Teams open district play
Moments after a 41-12 loss to Charlotte last Friday, Mariner High coach Chad O’Brien reminded his players that there is a lot of football to be played this season.
Similarly, Cape Coral and North Fort Myers are focused on moving forward after coming up short against formidable nondistrict opponents. The Seahawks dropped a heartbreaker to Naples, 36-35, and the Red Knights lost for the first time this season to Dunbar, 21-13.
While teams like to see how they stack up against top teams outside their district, the road to the state playoffs is clearly defined.
It begins Friday when Cape hosts North Fort Myers at Dave Warkentin Field. Ida Baker hosts defending District 5A-12 champion Fort Myers.
“I thought (at Naples) we showed we’re right there with one of the best teams in Southwest Florida,” Seahawks coach Mike Goebbel said, “but now we have to come back and work even harder getting ready for North.”
The district race has been entertaining, to say the least, the past couple of years.
In 2006, Cape, North and Fort Myers participated in a three-way tiebreaker at North’s Moody Field. The host Red Knights, led by standout running back Noel Devine, captured the district crown and Fort Myers earned the runner-up playoff berth, leaving out the Seahawks.
Last season, Fort Myers went 4-0 to win the district, but Cape and rival Mariner met in the annual Black ‘n Blue Bowl to decide the runner-up spot. The Seahawks defeated the Tritons and used that simulated playoff scenario to their advantage in the actual playoffs, posting wins over Venice and Bradenton Manatee.
Despite the postseason success last year, the Seahawks (2-1) begin a quest for their first 5A-12 title against North.
The Red Knights (2-1) have shown to be a much-improved team after going 2-8 last season, including 0-4 in district games.
The Red Knights have been hard-hitting and opportunistic on defense this season, and their special teams have been sparked by return man Mike Becker.
Fort Myers (2-1) at Ida Baker (2-1): The Bulldogs and Green Wave each responded well to their first loss of the season.
The Bulldogs fell to Riverdale 28-20 in week two and bounced back to defeat Estero 43-0. The Green Wave put a 21-14 loss to Sarasota Riverview behind them and took out some frustration on Cypress Lake in a 42-14 win.
Baker has come a long way in four seasons of varsity football. The attitude and dedication has been present since the start, but the Bulldogs continue to add more athletes and playmakers to the mix.
Leading the offense this season is promising sophomore quarterback Sean Francis and a host of running backs in Joseph Byrd, Ron Ward, Marvin Riedwald and Rafaelito Palazzolo.
Senior Mike Anderson has provided big plays on defense and special teams.
The Bulldogs are riding the crest of their first winning season (6-4), but are trying to improve their last season’s 1-3 district mark.
They get a big test against Fort Myers, which has won the district five of the last six years.
Estero (0-3) at Mariner (1-2): The Tritons don’t begin their district schedule until Oct. 10 at Fort Myers, so they are looking to get back some confidence against winless Estero, after back-to-back losses to East Lee County and Charlotte.
Junior quarterback Gabby Rojas was limited in practice with a sore shoulder leading up the Charlotte game and the Tritons may continue to give some reps to sophomore Justin Emmons.
The Tritons defense played well at times against Charlotte, but twice gave up long touchdown runs after forcing the Tarpons into third-and-long situations. They also were plagued by turnovers and penalties, offensively.
The Tritons did get a boost from the special teams when junior Eric Mitchell returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown.
Bishop Verot (2-0) at Mulberry (1-1): The Vikings hit the road again for their first District 2A-5 game at Mulberry.
They opened the season with a 20-17 win over Lemon Bay and then blanked LaBelle 33-0.
Verot and Mulberry played a thriller last season at Viking Stadium, which the Vikings won 25-22. They drove 77 yards on their final drive and scored the go-ahead touchdown with 41 seconds left.
In rainy conditions, departed senior Garrett Redden caught the winning touchdown pass off a deflection.
In other district openers involving county schools, Cypress Lake visits Lehigh, Riverdale invades Lemon Bay, South Fort Myers hosts Dunbar and Gulf Coast goes to East Lee County.