South Fort Myers upsets Naples for first playoff win since 2014
· Yahoo Sports
Having spent a majority of their season on the road, there is little that can unnerve the Wolfpack.
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Even one of the most difficult venues for away teams in Staver Field and a round of the playoffs where the Golden Eagles have historically succeeded.
No. 6 seed South Fort Myers imposed its will on defense and relied on the legs of junior quarterback Jaydon Henderson to knock off the third-seed Naples 32-27 in the Class 4A-Region 3 quarterfinal on Friday, Nov. 13.
The teams came in with plenty of familiarity after splitting meetings last year with the Golden Eagles getting the final say with a 21-13 first-round playoff victory.
“It feels lovely,” South Fort Myers senior defensive lineman Ja’Dell Carter said. “It’s always good to win at Naples.”
Carter and the South defense led the way, holding the Naples rushing attack in check for most of the game and forcing four turnovers.
The first came when sophomore Jer’Shard Benjamin leapt up to intercept a pass by junior Naples quarterback Devin Dunford.
Benjamin was rewarded immediately as Henderson found him streaking behind the defense for a 67-yard score.
“So goes (Benjamin), so goes our team,” South head coach Matt Holderfield said. “He brings so much to us both offensively and defensively and special teams. He’s got to have a big game for us to have a big game.”
Benjamin would intercept Dunford again in the first quarter, and the Wolfpack once again took advantage with a big play on a 51-yard touchdown run down the sideline by senior Arthur Gallishaw to go up 13-0.
The Naples offense started to get going in the second quarter, and junior running back Jevan Raphael got the team on the board with a 17-yard scamper.
The Wolfpack stayed heavy with the run, primarily with Henderson making plays to get the team down the field. He capped a second quarter drive with a 19-yard touchdown after avoiding the Naples rush and scrambling to the house.
The Golden Eagles ensured themselves a chance with a 1-yard Raphael touchdown run in the final seconds of the half to cut the South lead to 19-14.
The third quarter saw the biggest momentum swing of the night when, after a field-flipping Naples punt and a pair of sacks of Henderson, Naples senior Jelani Georges blocked a South punt. In the ensuing chaos, South junior Jaylen Babb scooped up the ball and returned it to the Naples 1-yard line. Henderson scored to put South up 25-14.
“It was huge,” Holderfield said. “That was just hustle by our guys. The thing about it is, this time of year, you’re going to need some things like that to happen.”
An 80-yard pick-6 by South junior Damod McGuire put South up by three scores early in the fourth quarter.
The Golden Eagles wouldn’t go down easy as Raphael scored his third and fourth touchdowns from 13 and 26 yards out, but the clock wasn’t a friend of the home team.
South would recover an onside kick attempt in the final minutes to secure the program’s first playoff win since the 2014 season.
The defense led the charge – even with a pair of three-star prospects on the line in Carter and Cornelius Tims – the team relied on all 11 in uniform to get the job done. Holderfield pointed out that several players, like freshman defensive tackle Kymani Cyrus, were key in filling in for injured players.
“We knew (Tims) and Ja’Dell would have big games,” Holderfield said. “This is what they’re living for right now, but what I’m really proud of is the other guys. We’ve got really young guys that behind them that are coming in and playing.”
On the offensive side, Henderson powered his way to 113 rushing yards and two touchdowns, plus 87 passing yards and a score.
For Naples, it’s the team’s first loss in the regional quarterfinal round since the 2004 season. The Golden Eagles blitzed the competition in Class 4A-District 12 to win the title but were handed a tough draw in a South Fort Myers team that wouldn’t be daunted by the stakes.
“Coach Holderfield does a really good job of just coaching them up and getting them ready to play, and, when you have a well-coached team and they’re super athletic, it’s really hard to beat them,” Naples head coach Rick Martin said.
Raphael rushed for 120 yards and four touchdowns against a tough South front, and senior Nicksen Volvic added 109 yards on the ground. The Golden Eagles finish their season with a 6-5 record.
“I’m so proud of these guys,” Martin said. "Whether you look at it from just the season and where we started in the spring game to now, the growth and the maturity of this team has just been amazing to watch.”
The Wolfpack will once again hit the road for their eighth away game of the season when they face No. 2 seed Tampa Jesuit, which downed Estero 47-14.
“Anytime you come down here and win – we’ve been lucky to win a few down here now, and it’s nice,” Holderfield said. “It’s always special. That’s a good team. They’re always well coached. They’re always well prepared, and it’s Naples. It’s big for us. The biggest thing now we got to do is get that out of our head and get ready to go again. It’s something we haven’t done in a while – having to get ready for another one, so it’ll be a big week for us.”
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: South Fort Myers upsets Naples for first playoff win since 2014