Football: Eugenes help Naples reach regional semis

Naples High junior cornerback Jonathan Eugene is used to cousin

Jamelle Eugene getting all the glory.

Jamelle's the running back, and running backs get to score all

the touchdowns, right?

Maybe. But not Friday.

Nope. Friday night, it was Jonathan's turn to feel the love.

Jonathan Eugene returned an interception 88 yards for a

touchdown, and Jamelle Eugene ripped off a couple of late runs to

help the Golden Eagles beat Bradenton-Manatee 19-14 in the Class 5A

Region 3 quarterfinals at Staver Field.

Naples (10-1) hosts East Lake (5-5) in the regional semifinals

next Friday. East Lake beat St. Petersburg-Northeast 21-7.

"We were fortunate that the defense made plays and (Jonathan)

got the pick," said Naples coach Bill Kramer after the Golden

Eagles beat the Hurricanes (5-5) for the fifth time in six years.

"I'm proud of our guys and I'm proud of our effort."

"I'm sick of losing to Naples and I know the kids are, too,"

said Manatee head coach Howie DeCristofaro. "They're a good team.

But we had some chances tonight and we just couldn't take

advantage."

Jamelle Eugene ran for 147 yards on 17 carries and quarterback

Danny Dunford added 77 yards and a touchdown. Yet the Golden Eagles

needed a couple of momentum-turning third-quarter interceptions to

win.

Despite controlling the ball for almost the entire first half,

Naples led just 9-7 at the break after Manatee quarterback Colby

West hit Jessie Quinn for a 45-yard touchdown late in the half.

"We had a couple of third-and-shorts and a fourth-and-short and

we couldn't convert," Kramer said. "And I knew we couldn't let

those guys hang around."

Manatee forced a fumble on Naples' first possession of the

second half and moved to the Naples 17. On third-and-7, West

scrambled to his left to avoid the rush. Instead of running the

ball, West tried to float the ball to a receiver.

After that, Jonathan Eugene's instincts took over.

"I was just playing my area and I went up and got the ball at

its highest point," said Jonathan, who picked off the pass and

bolted 88 yards down the sideline.

"I know he's a burner and once he got it he was going to take it

to the house," Jamelle added.

The score gave Naples a 16-7 lead, and when Naples' Steve Weigle

picked off West three plays later, it looked like the Eagles were

in command after Tyler Walker kicked a 31-yard field goal early in

the fourth quarter.

But Manatee fought back. West ran 43 yards down the sideline to

the Naples 5, and two plays later, the Hurricanes cut the lead to

five on a 1-yard run by Chris Brooks.

The Hurricanes stopped the Golden Eagles, and after getting the

ball back, moved to the Naples 45. Rather than go for it on

fourth-and-10 with less than four minutes to go, Manatee chose to

kick. West's punt was perfect, and Naples took over at its own

3.

Needing a first down to win the game, the Golden Eagles turned

to Jamelle Eugene.

"The linemen told me, 'Follow us and we'll take you to the

promised land,' " Jamelle said.

Follow them he did, racing 43 yards for one first down. Two

plays later, he skipped 24 yards to the Manatee 20, allowing Naples

to run the clock out and advance to the regional semifinals for the

third straight year.

Manatee: 0 - 7 - 0 - 7 -- 14

Naples: 0 - 9 - 10 - 0 -- 19

Scoring

N -- Dunford 1 run (kick failed)

N -- Walker 46 field goal

M -- Quinn 45 pass from West (Filipowicz kick)

N -- Jo. Eugene 88 interception return (Walker kick)

N -- Walker 31 field goal

M -- Brooks 1 run (Filipowicz kick)

Individual Leaders

Rushing -- Manatee: Colby West 13-82, Chris Brooks 10-35;

Naples: Jamelle Eugene 17-147, Danny Dunford 13-82.

Passing -- Manatee: Colby West 2-8-2 63 yards; Naples: Danny

Dunford 3-6-0 39 yards.

Receiving -- Manatee: Marion Rumph 1-45, Hampton Harison 1-9;

Naples: Charles Faramo 2-34, Washington 1-5.