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Eagles grab the early lead but unable to hold on, fall to Bucs 26-17
Dominic Salemme hauls in a TD pass from Kilton Anderson for the early 7-0 lead Photo courtesy of the Naples Daily News
Vs
Naples
Golden Eagles
There or only two types of people in the world - Golden Eagles and those that want to be Golden Eagles
The Golden Eagles and their fans made the 5 hour trek across the state to take on the highly rated Mainland Buccaneers and gave them all they could handle. Naples jumped out to the early lead and for the first 30 minutes had everything going their way. It however was not meant to be. A ferocious defense and some bad bounces took the Eagles out of the playoffs and their chance for their 8th regional championship in school history.
On the initial drive, the Golden Eagles used their inspired offensive line to push the much bigger Buc defenders off the ball and pick up a couple of first downs. Ike Dutes and Manny Morgan lead the attack, but after 6 plays TK Okubo kicked it away to Mainland. The Bucs picked up a first down as well, but on a third and 6, a high snap found its way to the ground and Cody Christner scooped it up and returned it to the Mainland 21. Dutes picked up 3 yards on a run and then Kilton Anderson showed why he had the confidence of his teammates by lobbing a perfect pass to a wide open Dominic Salemme for the 18 yard TD. Okubo made it 7-0 with just 3:39 left in the first quarter.
The Dollar Defense flexed its' muscle once again forcing a 3 and out, and the Eagles received the Mainland punt on their own 31. After an Anderson keeper for 3 yards, Kilton again went to the air to find Thomas Martin for a 39 gain. Morgan picked up a couple of yards on the next play, setting up a 36 yard strike from Anderson to Jeff Zieminski. The first quarter ended with Naples knocking on the door, at the Buc 5 yard line. Two keepers by Anderson were stopped and on third down the Buc defense forced a hurried pass by Anderson that was picked off and brought back to the Buc 34. From there, Mainland moved down the field in their only long drive of the night to knot the score at 7, midway through the second quarter.
Starting on their own 23, the Eagles moved to midfield on a big 21 yard run by Morgan. From herre, one of several turnovers on the night gifted the ball back to Mainland at their 43 yard line. A long sideline pass from the Bucs set them up on the Naples 18 as they looked to take the lead before halftime. They moved as far as the 8 yard line before the Dollar D halted their plans. They would lose 9 yards on the next three plays, 7 of them because of another big play by Christner, this time a sack. Foregoing the field goal, which would have been a 34 yard attempt, the pass falls incomplete and the Eagles prevent any more scoring before halftime. The score remained tied at intermission, leaving 24 minutes to decide who would move on to the State finals.
The Bucs received the 2nd half kickoff, but again could not move the ball on this fired up Eagle defense. They punt back to Naples after 3 plays and Steven Williams makes the fair catch on the Eagle 31. This drive ends as quickly as it starts as Dutes is stripped, setting up Mainland in Eagle territory. The Bucs take 4 plays but cannot pick up the required 10 yards so once again the Eaglle D stopped Mainland in their tracks and Naples goes back on the attack. This drive belongs to Morgan and the offensive line as he breaks the biggest play of the night, a 43 yard romp, and then runs of 4 and 3 yards. Okubo comes on to nail the 28 yard field goal and the Eagles take the lead, 10-7, with 6:21 to go in the third period.
The Dollar defense has been on fire and they force yet another Mainland punt setting up Naples on their 25. This drive however was doomed from the start as a fumble on first down loses 10 yards. Morgan gets 5 back, but on third and 15, Anderson's pass is deflected at the line and run in for a Mainland score. Just like that, the Eagles are down 14-7 with 2:25 left in the third. Morgan again leads the way on the next drive, returning the kickoff 7 yards to the 22. Manny is able to pick up the first down with a 17 yard blast, but again another bad bounce plagues the Golden Eagles. Anderson keeps the ball but is stripped and the fumble is picked up for another Mainland score. They now lead the shocked Eagles 20-7 as the third quarter comes to an end.
Billy Crook comes in at quarterback after missing last week with a bad ankle sprain. Although Morgan and Dutes move the ball into Buc territory another fumble gives it right back. Mainland looks to put the nails in the coffin, but they have problems of their own. Two big penalties and a fumble give it right back to the Eagles on the Buc 44. Crook guides the team down the field and faces a 3rd and 8 on the Mainland 9. Under heavy pressure, Crook throws across the field to Morgan who powers his way into the end zone for the touchdown. The PAT was missed as a bad snap never gave Okubo a chance as he missed for the first time all year. Still, the gap is now 20-16 with still over 5 minutes left in the regional championship game.
The Dollar defense had been superb all night holding this Buc team in check. On this drive however, Mainland is able to use 4 big running plays to score the final TD of the night, and took the lead for good 27 - 16 with 4 minutes left. Naples continued to fight as Crook found Martin on a couple of sideline passes. But knowing Naples had to pass, the Bucs played prevent defense and picked off the desperation pass to seal the victory.
Naples won the battle in the trenches, they had better stats, but in the end the Buccaneers were able to convert 2 key turnovers for the win. A heartbreaking loss as the Eagles literally gave the game away. Naples finishes the season 10-3 with a defense that matured and got better each week. The offense scored at will in this game, but came up short.
Congratulations to the coaches, players, administration, and fans on another great season at Naples High!
