Week 5 Football Results: Golden Gate, Riverdale, Naples pick up wins

THIS STORY WILL BE UPDATED WITH MORE RESULTS, PHOTOS, VIDEOS ...

Here are the results and what we learned after Southwest Florida football games played on Friday, Sept. 23 including videos and photos.

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Golden Gate 13, Gulf Coast 12

In a low-scoring game at Golden Gate High Friday night, one long run from scrimmage by John Lee Honorat lifted the Titans to victory.

Honorat peeled off a 52-yard touchdown run in the final two minutes of the game as Golden Gate defeated Gulf Coast. The Titans had trailed the entire game up until that point.

Down by a point, Evan Hermanson returned a kickoff 37 yards for Gulf Coast to set up a possible game-winning score, but the Sharks missed a field goal in the final seconds.

Honorat rushed for 93 yards for Golden Gate (2-3). Konner Barrett had 73 yards rushing and threw for a touchdown for the Sharks (3-2).

In a game that went 23 minutes at one stretch without any points, Golden Gate coach Nick Bigica gave credit to his team’s defense for keeping it close.

“We have a great defensive coach in P.J. Gibbs,” Bigica said. “The defense did a great job of putting us in position to win. We ran to the football well and played with reckless abandon.”

With not much offense to speak of, special teams came up with the evening’s first score. Gulf Coast’s Landen Riner blocked a Titan punt and sent it out of the end zone, putting the Sharks ahead 2-0 with 4:30 left in the first quarter.

The Gulf Coast rushing game also set up a score. Barrett scrambled once for 12 yards and then again for 15 to put the ball at Golden Gate’s 9-yard line. Then Barrett threw a touchdown pass to Davion Grant to make it 9-0 late in the first.

The Titans finally got on the board when Brian Bachmann threw an 11-yard scoring pass to Honorat with 2:30 gone in the second quarter.

Then the defenses took over and there was no scoring until the finals 2 ½ minutes.

Nursing only a two-point lead in the fourth quarter, the Sharks seemingly had it locked up after a field goal made it a 12-7 Gulf Coast lead.

Gulf Coast takeaways

1. Barrett left the game with an undisclosed injury early in the third quarter and was replaced by Jackson Varoski. “Anytime you lose your QB, it’s got to hurt,” Gulf Coast coach Todd Nichols said, “We tried to rally around the new quarterback. Hats off to our kids.”

2. The Shark players held their heads high, mostly because they played well, and it was a close contest. “This loss will not define us,” Nichols said. “We feel we are tough and tough men come back. So we will go on and try to win the district.”

3. All things considered, the Sharks and Titans were as evenly matched. “It came down to the very last play,” Nichols said. “It wasn’t really about offense or defense, but who made the biggest plays.”

Golden Gate takeaways

1. This game may have been mostly about character. “It was a good thing I said, ‘Be you’ to the team before the game,” Bigica said. “We played with great character tonight, and it made all the difference.”

2. Bigica said the Titans proved a lot in pulling off the upset Friday. “We proved we have the best character,” Bigica said. “And we proved our kids work harder, and we proved we may have the hardest-working quarterback (Bachmann).”

3. Golden Gate at least held its own in the trenches. “Gulf Coast had a great defensive line, and they are well-coached,” Bigica said. “But we made the plays. And we made the biggest play of all when we had to.”

— Tom Corwin

Riverdale 42, Cypress Lake 0

The shutout win was the first home victory for first-year Raiders head coach Frank Hepler.

Riverdale combined for 141 yards rushing with two scoring plays over 50 yards. Terry Jackson continues to be the spark plug for the Raiders offense. He picked up two touchdowns and had 110 yards of total offense. Quarterback Tyler Abrams also picked up two scores, one on the ground and another through the air.

In the second quarter, the Raiders showed they had some tricks up their sleeves with wide receiver Aiden Klain connecting with Cole Hayes on a 50-yard touchdown pass.

On defense, the Raiders swarmed the Panthers. Cypress was not able to pick up their first first down until halfway through the second quarter. As a team, the Panthers would only pick up 93 yards of offense. The majority of the offensive success for the Panthers was found by quarterback Tyrese Nelson and running back Chartrael Jenkins.

The Panthers kicking woes continued as they gave up a blocked punt for a score and gave the Raiders the ball inside the 50-yard line numerous times throughout the game.

Riverdale takeaways

1. Special teams are essential. Raiders kicker Dayllon De Paula kicked eight touchbacks. “It is hard to drive 80 yards consistently,” Hepler when talking about the importance of the touchbacks. De Paula was also perfect with his extra points. The Raiders’ special teams were able to block a punt, with Colton Flint taking it in for a score.

2. Big plays are the name of the game for the Raiders. The Raiders had two scores over 50 yards. AJ Baxter and Jaheim Clarke both broke out for big plays.

3. On defense, the Raiders played hard. Colton Flint, who recorded a pass break up, a recovered blocked punt for a score, and a tackle for a loss, led the Raiders’ defense. Wyatt Robinson and Cade Best recorded tackles for a loss adding to the Raiders’ dominant defense.

Cypress takeaways

1. Special teams were a concern again for the Panthers. They had a blocked punt and another one tipped. The kicking game put the Panthers in countless bad positions.

2. Even in a tough loss, positives can be found. Tyrese Nelson fought hard throughout the game, looking to make plays.

3. The Panthers had several chances to tap out, and they did not. Into the fourth quarter, they kept fighting. “We have to find our identity as a team, but I am proud we kept fighting throughout the game,” said coach Joey Mendes.

Naples 56, Killian (Miami) 6

The Golden Eagles continued their dominance on the ground in their blowout win over the Cougars. Naples scored all 56 of their points in the first half, including six rushing touchdowns from three different players.

Kendrick Raphael finished the contest with 164 rushing yards on seven carries with three touchdowns. Quarterback Niko Boyce ran for 106 yards on eight carries and scored on a keeper as well as a 20-yard touchdown pass to Nick Keel. Isaiah Augustave rushed for 79 yards on four carries with two touchdowns. Augustave scored both touchdowns within two minutes of the opening kickoff. Kicker Harvey Sajajian was 8-of-8 on PATs. His only miss of the night came on a 47-yard field goal attempt.

The Golden Eagle defense was swarming in the win. Naples tallied three interceptions and four sacks, while keeping starter Antonio Smith to 9 of 20 passing. Kensely Faustin blocked a Killian punt on their own 37-yard line and ran it back for a touchdown. Faustin also reeled in an interception.

A running clock helped keep Naples scoreless for the final half. The lone second-half score came on a 42-yard touchdown pass from Cougars backup quarterback Michael Abu-Akel late in the third quarter.

Naples Takeaways

1. The Golden Eagles know their strengths and continue to play to them. With a strong running back core putting up consistently efficient numbers, Naples will continue to be a matchup nightmare in the backfield.

2. After last week’s win over Golden Gate, Naples head coach Rick Martin emphasized the need to pick up their intensity. “Our starting group came out with that intensity, “ Martin said. “They came out with that tempo, and I thought we took care of business when we had to.”

3. Naples, a traditionally well-disciplined squad, was par-for-the-course in a game that players could’ve easily lost focus. “I thought they did a really good job of, you know, staying in the game, staying locked in and not being bored,” Martin said. “Stay locked in, show everyone how hard we’ve worked, and how much better we’ve got to continue to get.”

LaSalle 43, South Fort Myers 33

On a windy night at South Fort Myers High School, the Wolfpack jumped out to a quick lead they would eventually surrender against LaSalle.

Trading touchdowns with the Royal Lions after taking a double-digit lead, the Wolfpack were unable to keep up with the high-flying LaSalle offense.

“I was happy with how the guys came out, fought, and competed,” South Fort Myers coach Willis May said, “We’ve got a team where if they keep working like that, and competing like they did tonight, we’re going to be hard to face later.”

After an interception by the Wolfpack’s Jeremiah Williams ended the Lions’ first possession, Jarri Gibson turned South’s defense into offense with a short run up the middle.

Ending the first quarter with a 7-0 lead, Enguita exploded 80 yards on a QB keep to give the Wolfpack a 14-0 lead.

“He’s learning our system, how to be a leader and how to control his huddle,” May said. “He played hard tonight, and he played his guts out.”

Despite finding themselves down 21-7 after another big Enguita gain led to a 3-yard touchdown for Victor Jenkins, Royal Lions’ QB Anthony McQueen scored his second TD of the night finding Preston Landry with a 20-yard pass.

Opening the second half with an 85-yard kick return, the Royal Lions wasted no time taking a lead, after Jayvyn Aman Earley found the end zone and ran in a two-point conversion to give LaSalle a 22-21 lead.

In a quarter where they held the Wolfpack scoreless, McQueen and Landry connected once more to extend the Royal Lions’ lead heading into the final quarter of play.

Cutting the Royal Lions' lead to as little as two points in the fourth, two touchdowns by Victor Jenkins weren’t enough for the Wolfpack as Earley responded to Jenkins' second TD of the quarter with an 80-yard TD run.

South Fort Myers takeaways

1. Despite falling to the Royal Lions, Wolfpack Junior QB Enguita left his mark on the game with over 100 passing yards, and over 250 yards rushing.

“Chase is getting better,” May said. “He’s only a junior. He doesn’t have any varsity experience, except for one game when he was a sophomore and he didn’t even play the whole game, but he’s learning.”

2. Aside from being held without a score in the third quarter, the three-headed rushing trio of Enguita, Jenkins and Gibson combined for five touchdowns.

“I can’t say enough about our offensive line.” May said. “Our offensive job did a heck of a job led by Raja Young and Herschel White. Victor Jenkins, a sophomore that we have, ran it hard and those are things that we can build on.”

3. Helping the Wolfpack build a lead early on, South Fort Myers’ defense converted defense into offense on multiple occasions.

“They’ve (LaSalle) got five-star players, they’re good,” May said. “Our defense did a great job. Our Defensive Coordinator Matt Holderfield had a great scheme against them, and our defensive coaches did a good job of controlling them, and putting our guys in the right spot to make plays.”

St. John Neumann 22, St. Pete Catholic 16

Jake Bruni hit Elijah Summers on a 60-yard touchdown pass with 1:50 to play, lifting the Celtics (2-2) to the victory.

"It was a dogfight," Neuman coach Damon Jones said. "We were tied 8-8 at the half.  We took the lead, then gave them the chance to tie it."

Mario Werab scored on a 2-yard run, with Evan Odom adding a 2-point conversion, and Zach Molina had a long TD run to account for the rest of the Celtics' scoring.

Bradenton Christian 10, Oasis 8

Jackson McArdle Sykes scored a touchdown on a QB keeper and a two-point conversion for all of Oasis' points. The offensive line was the best unit on the field, according to coach Jason Grain, led by Logan Conley. Kyle Pudelski was the leading tackler on defense and Colin Anderson was also a standout.

Thursday

Parrish Community 28, LaBelle 20

LaBelle started off strong, scoring on their first offensive when Isaac Santamaria broke free on a run for over 70 yards. Santamaria finished with 142 yards on 17 carries.

Headed into the second half, LaBelle focused on targeting the Parrish secondary. Sophomore quarterback Ty Murray found success to that end, throwing for two touchdowns.

In the end, Parrish was able to wear down the Cowboys.

"They were able to platoon, and we've got a lot of kids playing both sides of the ball," said LaBelle head coach Maurice McClain. "So just more conditioning, and working with our number 2s that way they know what's going on as well when it's their time to come in the game."

Defensively, Maurice McClain Jr. had 10 total tackles, including 8 solo, while Nathan Alvarado and Wyatt Milks had 11 total tackles each. Milks also added a sack.

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Naples area Week 5 high school football results