Two dominant backs in Shawn Simeon and Victor Jenkins are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Naples Golden Eagles will venture away from home to take on the South Fort Myers Wolfpack at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Naples' defense has only allowed 11.4 points per game this season, so South Fort Myers' offense will have their work cut out for them.
Naples will head into Friday's match eager for some revenge after what happened against Port Charlotte: Naples blew Port Charlotte out of the water the last time the pair played, but two weeks ago Port Charlotte got their revenge. Naples fell just short of Port Charlotte by a score of 21-18. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest defeat the Golden Eagles have suffered since November 24, 2023.
Despite their loss, Naples saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Alijah Molina, who threw for 219 yards and a touchdown, and also punched in a touchdown on the ground, was perhaps the best of all. James Lachance was Molina's top target, picking up 112 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Even if they lost, Naples' defense still kept up the pressure with six sacks. Sean Kabengele was particularly dangerous to the passing game, picking up two himself. Vladimir Raphael was another major factor on D, picking up a sack and making eight total tackles (3.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, South Fort Myers lost to Lely on the road by a 52-38 margin on Friday. Even though they lost, the Wolfpack's still made a splash on offense and bumped their average scoring up to 26.7 points per game (they're now ranked -1th in scoring overall).
Like Naples, South Fort Myers lost despite seeing results from several players. William Bichler led the charge by throwing for 224 yards and five touchdowns. Bichler has become a key player for South Fort Myers: the team is 3-1 when he posts at least three passing touchdowns, but 1-4 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Joshua Raphael, who picked up 66 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
South Fort Myers wouldn't let Lely keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. South Fort Myers can thank Rashad Taylor and Jenkins for forcing both of them. Taylor has been hot for a while, having also posted six or more total tackles the last 19 times he's played.
South Fort Myers now has a losing record at 4-5. As for Naples, they moved to 7-2 with that defeat, which also ended their four-game winning streak.
Thursday's contest might be decided in the on the ground. Naples has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 339.3 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like South Fort Myers struggles in that department as they've been averaging 154.6. It's looking like Thursday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Everything came up roses for Naples against South Fort Myers when the teams last played back in October of 2021, as the squad secured a 51-19 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Naples 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
