Naples blew Port Charlotte out of the water the last time the pair played, but on Friday Port Charlotte got their revenge. The Naples Golden Eagles fell just short of the Port Charlotte Pirates by a score of 21-18. The Golden Eagles gained 67 more yards on the day, but it was the Pirates that made the best use of them.
Naples lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Alijah Molina, who threw for 219 yards and a touchdown, and also punched in a touchdown on the ground. 112 of Molina's passing yards were hauled in by James Lachance, who also brought in a receiving touchdown.
Even if they lost, Naples' defense still kept up the pressure with six sacks. Leading the way was Sean Kabengele with two. Naples got some further help from Vladimir Raphael: he picked up a sack and made eight total tackles (3.0 for loss).
Port Charlotte found their leader in sophomore Logan Flaherty, who rushed for 125 yards and a touchdown, and also threw for 90 yards and a touchdown. Those 125 rushing yards gave Flaherty a new career-high.
The defeat snapped Naples' winning streak at four games and leaves them with a 7-2 record. As for Port Charlotte, the win was the third in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 6-2.
Naples will have a little extra prep time after the loss as they won't be playing again for a while. They'll take on South Fort Myers at 7:30 p.m. on November 7th. As for Port Charlotte, they will host Zephyrhills at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in Zephyrhills' favor is that they have posted at least 31 points in their last four games.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
