Football matchups: Nov. 7, 2003

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Cypress Lake -- QB Curtis Hood, RB Dalton Julien; Naples -- QB Danny Dunford, RB Jamelle Eugene, RB Jermaine Washington, DB Joe Cosimano, LB Cory Hogue, DE Spencer Adkins

KEY MATCHUPS: Hood vs. Naples defense -- Hood can be a gamebreaker, but he'll need an extraordinary effort against the Golden Eagles' punishing defense.

FAST FACTS: Naples beat Gulf Coast 18-0 last week ... It was the Golden Eagles' fourth shutout of the season ... Dunford ran for a touchdown and passed for another and finished the game with 111 yards passing ... Cypress Lake lost to Mariner 30-7 last week ... Julien rushed for 194 yards ... The Panthers gave up 396 yards on the ground.

COACHES' COMMENTS: Naples coach Bill Kramer -- "This game doesn't count toward any district record, but it's more like a playoff game atmosphere for us as far as our attitude and attention to detail."

Class 2A No. 5 Immokalee (6-3, 3-1 in Class 2A-6) at Plantation-American Heritage (5-4, 2-2 in Class 2A-8)

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Immokalee -- RB Javarris James, WR McIntosh Nicolas, QB Louis Gachette, DB Rock Magis, LB Mark Joseph; American Heritage -- RB DiIvory Edgecomb, RB Zack Walker

KEY MATCHUPS: Immokalee defense vs. Edgecomb -- Edgecomb is Broward County's second-leading rusher and one of the state's top running back prospects.

FAST FACTS: Immokalee beat Clewiston 46-21 last week to win the Class 2A-6 title ... James ran for 124 yards and four scores ... Wilbert Jean ran for three touchdowns ... This is the last game Phil Vogt acts as interim coach. John Weber, currently serving a three-day suspension for slapping Gachette on the helmet and kicking him, returns to the team on Monday ... American Heritage lost to Chaminade-Madonna 35-14 last week ... The Patriots allowed 345 yards rushing.

COACHES' COMMENTS: Immokalee interim coach Phil Vogt -- "If you're a competitor, you play to win. If it's going to count for a win or a loss, you play to win. Every game is important."

Port Charlotte (1-7, 0-2 in Class 4A-11) at Lely (4-5, 2-2 in Class 5A-12)

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Lely -- QB Ward Tanner, RB Ace Cineus, WR Danny Huffor, WR Bruce Noel, DB Fritz Jacques, LB Grant Reid

KEY MATCHUPS: Port Charlotte defense vs. Lely offense -- The Trojans might have struggled last week, but they know how to put points on the board in bunches.

FAST FACTS: Lely lost to Dunbar 26-6 last week ... The Trojans still secured a playoff berth, their first since 1999, with Barron Collier's win over Cape Coral ... Lely's loss snapped a three-game winning streak ... The Trojans gained only 78 yards rushing ... Tanner was intercepted three times ... The Pirates have lost seven straight after winning their first game of the season ... Port Charlotte lost to Charlotte 42-10 last week.

COACHES' COMMENTS: Lely coach Chris Metzger -- "Port Charlotte has been close in a lot of contests, and if you look at their schedule, they've played a lot of doozies. Our kids should be extremely motivated after the way they played last week. This game should help them focus for the playoffs."

Gulf Coast (4-5, 2-2 in Class 5A-12) at Estero (3-6, 2-3 in Class 4A-12)

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Gulf Coast -- QB Chadd Rivera, RB Tim Alvaranga, WR/DB/KR Jacob O'Connell, ; Estero -- WR Brian Fitzgerald, QB Derek Hatfield, OL Mike Gilmartin, RB Bronwyn McCant

KEY MATCHUPS: Gulf Coast defense vs. Hatfield -- Can the Sharks' high-energy defense rattle the sophomore quarterback making only his second career start?

FAST FACTS: The Sharks lost to Naples 18-0 last week ... It was the Sharks' third straight loss ... Gulf Coast allowed 243 yards rushing ... Naples sacked Rivera eight times ... Estero lost to Fort Myers 59-20 last week ... The Wildcats allowed 45 first half points ... The Estero offense passed for 257 yards, but rushed for only eight ... Hatfield again will start at quarterback after Anthony Rodriguez was kicked off the team for fighting.

COACHES' COMMENTS: Gulf Coast coach Frank Tudryn -- "This senior group has really seen the program evolve over the last few seasons. Being able to get that fifth win is really important."; Estero coach Bill Swats -- "The last two games, I don't know where our defense went. They started playing well in the last few games before that, and then all of a sudden we regressed. It's not like we see the effort going down, we've just made some fundamental mistakes."

Class 2A No. 7 Clewiston (4-4, 3-1 in Class 2A-6) at Barron Collier (5-4, 2-2 in Class 5A-12)

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Barron Collier -- QB Nick Caputo, RB Moises Plancher, WR Damion Hunter, DB Ryan Bethea, LB Marcelo Perez; Clewiston -- RB Daquan Adderly, QB Josh Pope

KEY MATCHUPS: Clewiston defense vs. Plancher -- The Tigers were burned on the ground by Immokalee last week and Plancher is one of Southwest Florida's best runners.

FAST FACTS: Barron Collier beat Cape Coral 56-21 last week ... Caputo threw for 207 yards and a touchdown ... Plancher rushed for five touchdowns ... The win knocked Cape Coral out of the playoff picture ... It also snapped Barron's three-game losing streak ... Clewiston lost to Immokalee 46-21 last week and lost the Class 2A-6 title in the process ... The Tigers still make the playoffs as district runner-up ... Clewiston gave up 349 yards rushing to Immokalee.

COACHES' COMMENTS: Barron Collier coach Bill Sparacio -- "We're very excited. There haven't been many 6-4 years at Barron Collier in the last few. This will be a playoff-caliber atmosphere against a playoff team."

QUICK PICKS: Naples 35, Cypress Lake 7; Immokalee 28, American Heritage 21; Lely 24, Port Charlotte 14; Gulf Coast 21, Estero 14; Clewiston 21, Barron Collier 20