A roundup of Southwest Florida high school football games played in Week 0, Aug. 13-14, 2026.
Friday, Aug. 14
South Fort Myers 47, Cape Coral 35
In a matchup between two teams jockeying for the top spot in Southwest Florida, the host Wolfpack built a three-touchdown advantage early in the second half and held off a late surge by the Seahawks to earn the victory.
South Fort Myers junior quarterback Jaydon Henderson turned in a spectacular performance, rushing for nearly 200 yards and three touchdowns and throwing for two more scores. Cape Coral senior passer Derek Hooker led the way for the Seahawks, throwing for 300-plus yards and two scores to help power the late game comeback
Preseason games are mostly about identifying early weaknesses and working to mitigate them before they grow into persistent issues that end up derailing a promising season.
For South Fort Myers, it’s a young secondary that struggled against Cape’s prolific passing game, especially in the second half.
For Cape Coral, it’s the inability to consistently stop the run, a familiar problem that directly led to the Seahawks’ loss to Manatee in last year’s Class 5A regional semifinals.
The good news is both of these teams have plenty of strengths and time to address their shortcomings.
Cape Coral takeaways
The defense needs to tighten up. The Seahawks have seven new starters on defense and their inexperience was obvious, especially in trying to corral Henderson and South senior running back Arthur Gallishaw, who went for 150-plus yards, including a 65-yard scoring burst. The Wolfpack piled up more than 400 rushing yards, with the slippery Henderson consistently extending drives with big third-down scrambles.
“There’s going to be some shift-changing on defense until we figure it out,” Cape Coral coach Jaylen Watkins. “We’ve got to clean it up. We didn’t get one stop tonight. If we can stop the big plays on defense, I think we’re still going to be a very good football team.”
The Seahawks were missing a big piece on their defensive line with junior Maikol Armas sitting out with an illness. His return next week should help a front that will have its hands full with a physical Port Charlotte offense in the season-opener.
Cape’s offense can keep them in any game. Trailing 35-14 entering the final quarter, the Seahawks easily could have packed it in. Instead, a Cape offense that had some uncharacteristic mistakes early caught fire in the fourth, scoring three touchdowns.
“The guys fought; I was surprised to see the offense just keep rolling because it would have been easy to see 40 points and say, we’re just not what we think,” Watkins said. “As a head coach, as long as we’re finishing games, you can keep on going.”
Senior running back JD Irons rushed for 75 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns for Cape Coral.
Soldier Morse stood out on both sides of the ball. The junior turned in strong performances in the secondary and at wide receiver, catching five passes for 90 yards and two touchdowns.
Along with senior TJ Schley, who caught eight passes for 160-plus yards and one touchdown and promising freshman Noel Devine Jr., Cape Coral has a trio of receiving weapons that opponents will be hard-pressed to match up against.
South Fort Myers takeaways
Henderson could be too good of a runner. The junior can seemingly make any would-be tackler miss and single-handedly keep drives alive with his legs. For South to reach its true potential, however, he needs to do more in the passing game, especially against top-notch defenses.
Henderson ran the ball 24 times against Cape and attempted just eight passes, completing three, two of which went for touchdowns to sophomores Tenaris Kearse and Jer’Shard Benjamin.
“It’s been a back-and-forth thing all summer and coming into fall practices about him trying to operate in our offense but still being what he is,” Wolfpack coach Matt Holderfield said. “He’s got the legs and he’s going to take off. A lot of the stuff tonight was called runs for him or sprint outs to get him outside. I’m pretty happy with how he did that. But we’ve got to get a little bit better in our passing game too.”
Benjamin is a beast. It doesn’t look like there’s going to be much of a sophomore slump for the playmaker, who burst on the scene as a freshman last season. He only had four offensive touches against Cape but showed his toughness by holding on to a 12-yard touchdown pass after being sandwiched by two Seahawks defenders, one of whom dislodged Benjamin’s mouthpiece with a blow to the head that was flagged. He also displayed his superior vision and speed on an 81-yard kickoff return for a score that was called back because of an illegal block.
South needs to keep its foot on the gas. It’s hard to find fault with a team that puts up 47 points on a good Cape Coral squad. But the Wolfpack let up down the stretch, especially at the defensive line of scrimmage. Those kinds of lapses cost them in recent regular seasons, where South saw multiple victories slip away because of poor execution down the stretch.
“We preach about ourselves,” Holderfield said. “We’ve talked about discipline and not making stupid mistakes. But you know, it’s a kickoff game. It’s the little things we’ve got to fix.”
The Wolfpack played without star defensive end Ja’Dell Carter, who is managing a shoulder injury he suffered during the spring game. Both Carter and Holderfield said he’s healthy and will be in action for South’s season-opener against visiting Lehigh.
— Dan DeLuca
Dunbar 50, Riverdale 29
The Dunbar offense couldn’t be slowed down – something that could become a recurring theme in the 2026 season.
Without head coach Sammy Brown on the sidelines, the Tigers posted nearly 300 passing yards against the Raiders with receivers Andre Moss, Fred Jackson and Tihiem Hutchins catching two touchdown passes each.
Brown was dealing with family matters, according to Dunbar assistant coach Kenny Benjamin, but the dominant win was “a testament of his leadership.”
“He’ll be back with us,” Benjamin said. “We’re glad we could find a way to make him proud.”
The first half was a back-and-forth battle with Riverdale getting on the board first with a 25-yard touchdown pass from Mason Fosgate to Brandon Payne, who outmuscled his defender in the end zone.
Dunbar answered on a 6-yard touchdown pass from Brandon Seabrook to Moss.
The team continued exchanging scores, and Riverdale entered halftime with a 29-28 lead.
However, the Tigers adjusted and shut out the Raiders the rest of the way.
Even after Dunbar quarterback Brandon Seabrook was ejected in the third quarter, the Tigers still kept their foot on the gas with Jackson running the show on offense.
“They’ve been getting after it since January,” Benjamin said. “Very proud of the guys and the offseason that they’ve had with coach (Tim) Thornton coming and joining us. They’ve been doing a great job and I think that we’re going to continue to grow, continue to work on some things, but they’re doing great.”
Dunbar takeaways
The Dunbar defense made the difference. The Tigers gave up several big plays to the Raiders in the first half, but the second half showed promise. Dunbar allowed just two receptions in the second half and held the Riverdale run game in check.
“The first half we came out a little flat, but halftime, the coaches challenged the guys and we were able to get them to come out and step up to the challenge,” Benjamin said.
The offense is as advertised. Moss, an Albany commit, was already a superstar for the Tigers, and Hutchins, a sophomore, has started to pick up Power Four offers. The electric Jackson, a Jacksonville State commit, came over from Fort Myers, making the Tigers one of the most intriguing offenses in the area.
The trio made play after play, like an athletic catch in the back of the end zone by Hutchins or a video game-like scamper to the house from Jackson. Jackson even threw a pair of touchdown passes late.
The addition of Thornton, the former offensive coordinator at Lely, to the Dunbar staff suggested the Tigers have a chance to put up these kind of scores regularly.
“Coach Thornton is one of the best offensive minds in high school football,” Benjamin said. “And the kids absolutely love him. He’s a light show type of guy. He’s a guy that wants to score first, ask questions later and they love that kind of attitude from him because they’re the same way.”
Seabrook shined but left the game early. Seabrook grew more comfortable as the game went on, throwing for more than 200 yards and four touchdown passes. He rushed for a score in the third quarter before getting ejected by the officials. The ejection could put his Week 1 status in jeopardy.
“We’ll check with the state,” Benjamin said.
Riverdale takeaways
Two-way players made some highlights. Miguel Clarke Jr. and LaTroy Pender Jr. each scored on 60-plus yard touchdown receptions. And in the wildest play of the night, Levi McKenzie recovered a teammate’s fumble for a 44-yard score.
The offense was boom or bust. Each of Riverdale’s touchdowns came from at least 25 yards out. Beyond that, the Raiders struggled to get much going, and penalties – particularly delays of game – plagued the offense.
The defense struggled to contain the Dunbar passing attack. While the Raiders limited the Tiger running game, the team had few answers when the ball was in the air. Riverdale also missed too many tackles in the contest.
However, it’s the preseason for a reason, and this game could prove fruitful when the Raiders go on the road to face Estero, another team with a strong passing attack, in Week 1.
— Dustin Levy
Naples 17, Immokalee 8
Naples punched Immokalee in the mouth. The Indians shook it off at halftime and said game on.
The Golden Eagles looked like a juggernaut in the first half. Javen Raphael took the first handoff of the game and raced 43 yards for a lightning quick score.
Immokalee looked unsettled on both sides of the ball and Naples was ready to take advantage except for some costly penalties.
The Golden Eagles finally hit the end zone again at the end of the first quarter, taking advantage of great field position after an interception setting up an Andres Garcia touchdown plunge.
“We put ourselves in a situation where it got away from us early,” said Immokalee head coach James Delgado
The second score seemed to wake up the Indians defense. The Naples ground game which had racked up more than 150 yards at the half was suddenly stymied.
Immokalee quarterback Jayden Cowgill suddenly looked steady in the pocket while backfield mate Speedy Methelus started finding holes.
But it was too little too late. Immokalee didn’t find the end zone until there was 4:04 left in the game when Cowgill hit a streaking Kendrick Perry for a 13-yard touchdown pass. Perry carried the ball in for the two-point conversion.
Methelus scooped up the onside kick and Immokalee was back in business. But the Naples defense made the Indians grand it out and the clock hit :00 with the Indians on the Golden Eagles 7.
“We’ve got to come out and learn to play all four quarters,” said Naples head coach Rick Martin adding, “We ended up getting through it.”
Naples takeaways
Naples run game is as good as ever. The Golden Eagles rolled up 226 yards. Raphael appeared on his way to a big night when he hit the half with 96 yards. But by game’s end he had only gained 117 yards on 14 carries while backfield mate Jimcy Exantus added another 62 yards on 10 carries.
The Golden Eagles have quarterback options. Naples used two quarterbacks throughout the game alternating junior Michael Thomas who got the start with senior Andres Garcia playing much of the second half. Both QB’s showed their skills handling the run-centric offense. As always don’t look for much of an aerial assault by Naples as the Golden Eagles only put the ball in the air four times.
Martin loves the rivalry. When Collier County football is at its best, the Naples/Immokalee rivalry is center stage. That had the Golden Eagles head man feeling blessed, “No matter what the story is about these two teams, we come out and play hard every single year,” said Martin.
Immokalee takeaways
What happened at half time. Immokalee looked like a completely team and Delgado was happy with the never-say-die effort. “We reminded them that we prepared and we’re in shape for this and we’ve worked to dang hard to let a 17-0 scoreboard turn into 35 to something,” said Delgado. From his perspective the game finally slowed down for the kids.
The defense came alive. The gaping holes that Naples saw in the first half suddenly shrank. The Immokalee defense did more than just stop the run. The Indians recovered two fumbles and managed a big sack. “We made some adjustments. Our defensive staff did a great job knowing that we were exposing ourselves in a couple of alignments and I loved the way were able to implement the adjustments,” said Delgado.
The offense shows a lot of promise. The first half was an offensive disaster with the interception and zero rushing yards. That’s right, zero. But Methelus when given holes can run and Cowgill was effective scrambling out of the pocket. The other high point was the Indian core of receivers of who were open more often than not. And the big what if is Marshon Jackson, who was unavailable for the game and promises to be a big part of the Indians offense.
— John Rinkenbaugh
Mariner 32, Cypress Lake 8
The Tritons scored 25 points in the second quarter, and none by the offense. Most of them were from one player – cornerback Tondrick Mack – who had a 75-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, 60-yard punt return for a touchdown, and a 74-yard return off a free kick for a touchdown. Mack had an interception, too, but that time there was no touchdown.
“He plays hard, he’s a great athlete,” interim Mariner coach Doug Faasse said. “He dominates when he wants to and we have to find a way to get the ball in his hands. And as you saw tonight, when he gets the ball in his hands, special things happen.”
The first Tritons offensive touchdown came 15 seconds into the second half, when senior Wenstan Penermon broke free for a 70-yard run.
Cypress Lake scored its points early in the second quarter, when Rodzarious Thurman returned a fumble 75 yards and Spencer Hamilton passed to Brenner Gorton for a two-point conversion.
Mariner takeaways
The Mariner ship still sails. The recent dismissal of head coach Tyran Jones and most of the coaching staff due to lack of supervision of students could have torpedoed the season. But the Mariner community stepped in, with Faasse, the longtime freshman coach, taking over as interim head coach, and boys soccer coach Martin Cardenas and weightlifting coach Jake Arbuckle returning to the sideline as assistants. That helped provide some continuity.
And while there is still some adjustment, it was clear that the players were enjoying being on a football field, playing their game. Winning big certainly did not hurt.
“They needed this after what we’ve been through the last couple of weeks,” Faasse said.
In a weird way, it was a bit of an advantage. The Tritons were not running the same play schemes that they had done in the spring, when Jones was still leading the program, so the Panthers did not know fully what to expect.
Can’t catch Wenstan. Penermon, a senior running back, showed off his speed when he scored his third quarter touchdown. But he also showed strength and stubborn perseverance. In the second quarter, he was running with the ball of the sideline, at one point having what seemed like half of the Cypress Lake defense on him. But he pushed forward and brought the would-be tacklers with him for a few more yards.
“He works very hard,” Faasse said. “He worked very hard in the weight room. He worked very hard on the field. He’s very quiet, does everything we ask him to do and he just stepped up big tonight. We’re going to need him moving forward if we want to have a successful season this year.”
Hold the line. The Tritons only lost one player since Jones’ dismissal, but they already had limited numbers on the offensive and defensive lines. Several players already play on both sides. Sophomore quarterback Chris Parada has potential and Mack could be a huge playmaker on the offensive side, but the offensive line will have to push through the adversity of two-way play and weather-related limits to practice time.
Cypress Lake takeaways
It takes a Mason to build. The Panthers were declawed with seven players following former coach Joey Mendes to Fort Myers and some others transferring to South Fort Myers. Fortunately, senior linebacker Mason Kurtz stayed, and the benefits of that are showing up both on the field and in the locker room.
“I’m very proud of that kid,” Cypress Lake coach Mark Flaherty said. “He had such a great game. He was the No. 1 vote for captain from the players and you can see why. He’s going to show you what to do and be the right guy. He might not be a ‘rah-rah’ guy over there yelling and loud, but he’s going to show you what right looks like, and that’s what I want.”
Open skate on the football field. Brenner Gorton typically plays wide receiver, but in the face of attrition, he was asked to play nose guard. Normally that would seem out of place, but Gorton is also a defenseman with the Junior Everblades 16U AA team.
“So he knows how to grit it out, which is good,” Flaherty said.
Two linebackers are Gorton’s teammates with the Junior Everblades as well, forward Spencer Hamilton and goalie Ryan Francis.
Wake-up call. Quarterback Eddie Robinson had a rough go in his first look taking over for Kaden Kuhnert, who is out with a broken collarbone. Robinson’s summer participation was, in Flaherty’s word, “sporadic,” and the coach hopes that throwing a few picks in preseason will change that.
“We’re going to coach him up, you know?” Flaherty said. “That’s the part about being a coach, right? You can’t just expect the best to happen every time.”
— Dave Montrose
Estero 29, Fort Myers 23
Jackson Woss did it all for Estero, pulling in a 63-yard touchdown pass from Maddox Stewart and returing an interception 30 yards for anoterh score, which was one of his two interceptions.
The game remained in doubt until the final seconds. Jadon McLeenan had the game-sealing interception as the clock expired. Fort Myers had the ball at its own 31 yard line with 1:07 left trailing by six.
Estero’s Stewart completed 18 of 23 passes for 226 yards and threw for two touchdowns and ran one in from 13 yards. Green Wave QB Andrew Mendes threw for 262 yards and threw three touchdowns but also three interceptions.
St. John Neumann 50, Bayshore 13
BRADENTON — Week Zero games are usually sloppy and Fridaty night at Bayshore was not an exception.
The host Bruins and visiting St. John Neumann Celtics combined for 18 penalties for 165 yards in Neumann’s victory at Balvanz Stadium.
It was a game also marred by chippy play and numerous delays for cramps as players continue to work into regular-season shape. It was also a contest that featured several big plays, most of which came from the Celtics.
Leading the way was junior receiver Jackson Lee, who caught six passes for 100 yards and three touchdowns.
“I can’t say enough great things about him,” Neumann coach Chris Maragos said of Lee. “He’s a tireless worker, 4.3 student, does everything you ask. Type of kid you want to marry your daughter.
“His future is so bright and we’re lucky to have him. He’s a tremendous asset to our team.”
St. John Neumann takeaways
Big plays led the way. The Celtics began the game by returning the opening kickoff 70 yards for a touchdown. From there, Lee and senior wideout Rony Raposo took over. Raposo had five receptions for 75 yards and a score. Senior quarterback Carter Quinn tossed three touchdown passes while freshman Maxton Grynka had two second-half scoring strikes.
“We have tremendous coaches on this staff who really do a good job getting the most out of these kids,” Maragos said. “These kids are unbelievably athletic, smart, hungry and aggressive. That’s why you see so many explosive plays. It’s fun to watch.”
The Celtics also had a couple of athletic interceptions that put a smile on the face of the former NFL safety.
Nice offensive balance. The Celtics were also effective on the ground, rushing for 110 yards and a touchdown. “We hope to be balanced,” Maragos said. “With our offensive line as great as they are and our stable of running backs, and the passing game, it all compliments each other.”
Luck played a small factor. With the game still close in the first half, Bayshore thought it was going to have a pick-six. Instead, Quinn’s pass to the flat went right through the fingers of the Bruins cornerback and into the hands of a Celtics receiver, who had nothing but green in front of him for a 28-yard score to make it a 20-6 game.“The ball has to bounce your way,” Maragos said. “You try to make plays and capitalize on the ones your opponent doesn’t. Fortunately for us, we had one that went really well for us.”
— Ron Clements
Lehigh 32, East Lee County 0
Island Coast 16, Gateway 13
It’s only preseason and it showed in both teams’ opening drives. After winning the coin toss and electing to defer, Island Coast gave up a sack and allowed a tackle behind the line of scrimmage.
On the other hand, Gateway’s opening drive wasn’t any prettier. After only gaining 5 yards on three plays, the punt on fourth down went over the punter’s head forcing him to recover the ball on his team’s 30-yard line.
Island Coast fullback Jackson Carradona rushed for 13 and 12 yards on consecutive plays to set up a first-and-goal at the 5-yard line. Gators quarterback Dontavian Wilson scored on a keeper and his team converted a two-point play to put Island Coast ahead 8-0 halfway through the first quarter.
A Gateway fumble inside its own 30-yard line on its following drive again gave Island Coast good starting field position. However, Island Coast’s Wilson fumbled at the 13-yard line to give possession back to the Eagles.
What followed was a Gateway drive that lasted nearly the entirety of the second quarter. On fourth-and-goal, Gateway quarterback Parker Ellis scored a 6-yard rushing touchdown, but the Eagles failed to convert the two-point play. Island Coast led 8-6 at the half.
Late in the third, Carradona scored another rushing touchdown and the Gators scored on a two-point play to extend theirt lead to 16-6.
Gateway’s Ellis connected with wide receiver Aiden Gerardo on a 53-yard pass to set up a first-and-goal at the Island Coast 10-yard line. Ellis found Gerardo again in the endzone for a 5-yard touchdown pass, making it 16-13.
Island Coast ran the ball to drain the clock, holding on to its three-point lead.
Island Coast takeaways
Carradona ran the ball hard. The sophomore fullback played a key role in the Gators’ offense Friday night. His rushing attempts set up Island Coast’s first touchdown and he recorded one himself late in the third quarter.
“Jackson played a great game,” first-year Island Coast coach Justin Midgett said. “He’s a guy with a ton of heart. We ask a lot of these guys and he played his butt off.”
Despite the win, the Gators still made mistakes. Island Coast fumbled inside the Gateway red zone early in the game and committed several penalties on both sides of the ball.
“We just need to clean everything up,” Midgett said. “We just made simple mistakes. You can’t do that and beat good teams.”
Apart from the penalties, the Gators offensive line held up well. After some offensive line miscues in the Gators’ opening drive, the Gators did not give up another negative play. That paved the way for Carradona and Wilson to pick up yards on the ground.
“Our offensive line played amazing,” Midgett said. “That needs to be a strength of our team moving forward.”
Gateway takeaways
Eagles are showing improvement from spring ball. “I think if you look at the way we played tonight versus the way we played in the spring game, I think we’re seeing improvement,” said first-year coach Chris Strykowski. “Is it exactly what we wanted it to be? No, but I do see improvement. I do see us getting better, and that’s what we’re looking for out of a game like this.”
There is a quarterback battle heating up in Gateway. While the Eagles began the game with quarterback Aiden King, it was Ellis who was responsible for the Eagles’ longest completion of the night, a 53-yard pass to Gerardo, and was under center for both of Gateway’s scoring drives. Strykowski rotated between King and Ellis throughout the game.
“We’ve got two senior quarterbacks as two guys that we believe in,” Strykowski said. “We’re still continuing to let that battle kind of ride itself out.
“You know, at some point maybe one of them will show that ‘Hey, I’m the guy to take the reins,’ but right now we understand that we’re blessed to have two quarterbacks that are both seniors that are both captains.”
Special teams problems need to be addressed. An early fourth down punting error gave the Gators excellent starting field position. On another fourth down punt, the punter mishandled the snap but was still able to recover and get the punt away. Opposing teams can make the Eagles pay if problems persist in the future.
– Jorge Murillo
Aubrey Rogers 24, North Fort Myers 6
Braden Houser threw two touchdowns to Harrison Lyons and Liam Neary rushed for one touchdown to lead the Patriots. Lyons also completed a two-point conversion to Jackson Hughes.
The Patriot defense swarmed North’s offense all night. Cameron Cusick got a fumble recovery. Marvensky Jean Marie had a solid night in the secondary. The defensive interior shut down the run game most of the night. On special teams, Aubrey Rogers blocked punt for a safety.
ECS 41, Palmetto Ridge 0
The tone was set with Elijah (EJ) Yzaguirre returning the opening kick an 83 yards for a touchdown.
Offensively, the Sentinels’ three-headed running back came up big. EJ Rush and Mack Mitchell rushed for a touchdown, and Tyce Harris rushed for two touchdowns. QB Bryson Ganley delivered some big throw, including a 37-yard pass to sophomore Tyrell Cortes Brown.
Mitchell led the defense with three tackles for loss and an interception. Yzaguirre had an interception, and junior Gavin Husky had two interceptions.
“It was a solid victory for us,” ECS coach Mack Mitchell said. “We have a ton to clean up; at times, we played sloppily. I’m still proud of their effort, but we have to improve on our small details.”
Ida Baker 48, Parkridge Christian 7
Dominic Pena had four rushing touchdowns and nearly 200 yards rushing. Sebastian Hubbard had just under 100 yards and two rushing touchdowns and Patryell Coleman had over 50 yards.
QB Aspen Turner threw a 15-yard touchdown to tight end Jimmy Hynes early in the third quarter. Junior QB Aiden Thurber went 3 for 4, completing two passes to Nick Velez and one to Ian Cunha.
Senior Mason Adkins added a 60 yard touchdown run as time expired.
Ida Baker amassed over 350 rushing yards on the day with a shortened game and was able to play all 65 kids in the game.
Jason Garcia had the lone interception of the game.
Ida Baker girls soccer star Kiarah Saldana added two extra points and had two tackles. Amed Carmona and Mark Babakhanov added two extra points apiece.
“Good start, we had a great crowd and great energy tonight to open the year, really proud of Bulldog Nation for showing out despite the weather,” Ida Baker coach Cullen O’Brien said.
“I’m really pleased with how our run game rolling today. Would like to see our defense play more downhill but we have a lot of new faces stepping up making plays. What’s most exciting is that we were able to get all 65 of the kids who dressed tonight in and get them experience, a lot of them JV and freshman players. And what’s crazy is we have another 20-30 playing catch up to get their practice days in. I don’t think we’ve ever had a team this big before in school history. Every position has become competitive, and that is continuing to drive the ability of our kids forward.”
Lely 14, Bonita Springs 3
Venice 72, Gulf Coast 7
Sarasota Christian 50, Gateway Charter 0
Cooper City at Barron Collier
Thursday, Aug. 13
Bishop Verot 38, Charlotte 7
This game didn’t count in the standings, but if Bishop Verot’s performance in the Kickoff Classic Thursday against Charlotte gave any indication, the Vikings will be a tough out this season.
The Vikings played amazing defense, allowing the Tarpons negative total yards until the very end. The offense, despite some sloppy play early, was able to make plays in long yardage situations to stay on the field. The special teams even helped by pinning the Tarpons inside the 5-yard line on kickoffs twice.
Hudson Peak threw for a touchdown and ran for another as Bishop Verot ran off with a 38-7 running-clock win over Charlotte.
The Vikings had no trouble moving the ball despite shooting themselves in the foot with penalties. After converting a third-and-11, Robi Duclona took a handoff and raced to the pylon for a 38-yard TD run to make it 7-0 three minutes in.
Verot next went on a 65-yard drive that ended with a Peak 10-yard scoring run, that was set up by a Peak 22-yard run and fourth-and-long.
The Vikings got the ball back quickly and Peak hit Junior Davis on a 36-yard scoring pass down the sideline on fourth-and-9 to give Verot a 22-0 lead after Davis caught a two-point conversion.
Charlotte couldn’t get anything going on offense. Anthony Budinas got the defense on the act when he tackled Dylan Szych for a safety midway through the second quarter to make it 24-0 at the break.
Ethan Pugh scored in the third quarter on a 17-yard run, and Crew Stambaugh ran for a 24-yard touchdown early in the fourth to force a running clock.
Freshman quarterback Jack Grimes finally got the Tarpon offense going, which had nearly no yards for most of the game. He hit Jackson Hay with a 67-yard completion, then for a 7-yard TD pass in the closing moments.
Peak threw for 145 yards and ran for 63 more. Pugh added 45 yards in second half action.
Bishop Verot takeaways
The defense is going to carry this team. Never mind the 38 points. The starting defense didn’t give Charlotte the ability to breathe, never mind move the football. It allowed 9 yards of offense through three-plus quarters before calling off the dogs. Budinas, Lucas Santiago and company gave the Charlotte quarterbacks no time, recording six sacks. Connor Pierre drew a lot of praise as well. If this team is going to beat the Port Charlottes and John Carroll Catholics of the world, it will need the defense to step up.
The Vikings were sloppy. They got away with it Thursday night, but can’t expect the same to happen once the regular season starts. They committed six penalties for 65 yards in the first half, including a personal foul inside the Charlotte 5 that allowed the Tarpons to keep the ball. Credit the offense for making the big plays in long yardage situations to keep the Tarpon defense on the field, but Vikings coach Richie Rode can’t expect the offense to bail itself out of bad situations every week. “We were sloppy and put ourselves in difficult spots. We have a lot of things to fix. But we put a lot of guys on the field and saw them play. We really want to be good in all three phases. We played well against a good traditional school.”
Verot showed it can get things done in long yardage situations. One thing Rode liked about the penalties is it allowed them to work on those situations. Twice they had big plays on fourth down. One was a long run by Peak for a first down that led to a score. The other was a long throw down the sideline that found Davis. They dug out of nearly every situation they put themselves in. “As a coach you want to evaluate those scenarios and try those third and longs,” Rode said. “There were some things we wanted to see. That was good and we’ll see some good things on film.”
— Chuck Ballaro
Canterbury 45, Oasis 17
Canterbury came to play. Jet Langford stepped in front of an Ashford Alverio pass in the flat less than three minutes into the game and raced 42 yards into the end zone to give the Cougars a 7-0 lead.
“Our kids are watching film so they knew that play was going to come and to apply that on the field is incredible,” said first-year Cougars coach Tommy Bohanon.
But Oasis wasn’t going to give in easily. A big return by Liam Gruenwald led to a Lauro Hendricks field goal just three minutes later.
Oasis would score again thanks to a Nicholas Galeano interception which put the Sharks deep in Cougars territory. Cameron Hill would punch the ball in from the 3 with :10 left in the first quarter and Oasis would have its only lead of the game, 10-7.
The teams played to stalemate for much of the second quarter until Tony Sinatra Jr. tossed a deep ball to Lance Fleming for 46 yards, putting Canterbury in scoring position. Banner Brockington scored from the 1 with 1:41 left in the half and the Cougars would go into halftime up 17-10.
Canterbury marched the second half kickoff down the field scoring on a 1-yard Sinatra, Jr. toss Brock Catlin.
Oasis would counter with another 3-yard touchdown run by Hill but Canterbury responded immediately with another Sinatra Jr. touchdown pass, this time for 23 yards to Brock Selby.
A frustrated Oasis squad started to self-destruct.
“There’s too many self-inflicted things going on and we’ve got to get them fixed,” said Oasis head coach Brice Bearman.
Canterbury padded their lead with two more fourth quarter touchdowns to salt away the Kickoff Classic.
Canterbury takeaways
Balance on offense paved the way. The Cougars ran for 157 yards and passed for another 184. Five Cougars ran the ball while another six caught passes. Powered by the passing of Tony Sinatra Jr. and the running of Banner Brockington, Bohanon said of his offense, “We’re going to be as multiple as possible. We’re going to try and confuse defenses while being a power run team.”
Sinatra Jr. looks like a dual threat. The senior quarterback appeared equally adept at running the ball and passing (12-17-1, 184 yards) by tossing four touchdown passes. Early in the game he appeared to have trouble handling the Oasis pass rush, but as the game wore on Sinatra Jr. became more pocket savvy, hitting quick outs to Caid Kaplan which opened up downfield strikes to Fleming and Selby.
This isn’t your mother’s Canterbury team. The Cougars got better on both sides of the ball as the game wore on. Offensively, Canterbury only gave up one sack and one turnover while the defense racked up two sacks and had the Sharks’ quarterbacks scrambling for time. Bohanon loved the effort. “I think our guys gave great effort and I think it showed all the work they did in the offseason and it’s something to build upon,” said Bohanon.
Oasis takeaways
Youth will be served. The final score was a little misleading. When you drill down into the team’s play, it’s clear that sophomore quarterback Ashford Alverio and sophomore running back Cameron Hill may have carry the Sharks to a winning season. Hill scored on the ground twice while Alverio (7-15-1, 159 yards) showed he will be a deep ball threat this season.
The Sharks need to clean things up. Oasis had a problem with major penalties in the second half. A half dozen personal foul and unsportsmanlike flags disrupted drives and continually gave new life to Canterbury drives. “We’re not good enough to make those kinds of mistakes and overcome them. We’re too young,” said Bearman.
Oasis looks to get past the injury bug. Oasis is thin on the line due to some injuries. Junior Robert Vega went down early in the third quarter and had to be stretchered off but Bearman believes he’ll be OK. The Sharks were also missing their big lineman Carter Cannestra who could be back in a couple of weeks.
— John Rinkenbaugh
LaBelle 17, DeSoto 0
Cowboys quarterback Zachary Campbell connected with William Hull on a second-quarter touchdown pass and ran one in himself in the third quarter to lead LaBelle to the win.
Golden Gate 50, IMG State 7
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: SW FL Football Week 0: See which teams picked up Friday wins
Reporting by Ed Reed, Dan DeLuca and Dustin B Levy, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Naples Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Ed Reed, Dan DeLuca and Dustin B Levy, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News | USA TODAY Network
