Seahawks, Tarpons meet again
The Cape Coral Seahawks and Charlotte Tarpons finished the high school football regular season ranked No. 5 and No. 4, respectively, in Class 4A in the State Associated Press Poll.
Six months ago, they didn’t appear to be that close when the Tarpons handed the Seahawks a 44-0 loss in the spring game.
For the Seahawks, the loss didn’t carry over into the regular season, only the realization that they better improve significantly before facing the Tarpons, again, in the playoffs.
The Seahawks (11-0) will find out how far they’ve come when they host the Tarpons (10-1) Friday at Dave Warkentin Field in a 4A regional semifinals game.
“We’re a different team than we were in May,” Seahawks coach Mike Goebbel said. “We’ve had a lot of questions answered since that game.”
The District 4A-12 champion Seahawks advanced to the second round of the playoffs for the second time in three years by virtue of a 27-0 win over Lakewood Ranch Friday.
The Tarpons found themselves in a tough battle against Ida Baker before pulling away late for a 27-7 win.
Though the Tarpons also won their district (4A-11) they’ll travel to Cape based on the FHSAA’s bracket assignment.
Two years ago, the Seahawks claimed one of their biggest wins on the day after Thanksgiving, defeating Bradenton Manatee 31-28 to advance to the regional finals.
In order to reach that point, again, the Seahawks must add another big win to their list, and against a team they figured they’d have to go through.
The Tarpons dominated the spring contest in every phase, particularly the line of scrimmage.
Charlotte also introduced its balanced attack, with junior running back Mike Bellamy striking for two big plays – a 65-yard run and 89-yard reception. Quarterback Kyle Midgett and receiver Alex Mut hooked up several times on sideline passes.
Despite the lopsided outcome, Goebbel said he viewed it as merely an “evaluation instrument.”
Though both teams figured to have enough returning talent to compete for a playoff spot in 4A, there were issues to address in the spring and throughout the regular season.
The Seahawks, for example, worked in several inexperienced players on the offensive and defensive lines and at linebacker in the spring game.
“We weren’t looking at it as a win-loss game,” Goebbel said.