Regional Football Quarterfinals: Nine SW Florida teams win to advance to regional semifinals

A roundup of Southwest Florida high school football regional quarterfinal games played Friday, Nov. 15, 2024.

REGION 5A-3

Immokalee 26, Cape Coral 19

The game plan for the Immokalee football team was a simple four-word expression.

Run the damn ball.

That Immokalee did. And the Indians' top two running backs, Jontay Hais and Jayden Mixon, feasted against Cape Coral.

The Seahawks surrendered the most points and yardage (423) in any game this year, winning 26-19 in the Class 5A-Region 3 quarterfinals at Gary Bates Stadium.

“The gameplan came through, as did the preparation,” Immokalee coach James Delgado said. “The way we practiced this week, it was probably the best week of practice we’ve ever had. I think what we did in practice helped prepared us for the situations we faced tonight. We had a lot of them.

“That’s a really good football team, an athletic football team that made us beat them. We didn’t make it easy on ourselves, but they made it hard on us. I’m so proud of our kids."

Cape Coral (8-2) started with a pooch kick from Sophia Fallacara, which was recovered by the Seahawks. One play later, Jermaine Skinner busted a 36-yard touchdown on the game’s first play from scrimmage.

Skinner broke multiple big runs in the game, finishing with 176 yards on 19 attempts. The junior would score once more from 56 yards out in the first quarter following a big third down conversion from quarterback Derek Hooker to wide receiver Vincent Miranda on a screen.

Hais and Mixon were both critical for Immokalee, as the former finished with 206 yards on 17 touches, accounting for four scores. Hais broke a 58-yard touchdown run midway through the second quarter, which involved a cutback that broke the ankles of Kansas commit Darrion Jones.

The performance of Hais would prompt an ice bath in cold conditions by his fellow players, something that Delgado described as unique to the Immokalee program.

“He gave us huge, explosive plays when they mattered,” Delgado said. “I was so animated after the play before because 21 stuck him and stood over him the play before. He started talking a little bit, and we told our kids all week that they were gonna talk. You’ve got to be smart enough to line up and play the next play. He dang sure did, and made him look silly. That’s the best way to clap back, is with your play against a quality opponent. That’s the highlight that catches a coach’s attention.

“The players did an ice bath on another player. Never seen that happen before. Last week, they gave it to our defensive coordinator and offensive coordinator. It’s a special group that I hope we get to keep going with for a long time.”

Late in the game up a touchdown, quarterback Chris Germinal didn’t have a completion, going 0-for-7 with an interception. That changed in a big way, as the junior connected with Travis Prince on a 50/50 ball that Prince came away with.

“What an amazing play,” Delgado said. “We trust (Germinal) to make quality decisions. He made several good ones. The statline isn’t going to look good, but that isn’t because it was his fault. They did a couple things to take away what we wanted to do, so we threw the ball out of bounds and spiked it a couple of times. He made some key plays when we needed him to. On the ground, he executed the gameplan. We knew he couldn’t force the win with his arm. We didn’t need him to. Not against that secondary.”

The Indians (10-1) became the first 10-win team in Southwest Florida this season, but the job isn’t finished in Delgado’s eyes. Immokalee will head to Manatee, looking to knock off a Hurricanes team that’s ranked inside the top 15 statewide.

“That’s an explosive and physical football team,” Delgado said. “I know what it’s going to take. It’s going to take everybody. Tonight, all of Immokalee was here, loud, and present in key situations. We’re going to need that again.”

― Alex Martin

Riverdale 34, North Fort Myers 14

With Riverdale’s brute force running game seemingly grinding teams into submission on a weekly basis, it can be easy to overlook the other side of the ball.

But in Friday’s playoff opener against North Fort Myers, the Raiders’ defense delivered a few knockout blows of its own, forcing six turnovers that led to 27 points and the program’s first postseason win in 19 years.

“Man, our defense just had something to prove,” Riverdale coach Kendoll Gibson said. “They’ve been playing lights-out all year and (defensive coordinator) Corey May challenged them to go out and be the best they can be. Leave everything out there because there might not be a tomorrow. And they did just that.”

The Raiders (9-2) didn’t waste any time gaining an early advantage in their second meeting in three weeks with the Red Knights. On the game’s first offensive play, senior running back Cole Hayes scored on a 75-yard burst through the middle of North’s defense.

“It’s our second time playing them so we knew if they lined up in that front that we could hit it and Cole, man, he hit it,” Gibson said. “That helped give us a little bit of breathing room right at the start.”

The Red Knights (6-5) quickly answered, driving 60 yards in seven plays to knot the score on a fourth down, 5-yard touchdown run by junior Christian Weber.

North got a huge break on the ensuing kickoff when sophomore JD Irons recovered a Riverdale fumble at the 18-yard line. But the Raiders’ defense stood tall in the red zone and forced a turnover on downs.

After North lost the first of three first-half fumbles at its own 34, Hayes capped a six-play drive with a 3-yard touchdown run that put the Raiders in front 14-7 late in the first quarter.

The Red Knights, who squandered another scoring opportunity by losing a fumble inside Riverdale’s 5-yard line, were fortunate to trail by just seven points at the break. But just two plays into the second half, the Raiders’ defense struck again. Sophomore defensive back LaTroy Pender jumped in front of a pass by North quarterback Caedon Conn and returned the interceptions 52 yards to give Riverdale a 21-7 advantage.

Hayes, who finished with 240 yards on 30 carries, would add two more rushing touchdowns in the second half as the Raiders pulled away for just the second playoff win in the 55-year history of their program.

“It’s huge; it just shows the belief the boys had in myself and in our coaching staff,” said Gibson, who went 2-8 in his first season as Riverdale’s head coach in 2023. “We were here every day in the summer, just grinding and our goal was to be the best we could be.

“We want to keep this going.”

― Dan DeLuca

Fort Myers 27, Charlotte 21 (OT)

Madrid Tucker had been almost invisible all game, but when Fort Myers needed him the most, he delivered the goods.

Tucker, who had been used mostly as a decoy, scored on a 2-yard touchdown run in the Kansas tiebreaker to give the second-seeded Green Wave a 27-21 overtime victory over the No. 7 seeded Charlotte in the Region 5A-3 quarterfinal at Edison Stadium on Friday.

After Charlotte failed to score when Jazzy McDaniel was stopped on fourth down at the one, Tucker needed just two plays, playing out of the Wildcat to get the 10 yards Fort Myers needed to get in the end zone for the walk-off.

Fort Myers will take on No. 3 seeded Riverdale, which defeated North Fort Myers.

Charlotte saw its season end at 7-4 despite the heroic play of Seven Bullock, who took over in the second half, scoring three touchdowns and nabbing two interceptions, one for a score that gave the Tarpons a 21-14 lead late in the third quarter.

Fort Myers (8-3) missed a field goal with four minutes left but got the ball back after a three-and-out. After a long punt return by Fred Jackson. Dominic Ardezzone hit Jackson for their second touchdown on the night to tie it at 21.

Fort Myers had a chance in the closing seconds, but Bullock picked off the pass to end the threat and force the tiebreaker.

Much of the first half was a defensive struggle, with Charlotte forcing three three-and-outs and a turnover on Fort Myers' first four possessions. 

Finally, the Green Wave broke the ice in the final minute when Ardezzone hit Jackson on a 62-yard catch-and-run to give them a 7-0 lead at the half.

In the second half, it was Bullock time. After going 46 yards on a screen pass, Bullock went the final 13 from the Wildcat to tie the game at 7.

Fort Myers responded with a 70-yard run from John Holcy to take a 14-7 lead. However, Lipke found Bullock again with a 23-yard touchdown catch and run up the middle to tie the game.

Two plays later, Bullock did it on defense, jumping the route for the 25-yard pick six to give Charlotte the 21-14 lead, setting up the wild finish.

― Chuck Ballaro

REGION 2A-3

Bishop Verot 35, Tarpon Springs 21

The winds were blowing in the wrong direction for the Vikings early.

Their senior quarterback came out of the game with an injury, the offense turned the ball over twice and Tarpon Springs quarterback Joaquin Kavouklis was carving up the Verot defense. Even a sideline television used to break down film toppled over in the blustery conditions.

The Spongers built a 21-0 lead, but the Vikings – who were upset in the playoffs on their home field last year – refused to let history repeat itself.

With Carter Smith returning to the game in the second half, the Viking defense denying Tarpon Springs for two-and-a-half quarters and running back Deshon Jenkins making the fourth quarter his playground, the Vikings scored 35 points unanswered to advance to the Class 2A regional semifinals on Friday.

“We knew they were going to come here and give us their best shot, and they did,” Bishop Verot head coach Richie Rode said. “I’m just incredibly proud of our guys for taking the punch and just grinding back into the game.”

The Spongers scored three first-half touchdowns with Kavouklis finding Makih Johnson twice on deep balls and Amit Barram on a 5-yard touchdown pass.

For the Vikings, things went from bad to worse when Smith, who battled an injury to his throwing shoulder this season, was banged up on a running play in the first quarter. He came out of the game and was replaced by freshman Austan Cristiaan.

Cristiaan threw a pair of interceptions before settling in, leading two touchdown drives in the final three minutes of the second quarter. The first one was capped by a 14-yard Jenkins touchdown, and he connected with Ayden Gonzalez for a 4-yard score after a clinical 2-minute drill.

“(Cristiaan) did an incredible job keeping us in the game,” Rode said.

Smith returned to the game in the second half. Though he threw a couple passes, it was clearly not the gameplan for the Vikings to lean on the passing game.

Smith rushed for 87 physical yards and a touchdown in the second half as he helped will the Vikings’ comeback.

“Carter just refused to let this be it,” Rode said.

The defense displayed the same determination with the group collectively stepping up in crunch time. After Jenkins scored an 8-yard touchdown to tie the game, the group came up with decisive plays, including an interception by junior linebacker Micah Anderson and a successful goal-line stand.

The Vikings took over deep in their territory, drew the Spongers offsides on 4th-and-short, and churned out yardage as Smith, Jenkins, and Ira Dale gashed the defense over and over again. Smith capped the drive with a 12-yard touchdown run.

It looked like Tarpon Springs was going to answer when a mistimed snap fell on the turf, and Verot linebacker Bobby Leckler dashed on top of it.

With a lead in hand and Jenkins in their backfield, the Vikings could see the calm after the storm.

Jenkins finished the game with 150 yards and three touchdowns on 22 carries, doing his best work when closing out the game.

“Teams don’t want to tackle him in the first quarter, much less the fourth quarter,” Rode said. “He just runs so hard.”

When trailing 21-0, Jenkins said that he told his senior teammates that they weren’t going home.

“I’m not going down without a fight,” he said of his mindset.

There are choppy waters ahead in the playoffs for this Verot squad. Rode said they will get Smith’s injury evaluated and work out a game plan going forward.

Instead of a Glades Central squad they had previously beaten coming next week, the Vikings will face the No. 6 seed Lakewood.

“This team has been through a gauntlet of a season,” Rode said. “We’ve been through highs, we’ve been through lows, we’ve been down, we’ve been up. I think they’ve already learned from every situation the season’s provided for them. That’s kind of why we did it, and we’re leaning on those experiences now and we just hope to keep building on them.”

― Dustin Levy

REGION 3A-4

Lely 44, Jackson 39

The Lely football team piled up the yards and the points in its playoff opener Friday night, and as it turned out, the Trojans needed every one of them.

Ty Collins rushed for 289 yards as Lely held off a furious charge by Miami Jackson to win by five in the 3A region quarterfinals at Lely High School.

“We’re a young team, and we’ve got some things to work on,” said Lely coach Ben Hammer. “We’ve got to clean up some of these personal fouls and mistakes. But in the end, we did what we had to to win. This time of year, we have to either win or pack it up for the year.”

Collins also had two interceptions near the goal line in the game.

“Ty is just a warrior. He did so many things for us tonight,” Hammer said. “He is just a phenomenal athlete.”

The Lely defense squashed a fairly good offensive effort by Miami Jackson (4-7). Quarterback Brandin Mincy threw for 278 yards for the Generals.

The Generals scored twice in the final seven minutes, whittling a 19-point Lely bulge down to only five, but then the Trojans ran off the rest of the clock for the win.

The Trojans scored on their first possession, coming when Carter Quinn hit receiver Gage Rice on a 19-yard slant to put Lely ahead 6-0.

But the Generals responded immediately, scoring when Lawrence Adderly peeled off a 59-yard scoring run. The Generals made their extra point and the Trojans did not, so Jackson took a 7-6 lead at that point.

Lely regained the lead with a Collins touchdown run three minutes later, and then on the following drive Collins helped preserve the lead with an interception of General quarterback Brandin Minoy at the Trojan goal line. At the end of one, the Trojans were ahead 21-7 after Quinn’s TD pass to Brandon Baptiste in the final minute.

Lely was ahead 22-15 with a few minutes left in the second quarter, with the Generals driving for the tying score. But a few sacks put Jackson out of scoring position, giving the Trojans the ball back. Then Quinn drove Lely downfield to a touchdown, coming when he hit Gage Rice for a 12-yard touchdown pass in the final minute.

Lely led 30-15 at halftime.

In the third, the Trojans led 38-15, but then Jackson scored nine points in the space of a minute. After a Jackson score, Collins ran the kickoff back 80 yards for a touchdown to put the Trojans ahead 44-25.

A Mincy touchdown run and a pass from Mincy to Brian McCoy made it closer in the fourth quarter.

― Tom Corwin

Cypress Lake 27, Somerset Academy 7

The game was 7-0 at the half thanks to a TD pass from Joey Dube-Garrett to senior Nate Lynn. Dube-Garrett would add two more TD passes in the second half, one in the red zone to senior Rashawn Anderson and the other on a deep pass to senior Chartrael Jenkins to effectively seal the game.

Defensive highlights included an interception by Jenkins and a fumble recovery by Lynn. Junior Sammy Ramirez also blocked a punt. Junior Daniel Johnson had a sack while junior Zayne Kimpland had three, with two coming late in the fourth to halt any potential comeback. 

Cypress Lake (6-5) will hit the road again next week to face Key West.

Key West 42, Estero 7

A touchdown pass from Maddox Stewart to Julius Salgador provided the only points for the Wildcats who finished the season 6-5.

Northwestern 69, Barron Collier 0

The Cougars finished their season with a 5-6 record.

REGION 4A-3

Naples 44, River Ridge 0

The second-seeded Golden Eagles dominantly defended their house by shutting out the seventh-seeded Knights with five different players scoring a touchdown and all three phases producing points.  

The Golden Eagles defense and special teams started the game by producing a three-and-out then blocking the punt and watching the ball roll out of the end zone for a safety. James Lachance returned the ensuing punt down to the 1 and set up running back Shawn Simeon to score his first touchdown of the night.  

“Our defense sets the tone for us so for them to go out there and do what they did it helps out our offense and lets us settle into the game a little bit,” Naples head coach Rick Martin said. “We put our dudes on defense, we expect them to come and out do their job. It’s what we hang our hat on and I’m proud of our guys running around playing Naples High football tonight.” 

Trayvon Jean bounced a run outside the numbers and ran up the field for a 59-yard touchdown to give Naples a 16-0 lead on the first play of the second quarter.  

Naples would score touchdowns on the next three consecutive possessions to close the first half. Jamar Jerome would reach the end zone from 14 yards out. Caleb Dume would stumble into the end zone from the 5, and Simeon would score with breakaway speed going untouched from his own 41 to give the Golden Eagles a 37-0 lead and a running clock. Simeon rushed 140 yards in the first half.  

“It’s awesome to see those guys put in work during the week and come out here and be unselfish. It doesn’t matter who gets the ball, who carries the glory, they’re all happy for each other,” Martin said.  

Naples would only have the ball for two possessions in the second half but found a way to score on defense. After the Naples offense drove the ball from their 19 down to the Knights 20, they would turn the ball over on downs but ran about seven minutes off the clock. After the offense had nothing to show for the lengthy drive, defensive back Xavien Michel would pick off the comeback route and return it for a 26-yard touchdown.  

“Just to be able to get another week with these guys and be around them is a blessing,” Martin said. “Anytime we get to come out here and suit up and play on Staver field it’s a special night for us.” 

― Ty Maranzatto

St. Petersburg 35, Dunbar 0

The Tigers had no answer for Green Devils quarterback Jeffrey Jones who ran for all five touchdowns on runs from 20, 6, 70, 8, and 55 yards. Dunbar finished the season 8-3.

Port Charlotte 38, South Fort Myers 0

Pirates junior Maddox Wittebort jumped on a South Fort Myers fumble during the game’s first offensive play to set up a 1-yard touchdown run by running back Ike Perry just 45 seconds in.

The Wolfpack managed to drive the ball a bit on its next drive, but that came to an end when a pass by South Fort Myers quarterback Will Bichler was bobbled and intercepted by Pirates sophomore cornerback Ozias Dorsey, who weaved his way for a 55-yard pick-six.

Port Charlotte stalled from there, scoring just three points — on a 36-yard field goal from Karsyn Barghausen — across 18 minutes of game time.

But it didn’t make much difference. Port Charlotte’s defense finished with five takeaways, including second-half interceptions by Chavon Lizana and Juluis Roach and a scoop-and-score by Ahmad’dra Greene.

Bichler threw 33 times for the Wolfpack, who were without standout running back Victor Jenkins but couldn’t break into the red zone all night.

The closest South Fort Myers got to scoring were back-to-back second-quarter drives that ended with a turnover on downs — at the 25- and 29-yard lines — as it briefly threatened to crawl back.

― Special to The News-Press

REGION 1A-3

CSN 63, St. John Neumann 14

An interception by free safety Ryder Brown on the Celtics’ (5-5) opening drive put the Seahawks (5-4) in position to score in the opening minutes of the game. This allowed running back Javien Tanelus to punch in an 8-yard rushing touchdown.

On the Celtics' second drive, the Seahawks forced a three-and-out and blocked the punt. This set up Tanelus to score on the following drive via a 30-yard rushing touchdown to give the Seahawks a 14-0 lead.

Tanelus continued to dominate on the ground in the second quarter with 2-yard and 43-yard rushing touchdowns in less than two minutes. This was aided by the defense recovering a muffed kickoff return with 6:46 left in the second quarter.

“[Tanelus] is a tremendous kid,” CSN coach Stannard said. “He's gonna be a tremendous player wherever he goes. He does everything the right way. He's meant a lot to this team and I expect that to continue.”

The Seahawks' defense line allowed the CSN offense to remain on the field as they constantly pressured Celtics quarterback Peyton Frontino into mistakes. He was 10 of 28 for 176 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions through the rest of the game.

Seahawks quarterback Cale Austin closed out the first half throwing a 22-yard receiving touchdown to wide receiver Jeremiah Guidie and 28-yard and 80-yard receiving touchdowns to wide receiver Jayce Cora. He went 12 of 20 passing for 237 yards, four touchdowns, and an interception.

The second half saw four touchdowns, two by each team. Tanelus opened the second half with his fifth touchdown of the half via a 72-yard receiving touchdown followed by a 69-yard receiving touchdown by Celtics’ running back Jake Bruni in the third quarter.

A 7-yard receiving touchdown by CSN running back Jacob Phillips and a 21-yard receiving touchdown in traffic from Bruni in the fourth quarter put the game to bed.

“I thought we did a little bit better job of being a little bit more clean in some areas,” Stannard said. “There's still some areas that we need to fix the mistakes because that's going to come back to bite you, especially as you get into the playoffs."

― Jeffrey Hrunka

First Baptist 41, SFCA 12

First Baptist improved to a perfect 10-0 all-time against SFCA with their quarterfinal win. The region's second-seeded Lions improved to 8-2 with the win and will host the region's No. 3 seed Benjamin next week.

Cardinal Newman 51, ECS 0

ECS dropped their Region 1A-3 matchup to finish the season 4-7.

Follow Sports Reporter Alex Martin on X: @NP_AlexMartin. For the best sports coverage in Southwest Florida, follow @newspresssports and @ndnprepzone on Instagram.