North Fort Myers rising junior Dominic Rendon (16) caught a 29-yard touchdown in the third quarter of the Red Knights' 27-26 spring football win against Port Charlotte Friday night. To view more photos from the game, see the Cape Coral Breeze Facebook page. MICHAEL PISTELLA mpistella@breezenewspapers.com

The North Fort Myers Red Knights provided plenty of thrills for a spring football game Friday night, edging Port Charlotte 27-26 in overtime at Moody Field.

Tanner Helton scored from 5 yards out on a quarterback keeper in overtime and Brandon Bush added an extra point to secure the victory.

Helton had two touchdown passes earlier in the contest, and Bush kicked two field goals for North.

After North missed a field goal in the final minute of regulation, the teams’ coaches got together and decided to keep on playing.

The Pirates got the ball first in OT, with quarterback Bryce Eaton scoring from a yard out. The extra point, however, was missed. That opened the door for the Red Knights, who didn’t miss out on the opportunity.

North Fort Myers High retired Red Knight and NFL veteran Tre Boston's number 6 at halftime of Friday night's spring football game. Boston is the eighth player in Red Knights history to have his number retired. To view more photos from the game, see the Cape Coral Breeze Facebook page. MICHAEL PISTELLA mpistella@breezenewspapers.com

Port Charlotte scored the first touchdown of the game on Alex Perry’s 23-yard jet sweep. North got a 27-yard Bush field goal in the first quarter.

After the Tarpons kicked a field goal to return the margin to seven points, the Red Knights struck to tie the game. Brennan Boucher caught an 8-yard TD pass from Helton to make the halftime score 10-10.

Port Charlotte regained the lead in the third quarter, only to have Boucher connect with Dominic Rendon on a 29-yard scoring pass to tie the game at 17.

The teams traded field goals to make it 20-20.

An added highlight for Red Knights’ fans was a halftime ceremony retiring Tre Boston’s North Fort Myers number (6). Boston, who went on to play at the University of North Carolina, was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the 2014 NFL Draft. He played for the Panthers, Los Angeles Chargers and Arizona Cardinals.

North Fort Myers rising sophomore Tanner Helton threw two touchdown passes during the Red Knights' 27-26 spring football win against Port Charlotte Friday night. To view more photos from the game, see the Cape Coral Breeze Facebook page. MICHAEL PISTELLA mpistella@breezenewspapers.com

Boston returned to Carolina in 2020, but was released in February as the Panthers released four players in a salary cap move.

He is currently an NFL free agent.

Boston is the eighth player in Red Knights history to have his number retired.

Before Friday, the most recent was fullback Tommy Bohanon, who played collegiately for Wake Forest and had an NFL career with the New York Jets and Jacksonville Jaguars. He signed with but was released by both the Green Bay Packers and Baltimore Ravens. Bohanon also was drafted by the XFL, but COVID-19 led to the collapse of that league.