Island Coast in contention for playoffs
The Island Coast Gators came through with a program-defining victory last week by knocking off District 2B-6 favorite Dunbar. The 6-2 win puts the Gators in a four-way tie for first and right in the thick of the playoff race.
Gators coach Joe Bowen realizes the challenge facing his team this week as they try to guard against overconfidence.
Island Coast (4-4, 2-1) travels to Gateway Charter Friday. The Griffins (0-7, 0-3) have had a disappointing season, being outscored 338-36, but will look to spoil the Gators’ playoff chances.
“I told the boys, ‘this is far from over,'” Bowen said. “Our ultimate goal is to get into the playoffs. We don’t want to fall into a trap thinking because we beat Dunbar we can let up, because one of these teams can easily take us out.”
Gateway Charter is one of two remaining opponents for the Gators. LaBelle comes calling in Week 10.
Friday’s slate features a variety of nondistrict and district matchups.
Cape High (7-0) hosts Stuart South Fork (5-2) at Dave Warkentin Stadium. The Seahawks want to remain unbeaten and sharp, heading into their district championship showdown with Ida Baker Nov. 6.
Cape and Baker (7-1) are both 2-0 in District 4A-12. The winner of the head-to-head meeting clinches the district title and a home playoff game with the losing team reaching the playoffs as runner-up.
Bishop Verot (5-3, 1-2) visits North Fort Myers (4-4, 1-2) and Mariner (0-7, 0-3) plays at Fort Myers (3-5, 1-2), both are 3A-11 games.
For obvious reasons, Island Coast has never been in this situation before. The Gators played their first varsity season last year, going 3-3 as an independent. This is their first season in a district and playing a 10-game varsity schedule. They’re hoping for an 11th game after last Friday’s win over Dunbar.
The Gators trailed 2-0 in the fourth quarter when Dunbar fumbled a punt, which the Gators recovered near midfield. Sophomore quarterback Mike Dumas engineered the go-ahead drive that put the Gators ahead and the defense did its part in stopping Dunbar’s final drive.
“I feel like we came in there pumped up,” Bowen said. “We had a good week of practice and I felt like we had a good feel of what they were running.”
The Gators are sitting in a good position in the district race. They’re 2-1 along with Dunbar, Lake Placid and Clewiston.
The Gators, though, already have played those three teams, holding the head-to-head tiebreaker over Dunbar and Lake Placid.
Their final two opponents, Gateway Charter and LaBelle, are a combined 1-5 in district play.
Stuart South Fork Bulldogs (5-2) at Cape Coral Seahawks (7-0): The Seahawks face a dangerous nondistrict opponent Friday in Stuart South Fork.
The Bulldogs, from the east coast, have lost two close games. They fell 17-13 to Jensen Beach in the season opener and dropped another to Vero Beach, 14-6. Vero Beach has been ranked in The AP Top 10 in Class 6A.
Cape has only produced one perfect regular season in the 30-year history of the program. That came in 1993 when the Seahawks went 12-1 overall under coach James Hale.
The Seahawks remained unbeaten last Friday with a dominating 54-21 win at Gulf Coast, clinching their third straight playoff berth.
The Seahawks came out focused and jumped on the Sharks with the combination of an opportunistic defense and a big-play offense.
Though the Seahawks have won all their games so far, they made it a point to pick up their intensity even more with the playoffs approaching.
“We’ve all been getting on the same page in practice,” senior Spencer Boyd said. “High intensity practice is what carries over to the game.”
Mariner Tritons (0-7, 0-3) at Fort Myers Green Wave (3-5, 1-2): The threat of a winless campaign is becoming a legit possibility for the Mariner Tritons.
The Tritons travel to Fort Myers Friday and play at Ida Baker Nov. 13, with a home game against South Fort Myers sandwiched in between.
The Tritons have shown no signs of backing down, though, losing a pair of close games to Island Coast and Bishop Verot in recent weeks, before a 42-28 loss to North last Friday.
Sophomore quarterback J.T. Etnoyer is gaining experience for the Tritons. He threw for two touchdowns and ran for one in last Friday’s loss.
Bishop Verot Vikings (5-3, 1-2) at North Fort Myers Red Knights (4-4, 1-2): The Red Knights are hanging onto slim playoff hopes as they host Bishop Verot at Moody Field.
The Knights must defeat Verot and Riverdale in their last two games and get help from Riverdale losing to South Fort Myers Thursday and Fort Myers dropping one of its remaining two games to either Verot or Mariner.
The Knights had several players step up due to injuries in last Friday’s victory over Mariner, with senior Tre Boston leading the way. He took over at quarterback and accounted for more than 300 yards and five touchdowns.
The Vikings mustered only one late touchdown in an 18-7 loss to Riverdale last Friday.
Breeze Area Football Poll
Breeze sports staffers rank area teams each week. Rankings are listed with record through Oct. 24 & last week’s ranking:
Rec. Prev.
1. South FM 8-0 1
2. Cape Coral 7-0 2
3. Riverdale 6-1 3
4. Ida Baker 7-1 5
5. Evangelical Christian 6-1 7
6. Fort Myers 3-5 6
7. North FM 4-4 8
8. Island Coast 4-4 10
9. Dunbar 4-3 4
10. Bishop Verot 5-3 9
11. Lehigh 3-4 11
12. East Lee County 1-7 12
13. Mariner 0-7 13
14. Cypress Lake 0-7 14
15. SWF Christian 3-4 15
16. Estero 1-7 16
17. Gateway Charter 0-7 17