Playoffs only for select few
With the completion of the 2014 regular season campaign, only a select few high school football teams live to play at least another weekend – state playoff time!
Just 13 schools will represent Lee, Charlotte and Collier County in the regional playoffs that begin tonight. District champions have home field advantage for the first round while district runners-up have to don their road warrior mentalities.
Class 5A through 8A teams begin with quarterfinal matches tonight while Class 1A through 3A teams start with semifinal round play.
Opening at home tonight are Fort Myers in Region 7A-3, South Fort Myers in Region 6A-3, Naples in Region 6A-4, Island Coast and Lely in Region 5A-4 and First Baptist Academy in Region 2A-3. Seven teams open on the road.
Island Coast (8-2) hosts Sarasota Booker, just one of three games played in Lee County. South Fort Myers (8-2) hosts Lake Gibson and Fort Myers (10-0) hosts Melbourne.
Ida Baker (5-5) is one of the road warrior teams playing at Winter Haven. Cape Coral (8-2) plays at DeSoto County, Bishop Verot (5-5) plays at Clearwater Central Catholic and Evangelical Christian visits Indian Rocks Christian. All games kick off at 7:30 p.m.
The Gators are motivated to avenge last season’s 33-27 loss to Booker in the quarterfinal playoffs. The Gators are making their fifth playoff appearance in six years, but they have bowed out of the tournament four of the five years. They registered two wins in 2010 before falling in the regional finals.
The Bulldogs are making their third playoff appearance in the last six years. They lost first-round games in both previous seasons and like the Gators the Bulldogs are looking to avenge last year’s 38-35 loss to Winter Haven.
The Seahawks are back in the playoffs after missing out each of the past two seasons. That absence snapped a run of five straight playoff appearances.
Bishop Verot has a rich history of playoff appearanced dating back to 1990. As their Cape counterparts, the Vikings head to Clearwater seeking revenge for last season’s 47-0 drubbing at the hands of Central Catholic.
Final 2014 Football District Standings
District 7A-11 (Reg. 3)
Dist.All
x-Fort Myers3-010-0
y-Charlotte2-17-3
Port Charlotte1-26-4
Riverdale0-35-5
District 6A-12 (Reg. 3)
Dist.All
x-South FM3-08-2
y-Ida Baker2-15-5
Lehigh1-22-8
East Lee Co.0-30-10
District 6A-13 (Reg. 4)
Dist. All
x-Naples4-09-1
y-Gulf Coast2-25-5
Barron Collier 2-23-7
Palmetto Ridge2-24-6
Estero0-42-8
District 5A-14 (Reg. 4)
Dist.All
x-Island Coast6-08-2
y-Cape Coral4-28-2
Lemon Bay4-27-3
North FM3-35-5
Dunbar3-33-7
Mariner1-51-9
Cypress Lake0-62-8
District 5A-15 (Reg. 4)
Dist.All
x-Lely2-07-3
y-Immokalee1-14-6
Golden Gate0-26-4
District 3A-6 (Reg. 3)
Dist.All
x-Cardinal Mooney2-07-3
y-Bishop Verot1-1 5-5
Out-of-Door0-22-7
District 2A-6 (Reg. 3)
Dist. All
x-First Baptist4-06-4
y-Evan. Christian2-25-5
SJ Neumann2-24-5
Moore Haven2-24-6
Marco Island0-44-6
Independent
All
C.S. Naples7-2
SWF Christian5-3
Oasis3-5
Canterbury1-5
Gateway2-8
x-District champion
y-District runner-up