PREP FOOTBALL, WEEK 3: Everything you need to know about tonight's games

Week 3: Coach Weber's Preview

John Weber talks prep football.

NAPLES — It's Week 3 of high school football, Southwest Florida, and what have we learned so far?

Well, we've certainly figured out that Immokalee High is for real this year, after the Indians' emotional 39-28 victory over rival Naples High.

But might Palmetto Ridge be sneaking up on the area's elite? The Bears are 2-0 with wins over Lemon Bay and Gulf Coast and are playing with plenty of confidence. That self-assurance hasn't gone unnoticed by Immokalee coach Jerrod Ackley, whose 2-0 Indians look to avenge last year's 45-13 loss tonight at Palmetto Ridge.

“You get a little success and you have more confidence and that’s what they have compared to last season,” Ackley said.

The Bears have been generating excitement in Golden Gate Estates, and a win over such a powerful Immokalee team could propel Palmetto Ridge to a special season.

“There’s a little buzz around here, and we’re off to a good start and the kids are feeding off of it,” Palmetto Ridge coach Dan Newbrough said. “We’re going to see a good football team this week and I think we’re ready.”

Read Woody Wommack's take on the game HERE.

In North Naples, a fierce local rivalry moves to the gridiron when St. John Neumann travels to Community School. This will be the first time these teams have met as members of Class 2A-District 6. CSN's varsity team scored a lopsided 48-0 win over Neumann's JV squad last year. Tonight's game figures to be a much different matchup.

“This is one of those games that we might be favored because of our experience, but they are not a team that we will overlook for several reasons,” SJN coach Steve Howey said. “This is a district game, many of our players know their players, our players remember the beating their varsity gave to our JV team last year and this is a game that SJN has been looking forward to even before they started football at CSN.”

Though the rivalry fire definitely burns, Community School is hoping to show some improvement after falling to 0-2 with a 28-12 loss at Sarasota-Out-of-Door Academy.

“We’re young. We just have to keep getting better,” CSN coach Damon Jones said. “We have to keep it simple. We have to work on fundamentals and technique. I’m looking forward to the game. I think it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Check out Tom Rife's preview story HERE.

Tonight's schedule has nine games on tap, and naplesnews.com will have it all covered from the opening kickoff to the final whistle. Join NDN journalists and area gridiron fans at 7 tonight where I'll be moderating a live chat .

For live scoring updates on the go tonight and PrepZone headlines throughout the week, follow our Twitter feed @NDN_PrepZone. If you're tweeting from the game, don't forget to use the hashtag #prepzone for all of your tweets!

After the final whistle, we'll have complete coverage of all the games, along with full photo galleries and fan pics, which you can send to us at participate.naplesnews.com.

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OTHER GAMES TONIGHT

■ Naples High leans on seniors to bounce back vs. Verot

■ Barron Collier wary of speedy East Lee

■ High-powered Cape Coral offense visits Lely for homecoming

■ Big-time test awaits Golden Gate at Berkeley Prep

■ Consistency is key for First Baptist

■ No panic in South Fort Myers after losing opener

■ Estero getting back to basics in preparation for North Fort Myers

■ REWIND: Click HERE for a complete recap of last week's games.