Football: Prep playoffs kick off tonight

All three Collier County teams have converged in the same spot, the Florida regional football playoffs. Now that they've arrived, their next task will be to stick around.

Naples hosts Bradenton-Manatee and Lely travels to Venice in the Class 5A Region 3 quarterfinals, while Immokalee hosts Cocoa Beach in the Class 2A Region 3 semifinals. When the Florida High School Athletic Association split Class 2A into 2A and 2B, it reduced each sub-classification's playoffs by one round.

The Golden Eagles (9-1) face the Hurricanes (5-5) in a return match from last season's Class 5A Region 3 title game. Naples jumped to a two-touchdown lead in that game to beat Mana tee 32-14 and advance to the state semifinals.

The Eagles know there isn't much different about their former district rivals. The game plan is the same. The players to watch -- like running back Bobby Dawes and quarterback Colby West -- are the same.

And the Hurricanes defense has been exceptional, Naples coach Bill Kramer says.

"Their defense is giving up fewer points than our defense (which pitched five regular season shutouts)," he says. "We'll have to play our best football.

That's not true every week, but it's true this week."

Sure, the Hurricanes gave up 414 yards last week to Bradenton-Bayshore, but Manatee's mission has been clear -- get ready for Naples.

"There's some revenge factor there," Kramer says.

The Indians (6-4) are hoping for an improved healing factor as they prepare for Cocoa Beach (6-4). Immokalee got head coach John Weber back this week after a two-game suspension for slapping and kicking quarterback Louis Gachette at practice, but several of his starters have been sidelined with injuries or a flu epidemic that flew around the Immokalee campus.

He'll be able to lean on some of his healthy players, namely running back Javarris James (1,029 yards in 10 games), Gachette and receiver/corner McIntosh Nicolas.

Cocoa Beach, Weber says, is a team that looks complicated but whose offensive scheme is simple.

"They're an option football team," he says. "They run a zillion formations -- double wing, power-I, trips, shotgun -- but they're an option football team."

Weber hopes he sees the Immokalee team that drubbed Clewiston to win the Class 2A-6 district title, and not the team that lost the other four games of that five-game streak.

The Trojans (5-5) are on a hot streak of their own, winning four of their last five to make the playoffs. For that, they get the Venice Indians (7-3), who pummeled playoff-bound Charlotte last week 41-7. Venice blasted the Tarpons for 296 rushing yards and the Trojans will need to keep a solid ground defense to stay in the game.

The Trojans have featured an explosive ground game the last few weeks. In last week's win over Port Charlotte, Fafa Alce rushed for 181 yards and a score and Fritz Jacques rushed for 120 yards and two scores.

Lely coach Chris Metzger says his team can't back down from Venice's physical play.

"The coach over there knows where we're coming from and knows where we are," he says.

"It's important that, from the opening kickoff, we compete and stand toe-to-toe with them."