good challenge for his squad. Among a competitive field, the Wildcats’ strength is their consistency and quarterback play. Expect Estero to be in plenty of close games once again this year, and the Wildcats will be laser focused on learning from the past and trying to come out on the winning side.
Golden Gate
Coach: Nick Bigica (seventh season overall)
Last year: 4-6, missed playoffs
Overview: Bigica is close to pulling off his second rebuild of the Titans after returning as the program’s head coach last year. “Last year, we didn’t have a lot of experience going in, but we got a lot of varsity snaps under our belt,” he said. “Now our guys are ready to go.” Golden Gate’s strength will be a defense that lost just two starters from last season and added a key pickup in junior safety Devaun Joseph. Up front, the Titans have a trio of imposing linemen in sophomore Josiah Senecharles, who led the team with seven sacks last season, senior Jamesley Germain and senior Moises Pinto. On offense, senior quarterback Tim Stauffer will start his second year under center after passing for 559 yards and four touchdowns in 2025. “He’s able to control our whole offense on the field and put us in the right play in the right situation,” Bigica said of Stauffer. “And he’s gotten so much better as a passer.” Stauffer’s primary receiving targets will be senior Jean Rinvil, junior Keyshawn Rinvil and senior Myles Anderson, who is also one of Golden Gate’s top defensive backs. Senecharles will also serve as the team’s primary running back after rushing for 120 yards and four scores in a backup role last year. “It’s a lot on my plate, but I feel confident,” Senecharles said of his dual role. The Titans appear ready for a run at the second district championship in the program’s history.
Gulf Coast
Coach: Tommy Kleinmeyer (first season)
Last year: 5-6, made playoffs (lost to Cape Coral in the regional quarterfinals)
Overview: The Sharks are motivated to do a better job finishing games than they did in 2025. Their regional quarterfinal playoff game against Cape Coral ended in a loss after Gulf Coast went up two scores in the first half. First-year head coach Tommy Kleinmeyer, who is taking over for Manny Evans after two seasons, said the team isn’t dwelling on last season but can use it as fuel. “We are focused on attention to detail and finishing football games and we are going to be in the best shape that Gulf Coast has ever been in,” he said. The Sharks are helped by returning their entire offensive line from a year ago, including senior standouts Julian Bolianos and Jordan Burton. Senior running back Gio Marenco will again be the centerpiece of the offense after going for 1,522 yards and nine touchdowns on 200 carries last season. It will be the second year starting for junior quarterback Wyatt Raymer. Though the Sharks haven’t been known for the passing game, Kleinmeyer said the team’s wide receivers have something to prove this year. On defense, senior linebacker Dante Lindsey is back after posting 110 tackles to lead the team last year. Senior defensive back Torren Crane is also a key piece after coming up with seven picks last year. The team is also high on senior defensive back Elijah Hicks. “Our secondary is probably going to be the biggest kept secret in Collier County,” Kleinmeyer said. “We are long, we are fast and we are talented in the secondary.”
Because of the experience coming back for the Sharks, this team should be in the mix for the district title. Gulf Coast knows its identity as a powerful rushing offense, and that puts them ahead of the curve. However, this was a 5-6 team last year and it will be crucial for the Sharks to do a better job of holding onto leads. Kleinmeyer may be a first-year head coach but he is plenty familiar with the program as a former assistant coach. The continuity for this program, which has a large senior class, will play a big part in Gulf Coast’s success this season.
Naples
Coach: Rick Martin (seventh season)
Last year: 7-4-1, made playoffs (lost to Tampa Jesuit in the regional semifinals)
Overview: The Golden Eagles earned their 16th consecutive playoff berth last season, but the team’s four losses were the most since a 5-4 finish in 2005. Naples graduated a ton of production, including quarterback Alijah Molina, three of its four leading rushers, its top four pass catchers and nine defensive starters. “We’re a young football team so it’s just back to basics right now,” Martin said. For Naples, that means running the football behind an offensive line with three returning starters: seniors Michael Bartlett and Jackson Parsons and junior Hadyn Nibbelin. “I’m really excited about our offensive line,” Martin said. “I think that’s going to be what we hang our hat on this year.” Senior Nicksen Volvic, who rushed for 515 yards and five touchdowns last year, will be the team’s lead running back with junior Jevan Raphael also playing a key role. Senior Andres Garcia, a converted linebacker who served as the backup quarterback to Alijah Molina last season, will be the starter and an important part of the run game. Defensively, the Golden Eagles will be led by senior outside linebacker Jelani Georges (71 tackles, four sacks, three forced fumbles, one interception) and senior defensive linemen Sebastian Casseus and Sebastien Marc. They will also get a standout member of their secondary back when senior Preston Marc returns from a knee injury suffered late last year. Despite Naples’ youth, it would be foolish to expect a program with its long history of success to take much of a step back this season.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Football previews for Naples, Barron, Gulf Coast, Golden Gate, Estero
Reporting by Dan DeLuca and Dustin B Levy, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Naples Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Dan DeLuca and Dustin B Levy, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News | USA TODAY Network
