alex martin, dustin b levy, dan deluca and nick wilson, fort myers news-press
A roundup of FHSAA regional semifinal high school football games played by Southwest Florida teams on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024.
All season, Riverdale head football coach Kendall Gibson's been preaching to his players they have what it takes to be a top-tier team.
On Friday night, the Raiders went out and proved it.
Facing traditional tormentor Fort Myers in a Class 5A, Region 3 semifinal, Riverdale (10-2) scored a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to erase an eight-point deficit and down the Green Wave 18-14. The win, just the fifth for the Raiders in 42 all-time meetings with Fort Myers, catapults Riverdale into a regional final for the first time in the program's 55-year history.
"I'm just so proud of the boys, so proud of my coaching staff," Gibson said. "I've got a lot of good guys around me. We work so well together and we pour life into the boys.
"We've been believing since the summertime we had 98% attendance at our workouts. I'm just glad they get to reap the benefits of that."
Stymied a bit in the first half, the Raiders vaunted running game found its legs in the second. Junior Lovensky Blanchard was the catalyst, rushing for 150 of his 180 yards in the final two quarters. He and senior Cole Hayes, who added 135 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries, wore down an undermanned Green Wave front without three interior starters due to illness and injury, including star junior tackle Kendall Guervil.
"It's probably the worst night to have three linemen out against a team like them, but that's no excuse; we have every chance to win the game," Fort Myers coach Sam Sirianni Jr. said. "But credit to them, they kept sticking with what they do. They wear on you and we just couldn't get enough separation to get them out of their game plan."
Plagued by untimely turnovers and penalties for much of the season, the Green Wave (8-3) handed the Raiders an early advantage when a punt bounced off a Fort Myers blocker and Riverdale sophomore Latroy Pender Jr. recovered the ball at the Green Wave 8-yard line. Four plays later, junior quarterback Theodis Harris Jr. snuck into the end zone and fourth-and-goal from the 1 to put the Raiders up 6-0 with 5:25 left in the first quarter.
The score stayed that way until late in the second when a poor snap on a Riverdale punt attempt, led to a shanked kick that netted just eight yards and gave Fort Myers the ball at the Raiders 25. Junior Mac Thompson capped a five-play drive with a 1-yard touchdown run that gave the Green Wave a 7-6 lead at halftime despite Fort Myers mustering just 43 total yards in the first two quarters.
"The message at halftime was let's play all three phases; let's play Riverdale football," Gibson said. "We felt like it was in arm's reach and that's a good feeling for us because we know one of our backs can take it at any time."
The Raiders defense continued its strong play in the third quarter, stopping Fort Myers senior Madrid Tucker short of the goal line on a fourth down to keep the score 7-6. But the Green Wave defense answered with a huge play of its own as senior Jeremiah Samuels picked up a fumbled pitch and raced 16 yards for a touchdown to put Fort Myers in front 14-6 with 1:01 left in the third quarter.
That's when Riverdale's running game got going. On the Raiders' first offensive play following Samuels' momentum-changing play, Riverdale grabbed it right back as Blanchard ripped off a 41-yard run, the longest play for either team, to move into Green Wave territory. Three plays later, Hayes raced around the left side for a 13-yard touchdown to pull Riverdale within 14-12 with 11:50 left to play.
Pender then intercepted a deep pass attempt by Green Wave quarterback Dom Ardezzone at the Raiders' 15-yard line. Riverdale moved the ball to the Fort Myers 49 but consecutive penalties left them facing a second-and-20 at their own 41 with about six minutes remaining.
That's when the Raiders dialed up just their second pass attempt of the game and Harris connected with senior Jermaine Redden Jr. for 41 yards to the Green Wave 15.
"We preach a lot about karma and (Redden), man, he had a great week of practice," Gibson said. "He found me in my office and said he was going to have something good happen because of that. In my eyes that was the play of the game."
Five plays later, Hayes scored from 2 yards out and Riverdale had its first lead of the game with 3:24 left to play.
After an intentional grounding penalty forced Fort Mayers into a third-and38 from its own 11, senior Jamar Underwood intercepted another deep pass attempt by Ardezzone at the Green Wave 41. Two runs by Blanchard moved the ball to the Green Wave 14. On third-and-2 from the 9, Blanchard sealed the game by powering for six yards and a first down, allowing the Raiders to run out of the clock.
"I've been preaching all year that we have the two best running backs in the area," Gibson said. "We call them salt and pepper because they each give us something different. They were able to key in on Cole a little bit and (Blanchard) stepped up. He's a humble kid. He doesn't cry or complain that he's not getting his; he just waits his turn and tonight he went off."
The Raiders, who went just 2-8 last season, will travel to top-seeded Bradenton Manatee (9-1) for next week's region final.
"It feels good to do something that's never been done here before," Blanchard said. "We're making history."
-- Dan DeLuca
BRADENTON - Manatee coach Jacquez Green - the ex-Florida Gator and NFL receiver who has seen just about possible formation on a football field - took one look at Immokalee's wing-T offense on film and came to a somewhat obvious conclusion.
Manatee quarterback Andrew Heidel completed 12 of 16 passes, including nine on the Hurricanes' first 15 offensive snaps, for 225 yards and four touchdowns Friday night, allowing a talented receiving corps to pile up a 30-point lead in the game's first 9 minutes, 35 seconds. The result was a painfully one-sided Class 5A-Region 3 semifinal - the Hurricanes (9-1) took a 54-0 lead to the intermission and coasted through a running-clock second half.
"We knew we could throw the ball on them," said Heidel, a 6-foot-2, 210-pound senior whose tender right knee remained well-protected in the pocket throughout a sack-free night. "Just watching the film, we thought our receivers were better than their defenders."
Five different players reached the end zone before halftime, and Heidel admitted he was keeping track.
"When we're up a decent amount, I try to spread the ball around," he said. "At the end, we were trying to get Farrakhan (Shannon) a touchdown."
They did that, too, with Heidel throwing a 5-yard TD pass to the senior tight end that upped Manatee's lead to 51-0 with 3:54 left in the second quarter. Owen Jones, who was a perfect 7-for-7 on extra points, added a 28-yard field goal after a pass interference penalty on the final play of the half.
Senior wideouts A.J. Causey (95 yards), Jalen Bryant (61), and Torey Gilley (42) had three receptions apiece, as Heidel skillfully kept everyone well-fed.
Manatee will host Riverdale in next week's 5A-3 title game, after the Raiders (10-2) upset Fort Myers 18-14. Immokalee finished at 10-2.
Heidel found Gilley three times for 42 yards on the game's opening drive, setting up Kei'shawn Smith's 5-yard scoring run. He looked Smith's way twice on the next one, including a screen pass that turned into a 15-yard score and a 14-0 lead.
"Andrew's tough," Green said. "Last year, he played with two broken fingers. He's a pocket passer. We've just got to protect him and let him throw the football."
Senior defensive lineman Ean Johnson-Kelley recovered a fumbled snap by the punter - leading to Heidel's 28-yard TD pass to Bryant on the next play - then blocked another punt for a safety. Manatee's offense needed only four plays after the free kick to score again, this time on Smith's 6-yard run up the middle, his third touchdown in less than 10 minutes.
"A lot of Wing-T teams don't really see passing much in practice throughout the summer," Green said of Immokalee's defense. "We knew we had a chance throwing the ball against those guys early on. Plus, we got a chance to save the running backs for another week, in case we have a long (playoff) run."
The Indians' two primary backs, Jayden Mixon and Jontay Hais, had combined for 2,789 yards and 36 TDs in 11 games. Against the 'Canes, they finished with just 7 yards (Mixon 12, Hais minus-5) on 10 attempts.
"In playoff football, you have to execute at a high level, period," said Immokalee coach James Delgado. "If you don't, you get exposed and the game gets away from you fast. Everybody's good and you can't make up for it.
"I knew they had the athletes to do that. Smart coaches take advantage of the guys they have and they play to their strengths. That cat (Green) doesn't make many mistakes."
The Indians finally got on the board with about four minutes to play when a snap sailed over the Manatee punter's head and out of the end zone. Two plays later, junior quarterback Chris Germinal (4-of-18, 60 yards) fired a 44-yard flea flicker pass to sophomore Marshon Jackson, setting up 275-pound lineman Izzy Lobe for a 1-yard TD as time expired.
"I think it meant a lot to our kids (to score a touchdown)," Delgado said. "What's even cooler was they wanted a lineman to get it. Jayden came to the sideline and said, 'Run the play that (Lobe) scores on.' "
-- Donnie Wilkie
Needing one win to advance to a regional final against Cardinal Mooney was a driving force for the Bishop Verot football team this week.
The Vikings answered that call, putting together a strong defensive performance that included six sacks and two interceptions.
Verot (9-3) escaped with a 25-12 win over Lakewood (6-6), in a game that saw tensions flare late from the losing side in the handshake line. Verot players were forced to sprint to their locker room when trying to leave their own stadium.
"We talk about how to handle yourself and do the right thing on the field and off the field, in every capacity," Verot coach Richie Rode said. "When things go crazy like that, you go on autopilot. For their autopilot to do the right thing, I'm extremely proud of them. I told them in the locker room, don't let this take away what you guys just accomplished.
"They got poked, punched, and spit on, and things like that in the handshake line. They didn't do anything. They didn't respond. That's really difficult to do."
A 9-play, 77-yard scripted drive to open was capped off by a Carter Smith touchdown pass to Ayden Gonzalez from 8 yards out. Deshon Jenkins opened the game with 46 yards rushing on the first drive.
Smith would then link up with Gonzalez once again with 42 seconds remaining in the first half, floating a pass over the Lakewood secondary that stretched the lead to two scores following a successful two-point conversion.
"We finally started fast, and got something going early," Rode said. "We thought that we could have success in the trenches, and we did early. We wanted to get Shon going again and wanted to lean on our o-line. I thought we had a great game plan coming in. I thought (offensive coordinator) Josh (Vogelbach) had a great first series scripted.
"To score and get the lead like that, in a big playoff game when we were the team with experience, is important. You couldn't let them get any momentum going. I thought we did a good job of not letting that happen. We were never tied or behind."
Lakewood responded after the first series, thanks in part to two key plays on third-and-23 and fourth-and-7, which the Spartans eventually scored on thanks in part to a 3-yard touchdown run from Tayshawn Bell. Bell finished with 8 rushes for 63 yards and a score, adding a pair of receptions for 12 yards.
After the touchdown, the Verot defense adjusted and made life difficult for Lakewood quarterback Ayden Wallace. After completing his first nine passes, the standout quarterback was unable to escape from pressure by Dwyer Camron, Ryan Peterson, Micah Anderson, JJ Bolz, and others. Jadrien Carmo and Marquis Young came away with picks of Wallace in the secondary, both of which came at the end of each half, while Peterson and Anderson split a sack that resulted in a safety.
"We thought we were going to have to bring pressure to make him uncomfortable," Rode said of Wallace. "He's a really good player. They have a lot of weapons to throw to. We thought we had to gamble here and there to generate pressure. We had a letdown drive or two, where we just ran by some things with bad angles. By and large, it was a great defensive outing. They're playing well together, complementary football. We're rotating 15, 16 guys on defense right now where they can maximize their performance. I've been pleased with their buy-in and execution of the game plan tonight."
Feeding off the strong defensive performance in the middle two quarters, it wouldn't be long until Jenkins, whose nickname could very well be "The Closer", took over.
The junior, who eclipsed 4,000 yards rushing on the season, methodically wore down the Spartans defense with bruising run after bruising run. Jenkins went for 171 yards Friday night on 24 rushes with a touchdown, bringing his total to 1,671 yards on the season.
"He had almost 100 yards in the first half," Rode said. "When you've got 15 for 98 in the first half, nobody wants to tackle him fresh. And nobody wants to tackle him in the fourth quarter. He doesn't get tired. He continues to pound and grind and lean on you as the game goes on. We're always confident in that, and showed he can do that again."
Now, Verot will make the same trip it did just over two months ago to Sarasota, where it will take on a Cougars team that hasn't lost over their previous 18 games dating back to a 50-14 loss to Verot on Oct. 20, 2023.
"Not at all," Rode said when asked about any difficulty motivating his team. "You talk about a Diocese rivalry, and wanting another shot after such a poor performance the first time. Our kids will be excited, prepared, and ready. It's an enormous challenge, for sure. They're playing extremely good football this season. They're undefeated and the No. 1 seed for a reason. They've got a lot of talent.
"It's going to be a tall task for us. There's no question that our boys will be ready. They're excited for it. This is what they've wanted, and we've kinda been on a collision course for this. We'll see what happens. We'll be ready. The turkey will definitely taste better on Thanksgiving."
-- Alex Martin
It's become a tradition for the Naples football team to practice on Thanksgiving.
The Golden Eagles trounced the Green Devils to advance to their third consecutive regional championship game on Friday night.
Despite the program's long and consistent history of success, it wasn't something head coach Rick Martin and company took for granted after the blowout.
Martin took the time to thank everyone behind the scenes who help make his program into a Southwest Florida powerhouse year in and year out.
"From our guidance counselors to our principals to our desk staff, our athletic director - they just play such a huge part in this thing, and I don't get a chance to say thank you enough," he said.
In Naples' last regional semifinal game, running back Shawn Simeon made state playoff history when he rushed for 387 yards and seven touchdowns.
There was still some of that magic in the air as he fielded the opening kickoff at the goal line, juked away from defenders, and sprinted down the sideline to the opposing end zone.
"I know he's special and I watch him do special things all the time, and then he does something like that to get us on the board," Martin said. "You get momentum like that in the second round of a playoff game and you just keep rolling with it. It's awesome."
The Naples defense had to contend with the slippery St. Petersburg quarterback Jeff Jones, who has accounted for more than 70 percent of the Green Devils' total yards this season.
With defensive players Vladimir Raphael, LaCarlos McGee and Khari Bendolph leading the way, the Golden Eagles held St. Petersburg to less than 100 yards of offense. Tariq Arbyummi and Andre Ferdinand both came up with fumble recoveries in key moments.
"Our defense played lights out tonight," Martin said. "They knew exactly what that quarterback was all about - we know he's the real deal, and we stepped up to that challenge all week long during practice and it showed out on the field. Proud of them boys."
Simeon and Trayvon Jean combined for 165 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Jamar Jerome added 85 yards on three carries.
Junior quarterback Alijah Molina hit James Lachance downfield in one-on-one coverage for a 47-yard touchdown to add to the onslaught in the fourth quarter. It was the pair's 21st connection this season and seventh that went for a score.
In the regional final, Naples will get a rematch of the district title game against Port Charlotte after the Pirates took care of Jesuit with a 45-31 win.
"I'm extremely proud of our boys stepping up to the challenge and getting this thing done," Martin said. "We are going to our third regional championship in a row, which is really hard to do."
-- Dustin Levy
First Baptist has no shortage of talent, and that talent was on full display on both sides of the ball in a 34-20 win over Benjamin in the Class 1A-Region 3 semifinal.
Freshman quarterback Brady Quinn led the charge, throwing for 5 touchdowns in the win. Quinn started the game going 7-for-7 on the Lions' opening drive, capped off with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Jayden Petit.
Quinn finished the win 25-of-35 for around 320 yards with no interceptions. Bradley Martino and Petit accounted for 267 receiving yards and three touchdowns combined.
"Brady made some really, really tough plays," said head coach Billy Sparacio. "I thought he played really well. For a young guy, he showed a lot of courage and poise."
Towards the end of the first quarter, Martino came up with a critical pass breakup on 3rd and long that forced a Benjamin field goal, and then reeled in a 65-yard touchdown pass from Quinn two plays later that extended the Lion lead to 12-6.
Quinn snuck in one more touchdown pass as time expired in the half, this time connecting with Sam Sparacio from three yards out.
Micah Fils-Aime disrupted the Buccaneer offense often in the first half. He tallied a pair of sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss, most of which came in the first half.
Petit was also on the defensive line, and registered a sack and quarterback hurry, while Logan Bartley was a pest in the secondary as well. Of Benjamin's 10 incompletions in the loss, five were directly broken up by a Lion defender.
"I thought our defense played absolutely lights-out in the first half," Sparacio said. "(Benjamin) is really good, so they came out in the second half and did some good things, and I love the way our offense responded in the second half with our scores."
Benjamin pieced together rhythm on offense in the second half, but First Baptist had a response for every Buccaneer score.
Benjamin scored on their opening possession of the second half with a 61-yard touchdown pass from Jayden Vega to Julian Luiz. The Lions came back on the ensuing possession with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Dominick Davis.
The Buccaneers responded two minutes later with a 5-yard touchdown carry from Terrion Ivey-Akins. Again came the Lions, this time with Petit catching a deep-ball touchdown from Quinn two minutes later that gave First Baptist their two-score lead back.
"Our guys played hard," said Benjamin head coach Eric Kresser . "They didn't let the game get away from them, they stayed in the game. And just a couple scores less than the others. That's what it boils down to."
Sam Sparacio caught an interception with five minutes left that sealed the deal for First Baptist. Petit finished with two touchdown catches and had a 68-yard touchdown catch called back. Martino had a touchdown catch with a pair of pass breakups.
Benjamin's Preston Douglas was consistent in the loss, reeling in eight catches for 108 yards. Buccaneer starting running back Phoenix Donghia went down early in the contest and did not return.
"I'm just very proud of our players," Sparacio said. "They matched up to their guys really, really well. They've got some dudes, we've got some dudes - they really came to play tonight. And all the other guys who aren't four-stars or whatever, they stepped up their game and did an incredible job."
-- Nick Wilson
After a slow first quarter, top-seeded Cardinal Newman crunched Community School of Naples 42-0 in the regional semifinals with a dazzling display of skill, speed, and a shutout for the defense.
On Black Friday, Cardinal Newman will host First Baptist Academy (Naples) in the Region 1A-3 championship game to decide who gets that berth in the state final four.
"We have an excellent team, a dual quarterback and the fastest man in Florida," said star running back Jaylin Brown, who earlier this week decommitted from Louisville. "It's a blessing for real."
Brown was referring to wide receiver Zamarii Sanders, who arguably is the fastest high school football player in the nation based on his record-setting sprint times on Newman's track team.
Brown and Sanders each scored two touchdowns Friday. Quarterback Jyron Hughley added another TD on the scorching first play of the second half when he sprinted 59 yards to make it 28-0.
"We didn't start the game the right way and it blew our leg off," Community School coach Michael Stannard said. "They got a bunch of dudes. We had to execute on every play and couldn't get it done."
The Seahawks looked ready for the fight. On the game's first drive, they compiled four first downs and marched deep into Cardinal Newman territory behind the nifty tackle-breaking jaunts of their star running back Jayvian Tanelus.
But the Naples school went for it on fourth-and-12 at the 25. Tanelus caught a screen, gained 8 yards and fell short of the first down at the 17.
The Crusaders took over but were about to punt from their own territory when Community's Emrhe Pray burst through the line and was a half-second too late, running into Crusaders star punter/kicker Jack Beylo, who also booted six extra points.
Cardinal Newman kept possession and made the best of it. On third-and-long, Hughley scrambled for a first down to get into Community territory. One play later, Hughley threw it high and deep and a blazing Sanders caught a 37-yard pass in stride to put Newman on the scoreboard with 11:06 left in the half.
"(Community) had a nice long drive to start the game," Cardinal Newman coach coach Jack Daniels said. "We held them without any points and got a score on our first possession. They had another nice drive and we got a fumble and got up 14-0. They want to pound you running the ball and they kind of got out of their game."
As for the Seahawks who finsihed 5-5, Stannard said, "We took a big step up for this program - the hardest schedule we've attempted to play. It's just the beginning stages but it will take us a little longer to get us exactly where we want to go."
-- Marc Berman
After a long road trip to a hostile environment, Cypress Lake fought back from a mistake-prone first half to win in dramatic fashion, defeating second-seeded Key West 24-21 Friday night in the region 3A-4 semifinals.
The scoring started on Key West's first drive as sophomore Kamarien McKay blocked the Conchs' punt in the end zone and senior Nate Lynn recovered for the touchdown.
The two teams would trade blows for the remainder of the first quarter. After a long TD run by Key West, Panthers senior quarterback Joey Dube-Garrett found Chartrael Jenkins for a 65-yard touchdown pass.
The score was tied 14-14 at the half after a scoreless second quarter.
"I just told the kids at half that the score is 0-0 again and to treat this as the last half of football they may ever play," said Cypress Lake head coach Joey Mendes. "We wanted to go out and prove to everyone what we've always been capable of."
The third quarter seemed firmly in the Conch's control as the Key West offense ate up more than 8 minutes of clock before a crucial fourth-and-goal stop on the 1-yard line by Cypress Lake.
Within minutes, Dube-Garrett would find brother Zeke Dube-Garrett for a 12-yard TD pass to get the lead back.
After Key West tied the score at 21 on another long drive, the brothers connected again on third-and-long for a 30-yard gain that would set up a field goal by Zeke from 32 yards out, giving the Panthers the eventual game-winner.
The Panthers (7-5) will travel to Traz Powell Stadium in Miami to take on Northwestern Senior High School for the regional final.
"This is a great win for our program, I'm so proud of our kids and the heart they played with tonight," said Mendes. "We get to practice on Thanksgiving and not many people get to do that."