Playoff berths on the line
The Cape Coral Seahawks have three regular season high school football games left after Friday night. The Ida Baker Bulldogs have two games left, including a District 4A-12 clash with Cape on Nov. 6.
Even with some significant games left to play, both the Seahawks and Bulldogs can accomplish a major goal Friday night, but they’ll need help from the other school to nail down one of the district’s two state playoff berths.
The Seahawks (6-0, 1-0 district) play at Gulf Coast (3-3, 0-1) and the Bulldogs (6-1, 1-0) play at Palmetto Ridge (4-2, 0-1). If both win, they’ll eliminate Gulf Coast and Palmetto Ridge from contention.
The district title still would be up for grabs when Cape and Baker collide, though the losing team would claim the runner-up playoff berth.
Needless to say, both teams are focused on taking care of their own business.
“It’s kind of in our hands at this point,” Baker coach Brian Conn said. “We can only control what we do.”
Friday’s slate is peppered with important late-season matchups, including the annual clash between North Fort Myers (3-4, 0-2) and Mariner (0-6, 0-2). The Tritons are still looking for their first win of the season on homecoming night at Tony McKenna Field. Both teams have lost their first two games in the District 3A-11 race.
The Bishop Verot Vikings and Island Coast Gators can vault back into the playoff race in their respective districts, but face difficult opponents on the road.
Verot (5-2, 1-1) plays at Riverdale (5-1, 2-0) in 3A-11 and Island Coast (3-4, 1-1) travels to 2B-6 favorite Dunbar (4-2, 2-0).
Cape and Baker both began the season with clear goals to be part of the postseason equation. The Seahawks are trying to claim a playoff berth for the third consecutive year, while the Bulldogs are seeking their first postseason appearance in the five-year history of the program.
They know their road trips to Collier County won’t be easy, considering the desperate situation facing Gulf Coast and Palmetto Ridge, respectively.
Gulf Coast has dealt with a rash of injuries this season and was throttled 48-7 by Baker in the first district game. Palmetto Ridge lost to Cape 24-14 in the opener.
“The way we put it to our players this week is that they’re in a desperate situation,” Cape coach Mike Goebbel said of the Sharks. “They’re in either a win-or-done situation, so my message to the team was we have to pick up our intensity even more.”
The Seahawks, ranked No. 7 in the latest state poll, have been held back, at times, due to turnovers. They put together one of their more complete performances last Friday, thoroughly defeating Island Coast 32-0.
“That performance was kind of what we’ve been looking for the last five weeks,” Goebbel said.
Senior quarterback Jaylen Watkins passed for 185 yards and three touchdowns against the Gators, and the defense did its part posting a shutout.
The Seahawks have received consistent play this season from junior linebacker Chris Johnson and junior defensive end Edsel Caprice. Senior Charles Walker has provided a lift at nose tackle in recent weeks.
While the Seahawks try to remain unbeaten, the Bulldogs must regroup after suffering their first loss in a nondistrict game last week at South Fort Myers, 40-20.
For the first time this season, the Bulldogs faced some adversity. They lost senior running back/cornerback Joseph Byrd to a knee injury late in the first quarter, and were unable to regain the momentum in the second and third quarters as South built its lead with some big plays.
“I was not really happy with how they responded during the game,” Conn said, “but we talked about it a little more this week and they seemed to be focused on putting that behind them and accomplishing the other goals we set at the beginning of the year.”
In Byrd’s absence, junior Brandon Cruz gave the Bulldogs a lift at running back and on special teams. He ran hard with the ball and broke several tackles on a 41-yard punt return in the fourth quarter.
Despite the loss to South, the Bulldogs still have a chance to post the most wins in a single season in school history, in addition to possibly wrapping up their first playoff berth.
North Fort Myers Red Knights (3-4, 0-2) at Mariner Tritons (0-6, 0-2): For two teams that have struggled to score points consistently, there may not be many needed when the Red Knights face the Tritons.
If history is any indication, expect a hard-hitting, low-scoring affair. The Tritons beat the Knights 13-0 in 2007, and the Knights eeked out an 8-7 slugfest last year.
The Tritons are averaging just over 13 points per game on the year. The Knights have mustered just seven points in each of their two district losses.
Island Coast Gators (3-4, 1-1) at Dunbar Tigers (4-2, 2-0): The Gators come off a rough, 32-0 loss to Cape and face another top county opponent in Dunbar.
The Tigers have lost games to Riverdale and Naples this season, but remain the team to beat in the new District 2B-6.
For the Gators to pull off the upset, they’ll need their offense to get back on track after gaining just 52 yards in the first half of last week’s loss to Cape.
Bishop Verot Vikings (5-2, 1-1) at Riverdale Raiders (5-1, 2-0): The Vikings quietly have put together an impressive run of three straight victories, but will need to upset Riverdale Friday to jump back into the district race.
The Vikings have averaged 32 points in their last three games.
The Raiders defense has been stout, leading to a 35-2 win over Mariner and 35-0 win over Fort Myers in 3A-11 games.
Breeze Area
Football Poll
Breeze sports staffers rank area teams each week. Rankings are listed with record through Oct. 17 & last week’s ranking:
Rec. Prev.
1. South FM 7-0 1
2. Cape Coral 6-0 2
3. Riverdale 5-1 4
4. Dunbar 4-2 3
5. Ida Baker 6-1 5
6. Fort Myers 3-4 6
7. Evangelical Christian 5-1 7
8. North FM 3-4 8
9. Bishop Verot 5-2 9
10. Island Coast 3-4 10
11. Lehigh 3-4 11
12. East Lee County 0-7 12
13. Mariner 0-6 13
14. Cypress Lake 0-6 14
15. SWF Christian 3-4 15
16. Estero 1-6 16
17. Gateway Charter 0-6 17