North denies Baker in OT
Ida Baker entered Friday night’s District 5A-12 contest against North Fort Myers with a clear objective. They needed a victory to stay in the hunt for their first playoff berth in school history.
The host Red Knights, who had their own playoff aspirations dashed a week prior, were stingy in their role as spoilers.
The Red Knights (5-5, 2-2) clamped down defensively after Tommy Bohanon scored on a one-yard run in the second overtime, leading to a dramatic 35-28 victory at Moody Field.
Both teams scored touchdowns in the first overtime, including a seven-yard run by Baker’s Rafaelito Palazzolo, but the Bulldogs had a fumbled snap and sack that pushed them back on their final possession.
When a fourth-down pass sailed incomplete, the Bulldogs (4-5, 2-2) were eliminated from playoff contention.
In the first quarter, both teams were held scoreless, but the game turned into a thriller.
North started the scoring midway through the second quarter on a nine-yard touchdown run by Robenson Merci.
Baker struggled the remainder of the second quarter, until the closing seconds of the half.
They intercepted a pass with seven seconds left and quarterback Jake York threw a desperation touchdown pass to Darryl Gary with one second left, tying it 7-7.
The Bulldogs struck quickly in the third quarter. Joseph Byrd returned the opening kickoff 99 yards, giving them a 14-7 lead.
Special teams led to the next two scores. At the start of the fourth, North blocked a punt and Kyle Schmidt recovered it in the end zone to tie it 14-14.
Later, the Red Knights lined up for a 30-yard field goal, but it was blocked and Mike Anderson returned in 70 yards for a score.
With three minutes left, Merci tied it again, scoring on a drive engineered by quarterback Mike Nelson.
After Palazzolo’s touchdown put Baker up in the first overtime, the Red Knights answered on a 10-yard TD pass from Nelson to Tre Boston.
Baker still has one regular-season game next Friday at Island Coast.
Ida Baker 0 7 7 7 7 0 — 28
North Ft. Myers 0 7 0 14 7 7 — 35
Second Quarter
NFM — Merci 9 run (Yeatter kick)
IB — Gary 34 pass from York (Dean kick)
Third Quarter
IB — Byrd 99 kick return (Dean kick)
Fourth Quarter
NFM — Schmidt blocked punt recovery (Yeatter kick)
IB — Anderson 70 return blocked FG (Dean kick)
NFM — Merci 18 run (Yeatter kick)
Overtime
IB — Palazzolo 7 run (Dean kick)
NFM — Boston 10 pass from Nelson (Yeatter kick)
NFM — Bohanon 1 run (Yeatter kick)