Cape Coral has enjoyed a four-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will head out to take on the Gateway Eagles at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Gateway took a loss in their last match and will be looking to turn the tables on Cape Coral, who comes in off a win.
Last Friday, Cape Coral got the win against Mariner by a conclusive 26-6. Given the Seahawks' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida football rankings (they are ranked 133rd, while the Tritons are ranked 341st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Cape Coral to victory, but perhaps none more so than Caleb Cobb, who rushed for 58 yards and a touchdown, and also caught a touchdown. Jermaine Skinner handled things on the ground, rushing for 86 yards and a rushing touchdown.
Meanwhile, Gateway might've scored the first points last Friday, but it was Lakewood Ranch who claimed the real prize. The contest between Gateway and Lakewood Ranch wasn't particularly close, with Gateway falling 37-22. While the Eagles didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Mustangs 14-0 in the first quarter.
Despite the defeat, Gateway got top-tier performance from Justin Jean Louis, who rushed for 278 yards and a touchdown while picking up 10.3 yards per carry. Jean Louis' longest rush was for an incredible 97 yards.
Even though they lost, Gateway was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 339 rushing yards. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 47.4 rushing yards per game earlier this season, but in their last three games they've averaged 192.3.
Cape Coral pushed their record up to 6-1 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. As for Gateway, their loss dropped their record down to 1-7.
Friday's matchup will pit two of the most dominant backs against one another: Skinner and Jean Louis. Skinner has put up some stellar numbers this year, and currently owns excellent season averages 79.3 rushing yards per game this season. For his part, Jean Louis has averaged 105.7 rushing yards per game this season.
Cape Coral didn't have too much breathing room in their match against Gateway when the teams last played back in September of 2023, but they still walked away with a 14-9 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Cape Coral since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
