Prep highlights

The football Trojans wind up the regular season this Friday night when they host the Port Charlotte Pirates.

And head coach Chris Metzger says his team won't be looking ahead to its postseason appearance on Nov. 14 in Venice.

"We're focusing on Friday night's game and nothing else," Metzger said Monday night. He did add that he will be sending scouts to watch Venice in the Indians' regular-season finale on Friday at Charlotte High in Punta Gorda.

Metzger also said he and Venice coach Nick Coleman would exchange tapes to prepare for the first round of the playoffs.

Lely wound up the 5A-12 runner-up with a 2-2 record and Venice went 3-1 in District 11. It was a 7-3 win over over Bradenton-Manatee in the third week of the season that ultimately served as the decisive victory. Manatee was district runner-up with a 3-1 mark. Venice sealed its district title this past Friday with a 7-6 triumph over Sarasota-Riverview.

Under Coleman's guidance, Venice captured the 5A state championship in 2000 with a 77-14 victory over Palm Beach-Dwyer in the final game.

Metzger, meanwhile, said he was pleased with the commitment the Trojans (4-5 overall) have made to the program during his first year at the helm.

"I think the good thing is that they understand that we still have a lot of work to do," Metzger said.

Immokalee

When Wilbert Jean celebrated his 18th birthday Friday night by running for 113 yards on 10 carries and three touchdowns, he didn't do it without help.

As the Indians crunched the Clewiston Tigers 46-21 to claim the Class 2A District 6 crown, Jean, the up-back, found some big holes on the left side of the line. The gaps were created because of the work of senior left guard Carl Presley and sophomore tackle Esdras Duperard.

The Indians repeatedly called on the left side of the line to create running room not only for Jean, but for Javarris James as well. He totaled 124 yards on 17 carries and scored four TDs.

The draw play proved to be one of the Indians' most effective calls against the Tigers.

Not to be left out of the success story was the play of Rock Magis and Wiselet Rouzard, who both had interceptions. Magis also recovered a fumble.

Lionel Loya's interception in the first quarter was wiped out by a roughing-the-passer penalty. But the senior made a big play in the second quarter as he pounced on a high-looping Immokalee kickoff that bounced and was deflected, with Loya and the Indians taking possession at the Clewiston 24 with 58 seconds left.

Four plays later, Immokalee was in the end zone again, taking an 18-14 lead into the intermission.

Gulf Coast

The football team will try to snap a three-game losing streak and finish with a .500 record when it plays at Estero on Friday. The Sharks are coming off a hard-fought, 18-0 loss to Naples High.

Defensively, the Sharks played well, holding Naples scoreless in the first half, but the Golden Eagles' defense was a little stronger.

"They were on the field too long," coach Frank Tudryn said of his defense. "We knew Naples' defense is the best we're going to see. One of the things I was really worried about is they get you in that third-and-long and you've got to be careful what you're doing in third and long.

"That's why I ran the ball more than I normally would do third-and-long because I figured it's better than going back 10 or 15 yards or having a turnover."

Swimmer Matt Reischl was the only Shark to place at last week's state meet. Reischl was 13th overall in the consolation finals of the 200 individual medley.

The boys and girls cross country teams each failed to advance out of the region meet last week.

The girls soccer team will play in Bishop Verot's preseason classic on Wednesday and Thursday along with Barron Collier and Naples.

Barron Collier

The football team's offense finally got back to what it used to be against Cape Coral last Friday. The Cougars' 56 points against the Seahawks were more than they scored in the three previous games combined. All three of those, contests against Bradenton-Bayshore, Lely and Naples, were losses.

Moises Plancher ran for five touchdowns and Will Scrivens ran for two, but most of those scores were set up by sophomore signalcaller Nick Caputo, who made his first varsity start. He threw for 266 yards and a touchdown to tight end Brent Dillingham.

Volleyball player Arielle Leboulch has been rewriting the record books this season. The junior now owns the single season records for aces, kills and digs ... The girls soccer team, whose run ended at the regional title game the past two seasons, gets started on Wednesday and Thursday in the Bishop Verot Preseason Classic.

Estero

Lost in the mess surrounding the suspension of senior wide receiver Jeff Morse and quarterback Tony Rodriguez and Wilford Rivera being kicked off the team for a post-practice fight last week was the play of sophomore quarterback Derek Hatfield in Estero's 59-20 loss to Fort Myers last Friday.

On a team desperate for bright spots, Hatfield threw for 255 yards and three touchdowns while completing over 50 percent of his passes.

The last sophomore quarterback to start for the Wildcats? Clint Marks. These days you can find him on the sidelines at Middle Tennessee State.

Talk about Murderers' Row. To make it to the Class 5A state finals, Estero somehow will have to navigate the toughest volleyball region in the state.

The Wildcats open the playoffs against Venice (25-2) ranked first in 5A. This is after losing to Fort Myers, ranked third in 5A, in the 5A District 12 playoffs. If Estero and Fort Myers win twice this week, they would meet for a fifth time this season Saturday afternoon.

"It's going to be tough," said coach Matt Hagen. "This whole region is loaded."

Naples

Swimmer Chris Sullivan has added yet another award to his collection. The junior again was selected to the Pinch-A-Penny All-Region 6 Team. Each year, Pinch-A-Penny recognizes the top high school swimmers in Florida.

Sullivan, who made the All-Region 6 team last year, finished ninth overall in the 500-yard freestyle and 10th overall in the 200 freestyle at last weekend's FHSAA Class 3A Swimming and Diving Finals.

The football team's 18-0 win over Gulf Coast was the Golden Eagles' fourth shutout of the season. The defense has allowed more than 17 points only once this season ... The girls soccer team opens its season Wednesday against Gulf Coast in the Bishop Verot Preseason Classic.

Community School

Although the boys and girls swimming teams capped their most successful season in the teams' five-year history, they expect to be better next year. Nine of the ten boys and girls who attended the state meet are returning next year. The lone senior is Zach McCormick.

The boys 400 free relay team, made up of McCormick, Spencer Mead, Brandon Perkovich and Alex Casement set a school record last weekend. Eighth-grade diver Nicole Antilla exceeded expectations as she was seed 36th but placed 28th.

Eighth-grader Kyle Carufe will have lots of youthful company to run against in the Class A State Meet on Saturday night in Tampa. There are three other eighth graders and 11 ninth graders running in the meet who have broke the 18-minute mark in last weeks regional meets.

St. John Neumann

The boys cross country team doesn't tie ropes or hold hands to stay close to one another during a race. It only seems that way.

Buoyed by the strength of pack running, the Celtics finished third in the Class A Region 2 meet in Largo last Friday. Jimmy Farinacci (23rd), Brandon Fogg (24), Charles Bentley (25th), Matt Ashby (27th) and Matt Clemente (28th) finished within 19 seconds of each other. Daniel Roubicek, the Celtics' sixth runner, was right behind Clemente in 29th.

"From beginning of the season it's kind of naturally evolved that way," said coach Mike Olayos. "We have some matched runners who wind up that way at the end of the race. They don't move together but as the race developed, they were like yelling at each other coming down the finishing straight."

The Celtics boys and girls teams won't have to run in the middle of the afternoon when they race at the Class A state meet at the Ed Radice Sports Complex in Tampa on Saturday, as they did at the regional. The Class A girls race begins at 7:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Everglades City

The girls basketball team held its first practice Monday and head coach Becky Welch said she expects to have 11 players dressing for the upcoming season. The team is comprised mostly of the Gators' volleyball team, which ended the season at 5-10 after losing in the first round of last week's district tournament.

"This time we had a decent break in between sports," Welch said. "In the past I've only had two or three days if that to switch gears. This time I had just less than a week. Considering my starting five all played volleyball for me, I don't believe I'm breaking in anybody who sat out volleyball season."

Welch added that she had more middle school players out than high school, meaning her entire bench will consist of middle schoolers. She said that's her biggest challenge, blending the experienced girls with the inexperienced and the group that has been together with the a group that basically is brand new.