Dominique Linton

Players like nose guard Joe Chmielowski and running back Jaheem Washington, Southwest Florida’s leading rusher, put Palmetto Ridge on the map with an 8-3 record last season. However, the east Naples school wasn’t exactly a destination for Division I college coaches.

That all changed this spring with the maturation of Dominique Linton. The dynamic, 6-foot-2 senior receiver with great length and speed has put Palmetto Ridge on the recruiting map and is ranked No. 9 in The News-Press and Naples Daily News’ Big 15, a list of top recruits in Southwest Florida.

“A lot of them wanted to get a good picture of him and gauge his length,” Bears coach Chris Toukonen said of the various Division I coaches who stopped by spring practice in May. “It was something where a lot of the coaches who’ve never been to Palmetto Ridge before got to see it.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun come December (for Linton). He’s going to have a lot of options.”

The News-Press

During his freshman season where he started at safety for a .500 Bears team, Linton would have signed up for playing college ball at any level. He had not experienced the growth spurt he thought would never come. That and an offseason of intense training to increase his speed changed the complexion of his recruitment.

Linton’s participation on the track team in the long jump as well as the 100- and 200-meter events started to turn some heads. In addition to posting a 4.6-second, 40-yard dash time, he grew to 6-2, which allowed him to challenge opposing players for the ball in the air.

“It was really exciting seeing my progress,” Linton said. “People started to change their minds about me and started saying I actually have a chance to make it.”

By the time Toukonen took over the program last year, Linton was a known defensive commodity around Collier County.  But the offensive-minded coach who came over from Cocoa, a powerhouse on the state’s East Coast, thought he could get a little more out of Linton.

The News-Press Football Big 15 Recruits.

Seeing the safety on film, he reminded Toukonen of a few dynamic offensive players he had at Cocoa. Linton was the vertical threat Palmetto Ridge needed with teams stacking the box against Washington.

“We were always looking for mismatches,” Toukonen said. “A lot of teams played us in what we call Cover 0 to stop Jaheem. It’s tough for defensive backs around this area to cover (Linton) 1-on-1. He’s a weapon.”

The Big 15: Sports Reporters breakdown players 15 through 11

On film, it almost appeared as if defensive backs were standing still – or at least trying to navigate through quicksand – while Linton blew by them down the field. As one of the area’s most productive receivers, Linton finished with 578 yards receiving and nine touchdowns during a season where the Bears produced 28 points per game and the program’s first winning season since 2007.

Scholarship offers from the University of Kentucky and Bethune-Cookman came not too long after the season ended. The offer from a SEC program made a 2015 season, which seemed like a dream, a reality.

“It made me realize I’m a really good football player no matter what anyone says,” Linton said. “Obviously, Kentucky saw it.”

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Building on his junior season will require a bit of an adjustment with Washington and quarterback Cody Young’s graduation. While Toukonen again expects to be a team that will pound the ball between the tackles, Linton will be a marked man by area defenses.

When fall camp starts in August, Palmetto Ridge will have a position battle at quarterback between Kyle Thomasson and junior varsity signal caller Jacob Curry. Thomasson was injured for the spring game against East Lee County where Curry filled in and led the Bears to a 17-6 win.

Toukonen said Linton and Curry developed a bit of chemistry as evidenced by a hookup for a 28-yard touchdown reception on the Bears’ first offensive series.

“I know I still have a lot of work to do,” Linton said. “I’m going to do everything I can to help my team while working to improve my speed and route running. I just need to prove to everyone else I’m as good as Kentucky thinks I am.”

The Big 15 

The News-Press and The Naples Daily News are counting down the top football recruits in Southwest Florida every Tuesday and Friday until the start of the high school football season. The Big 15 features players going into their junior and senior years from Lee and Collier counties, with respect paid to those with hard scholarship offers and those without who possess great potential.

The Next 15

24. Fa’Najae Gotay, North Fort Myers: The 6-foot, 205 pound South Fort Myers transfer is as versatile a running back as they come with 4.5 40-yard dash speed and tremendous strength. However, the junior may project as an outside linebacker at the college level with great instincts and blazing sideline-to-sideline speed.

Kaden Frost, Gulf Coast

Kaden Frost led the Gulf Coast football team to the playoffs in each of his first two years as a starter.

Pretty impressive stuff for an underclassman.

Now the 6-foot-2, 200-pound pocket passer with a rocket arm is ready to take on an even bigger role as a junior.

“As a freshman and sophomore, I was kind of one of the younger guys on the team,” he said. “As the quarterback, I was the leader of the offense, but not the leader I wanted to be down the road.”

But two seasons of experience have given Frost, who lands at No. 8 on The Big 15 list of best Southwest Florida football prospects, a better handle on how to captain a team on the field.

The News-Press Football Big 15 Recruits.

“I’m really focusing on taking that leadership role, being on time to everything, setting a good example for the other guys on the team, doing all the little things right,” he said. “I just want to be the best football player I can be off and on the field.”

Frost, who has a scholarship offer from Southern Mississippi and is receiving heavy interest from Florida Atlantic, has already made improvements in each of his first two seasons. He took over as the Sharks’ starter early in his freshman year, and went through the typical growing pains expected by a young quarterback.

He completed just 43 percent of his passes that year, throwing 11 interceptions against seven touchdown passes for 1,113 yards. While Frost helped lead the Sharks to wins in his first two games, Gulf Coast lost its last six, losing in the first round of the playoffs to Palm Bay Heritage.

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His numbers improved across the board as a sophomore, as he threw for 1,822 yards with 16 touchdowns and seven interceptions. His completion rate rose to 58 percent.

Frost attributed his improvement to the work put in with first-year quarterbacks coach Barry Fagan, the former head coach at Ave Maria.

“Most of my improvement has come from making better reads and better decisions on the field,” Frost said. “Coach Fagan really helped me progress as a quarterback, not only physically but helping me know which reads to make, which receivers to throw to in different situations. Just knowing where to look on the field.”

Over the years, Frost has also worked with Mike Wexler, a local skill position coach, and has appeared at countless camps where he’s been able to develop his abilities. This summer, he’s attended camps at Florida Atlantic, a satellite camp for South Florida at North Fort Myers, and has plans to attend another at Appalachian State.

Gulf Coast coach Pete Fominaya says he’s always been impressed with Frost. It’s why he didn’t hesitate to use him as the starter during Frost’s freshman year.

“We’ve been fortunate enough to have him going into a third season now,” Fominaya said. “Not too many programs get to develop a young man like this and play him all four years. His physical tools are refining. His arm has always been strong, but it’s even stronger and more accurate now.

It didn’t take long last season for Fominaya to see the development in Frost’s game.

“He’s playing with more confidence,” he said. “We run a balanced offense, but he runs the show and really sets the tempo for us. He’s the catalyst.”

Fominaya said he expects Frost will be a fine college quarterback someday. A few high major schools are currently recruiting him.

“Kaden has a huge arm, he can really push the ball down the field vertically. He makes the safeties and secondaries have to respect him. He’s a great football mind and can dissect defense. He’s a big, strong kid, stronger than most people think.

“He’s had some great coaching through the years. He’s a pro-style quarterback in a state that doesn’t produce many pro-style quarterbacks. He’s going to be a great football player for some (college) at some point.”

The Big 15 

The News-Press and The Naples Daily News will be counting down the top football recruits in Southwest Florida every Tuesday and Friday until the start of the high school football season. The Big 15 features players going into their junior and senior years from Lee and Collier counties, with respect paid to those with hard scholarship offers and those without who possess great potential.

The Next 15

27. Robert Cobb, Ida Baker, OLB: The 6-foot-5, 220-pound senior linebacker and tight end is being highly pursued by Florida International, Central Florida and South Florida. 

Alex Debnam, 19, a friend and former teammate of Stef’An Strawder, is comforted by Bernard Edwards, a parent of one of his teammates, during a press conference at the Lehigh Senior High School gym Monday afternoon. School administration, parents and teammates were in hand to share their feelings about the loss of Strawder during a shooting Monday morning in Fort Myers.

Abed Abu-Khadier woke up at 8 a.m. Monday to a barrage of texts and missed calls.

The Lehigh Senior High graduate couldn’t believe what he was seeing. His former Lightning boys basketball teammate Stef’An Strawder had been shot and killed at Club Blu in Fort Myers hours earlier.

“This is something new to me,” said Abu-Khadier, a 2015 Lehigh graduate. “I’ve never experienced someone so close to me die. It’s real tragic. It’s heartbreaking. I woke up this moment. I didn’t know how to react to it.”

Strawder, 18, who was shot in the shoulder according to his mother, Stephanie White, was transported to Lee Memorial Hospital. He was later pronounced dead around 3:30 a.m. after attempts to revive him were unsuccessful.

Lehigh basketball star Stef’An Strawder killed in Club Blu shooting

Inside the Lehigh Senior High gymnasium Monday afternoon, current and former players met with coaches and administrators to help each other through the tragic event.

Abed Abu-Khadier, a friend and teammate of Stef’An Strawder, is comforted by Jackie Corey, the school principal, during a press conference at the Lehigh Senior High School gym Monday afternoon. School administration, parents and teammates were in hand to share their feelings about the loss of Strawder during a shooting Monday morning in Fort Myers.

Lehigh coach Greg Coleman and former Lightning coach Dawn McNew, along with Lehigh principal Jackie Corey, coordinated the gathering. Counselors were on hand to speak to nearly 25 student-athletes and graduates.

“It is a great loss for all of us,” Corey said. “I am sad for our community today.”

A season ago, Strawder averaged 15.6 points, 5.5 assists and 2.8 assists per game as the Lightning, who went 19-8, reached the Region 6A-3 playoffs. But to many of his peers on Monday, his loss extended far beyond the basketball court. Strawder was an inspiring student-athlete.

“Quite frankly, it’s like losing a son,” said McNew, who met Strawder five years ago when she became the Lightning boys basketball head coach.

McNew’s work on the bench transformed Strawder into the type of player who rattled opposing guards with his effortless ball handling, dazzling moves through the paint and unshakable confidence from behind the arc. He was a star in the making, almost destined to play on a college basketball court some day.

“He was one of the most talented players we’ve ever seen,” said McNew, commenting that local college Florida Gulf Coast University was interested in the guard. “The future was bright for him.”

A baby picture of 18-year Stef’An Strawder, who was killed on Monday after attending Club Blu.

Strawder was also a caring, smart, funny and polite. On Sunday morning, he attended church with his mother at St. Mary’s Progressive Missionary Baptist Church. Teachers remember him as a hard worker, Corey said, and coaches admired the 5-foot-8 guard for his tenacity.

That included Dwayne Jackson, a Mariner High graduate who operates Hoops on a Mission, a training company that intends to inspire and empower young athletes to be faith driven.

Strawder often reached out to Jackson, a former neighbor to the family when he was at Mariner High, for advice. Jackson said he believed he was becoming a stronger man the older he got. Strawder’s 18th birthday was June 16.

“His presence, when he walked in the room, that was Stef’An,” Jackson said. “He resembled that on the court. He was competitive. He was a winner. But he was a stand-up guy his whole life. He was growing, like all of us. It’s a very sad day for this community.”

Teammates were inspired by his work ethic. Younger players viewed him as a mentor.

“I definitely think this will touch a lot of people,” Mariner High boys basketball coach James Harris said. “I’ve talked to players and it has touched them. It’s going to touch a lot of lives. And you just, you hope that moving forward this loss isn’t for nothing. He continues to touch other people. And I just feel really bad for his family. And I can’t imagine what a parent, or how a parent deals with that. I feel for his teammates and his team and his school.”

2 dead, at least 16 injured after shooting at Fort Myers Club Blu

Senior Jarvis Martin, whose successes on the court often mirrored Strawder’s, had seen his teammate prior to Sunday’s party at Club Blu.

“I told him not to go,” Martin said. “I said don’t do it, don’t do parties. Let’s stay in and go out and play basketball.”

Martin had been teammates with Strawder on a local AAU team, Florida Future. They returned from a trip to Orlando on Saturday.

Stef’An Strawder, right, was killed by gunfire after attending an event at Club Blu on Monday in Fort Myers. He was a promising Lehigh basketball player.

“We just came home, we were talking about the past and what our senior year was going to be like,” Martin said. “We came back to Fort Myers. And then this. It hurts really bad.”

But former teammates like BJ Edwards, 20, also felt his loss. As a senior in 2013-2014, he remembers mentoring Strawder through a successful season. Yet, he also saw an experience beyond his youthful exterior.

Alex Debnam, 19, a friend and former teammate of Stef’An Strawder, is comforted by Bernard Edwards, a parent of one of his teammates, during a press conference at the Lehigh Senior High School gym Monday afternoon. School administration, parents and teammates were in hand to share their feelings about the loss of Strawder during a shooting Monday morning in Fort Myers.

“He had such a mature attitude,” Edwards said. “Even when we were down, he brought us up. It’s crazy. He had that at such a young age, but he did.

“This is the toughest thing I’ve ever had to deal with.”

Abu-Khadier, who along with Strawder led the Lightning to a Region 6A-3 finals appearance in 2014-15, spoke to him Tuesday. They talked about Kevin Durant’s move from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Golden State Warriors.

Abu-Khadier vowed to accomplish the goals he and Strawder set as basketball players.

“He was a hard-working kid,” he said. “He had a bright future ahead of him. I’m going to work twice as hard so I can make up for what he can’t do.”

Stephanie White, Stef’An Strawder’s mother, is surrounded by her son’s friends and teammates Monday afternoon at her home in Lehigh Acres. Her son’s friends and teammates were visiting to provide her with support as she grieved her son’s loss earlier that day during a shooting in Fort Myers.

Update: Stef’An Strawder’s funeral will not be held at the Lehigh Senior High Gymnasium, Lehigh principal Jackie Corey said early Wednesday. Strawder’s family is deciding upon two other locations. 

ESPN cameras flickered on in the corner of the Lehigh Senior High gymnasium on Tuesday.

The sports media outlet was there to tell the story of Stef’An Strawder, an emerging star with the Lightning basketball program who died Monday morning following a mass shooting at Fort Myers’ Club Blu. His story will be featured on the station’s flagship show SportsCenter in the coming days.

Strawder, 18, and 14-year-old Sean Archilles were killed while at least 17 others were injured, including Strawder’s 19-year-old sister, Sharrelle, who was shot through the leg.

Strawder was exiting the club when he was hit in the shoulder. He was transported to Lee Memorial Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead following emergency surgery.

“I still don’t know how to deal with it,” said BJ Edwards, who played with Strawder for one season at Lehigh in 2013-14. “I never had to lose someone that close to me. I still don’t understand it.”

Teen tragedy: Fort Myers club shooting leaves a city in pain

Late Monday evening, Lehigh principal Jackie Corey received correspondence from ESPN reporter Mark Schwarz pitching Strawder’s story to a national audience.

She held a news conference earlier in the day asking for the community to erase the violence that has plagued the area and for the community to “step up and do something about it.”

Corey believed the interview would do much good for a healing family. Schwarz and his cameraman flew to Southwest Florida Tuesday morning and spent two hours at the school with members of the Lehigh basketball family.

“We made the calls we needed to make,” Corey said. “We coordinated it that quick.”

They set up by noon and the lights and camera rolled soon after.

Club Blu: Stef’An Strawder’s family to file wrongful death suits

Schwarz interviewed Lehigh Senior High coach Greg Coleman, who provided insight on Strawder’s love of basketball. Former Lightning coach Dawn McNew, who had resigned in March following the season, said “the sky was the limit” for her former player.

As a junior, Strawder averaged 15.6 points, 5.5 assists and 2.8 steals per game, pushing the Lightning to the Region 6A-3 playoffs. He was named one of three finalists for The News-Press Boys Basketball Player of the Year.

Edwards was asked what he would say if he were to see the shooter that killed Strawder.

“Why would you take his life?” he said. “How can you sleep at night?”

Schwarz spoke with Strawder’s closest friend at Lehigh, Jarvis Martin, and former teammate Emmitt Williams. He spoke to his mother, Stephanie White, who later said that she would try to find a big enough venue to hold her son’s funeral since her church, St. Mary’s Missionary Baptist Church, only held about 100 patrons.

Corey said she already was planning with the school district to coordinate Strawder’s funeral inside the Lehigh gymnasium. His funeral is tentatively planned for Saturday, Aug. 6.

Beyond that, Corey had plans to graduate Strawder at the end of next year with his senior class, and to retire his jersey after Martin vowed to play in it next season.

“No one’s ever going to wear that number again,” she said.

Strawder’s mother has seen a vast amount of goodwill spreading since the death of her son. White has been amazed by the number of people who cared for him.

“I knew that a lot of people knew my son,” she said. “But I never knew how much until now.”

Her niece, Alexis Strawder, started a GoFundMe page to help defray the cost of her cousin’s funeral. White said those donations would help family members attend the wake from out of state.

Will Prather, a friend of the family, said the city’s Victims Assistance Fund and the Southwest Florida Community Foundation would also provide money to help offset costs from Strawder’s funeral.

During the taping, ESPN asked Edwards if he would forgive Strawder’s killer?

“I’m a man of faith,” he said. “And God says if we don’t forgive, we won’t forgive ourselves. I have to forgive him. I do forgive him. I still have questions as to why. And we can’t go back now. I forgive him, but I don’t have to agree with it.”

Club Blu: Lee County’s 5th mass shooting in 10 months

Vigil for victims, to contemplate violence

Quality Life Center is holding a candlelight vigil Thursday to honor the victims of the Club Blu shooting and raise awareness about gun violence in Southwest Florida.

“We’re just trying to find different ways that we can show our support,” said Katrina Shanks, team coordinator at Quality Life.. “This isn’t just about last night.

“It’s definitely for healing and awareness and hopefully togetherness for the community.”

Everyone is welcome to join the vigil, Shanks said.

“People can come from outside of Dunbar (community in Fort Myers),” Shanks said. “It impacts everybody.”

The plan is to meet at 6::30 p.m. at Quality Life Center, 3210 Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Shanks said. People can bring their own candles and “just be present,” she said. Donations of supplies, such as bottled water, from local businesses are also welcome. Need info? Call 334-2797

Stephanie White, Stef’An Strawder’s mother, is surrounded by her son’s friends and teammates Monday afternoon at her home in Lehigh Acres. Her son’s friends and teammates were visiting to provide her with support as she grieved her son’s loss earlier that day during a shooting in Fort Myers.

In due time, The Club Blu shooting will disappear and vanish from our minds as if nothing ever happened.

Despite two teenagers dying.

That’s the business of mass shootings and how they exist within our culture. People will pack up the Bibles, the candles, the poster boards exclaiming “Stop the Blaming & Start Saving” and they’ll simply move on.

We survive. We forget.

But what about the families? The ones who lose young boys or girls to gunfire? Most times we treat their emotions like industry, clocking in when the moment asks of us and checking out when the world seems to have become a better place.

There’s never any true answers for the families, or for the deceased. We watch their pain and we feel sympathy deep in our chests. But most of us are so far removed from that life — safely tucked away from violence in our homes — that we never truly experience it ourselves.

The mass shooting at Club Blu that killed two early Monday morning and injured 17 more?

It gripped the nation for a day. It was one more example of the toll gun violence is taking on our culture across the country.

Oddly enough, those feelings — of anger, hopelessness, sadness — never last. We don’t let ourselves believe we’re that fractured.

But then why did 14-year-old Sean Archilles die in a Fort Myers parking lot of around half past midnight? Why did 18-year-old Stef’An Strawder take his last breath hours later on a hospital bed at Lee Memorial Hospital?

They were good kids. They were smart. They were talented. They were loved.

Club Blu: Sean Archilles ‘didn’t deserve to die that way’

Ultimately, they died over someone else’s squabble, died because they were at the wrong place at the wrong time, died because we weren’t strong enough to prevent them from going.

“I’m shaken, I’m shocked,” said BJ Edwards, 22, who was a basketball teammate and close friend of Strawder. “I’m at a loss for words.”

Strawder was heading into his senior season at Lehigh Senior High School, looked upon as a leader and a floor general who could carry the Lightning into the playoffs, who could one day earn a scholarship to play in college. Beyond that, his friends say, he was funny, and he was driven.

He was destined for better things.

“He was a young kid,” said Abed Abu-Khadier, 19, a teammate of Strawder’s for two seasons at Lehigh. “He wanted to play basketball. Everybody has a dream. It’s unfortunate he can’t live it.”

Archilles was a promising young athlete, too. An eighth-grader whose love of basketball rubbed off on those around him, he will never reach high school. He will never reach 18.

“Some kids tell me, they’re just trying to survive day to day,” said Dwayne Jackson, a Mariner High graduate who operates Hoops on a Mission, a basketball training business he run in Southwest Florida that doubles as a ministry for young athletes looking for a way out.

“People call it gangs, that’s what’s going on,” he said. “In reality, it’s just beef, and it’s so and so said this and that. It’s crazy. It’s the reality we live in right now.”

Second Club Blu person of interest released from jail

Neither Archilles nor Strawder will graduate high school. Neither will get the chance to attend college, earn a degree and, maybe one day, make that dream come true of playing in the NBA.

More importantly, they’ll never grow into men. They’ll never become fathers. They won’t have careers that could change the world or, at least, a small part of it.

Gunfire took that all away.

“It’s sad for the community and everybody who knew them,” Jackson said. “This can’t be happening.”

Organizers of teen events mull changes after shooting

This moment should change us. It should draw us closer as neighbors and force us to hold our loved ones closer.

It should wake us up to urge our lawmakers to write legislation to help eradicate this kind of violence from our neighborhoods.

But the reality?

I fear it won’t do much.

I fear we’ll wake up one day and forget it even happened.

And if it that’s what ultimately becomes of us, that’s a big part of the problem.

Chris Curry, Lehigh

Chris Curry has never been short on confidence.

When the Lehigh Senior High junior was informed he was a part of The News-Press and Naples Daily News’ Big 15, which ranks the top prep football recruits in Southwest Florida, he wasn’t surprised. One of five running backs on the list, there is no question where he thinks he ranks.

“I truly believe in my heart I’m the best running back around here, and I’m the best running back in the United States,” Curry said.

For the 5-foot-11, 200-pound ball carrier, who checks in at No. 7, belief in himself is essential to get to where he wants to go in two years – playing on a college campus in front of a national TV audience on Saturdays.

Confidence alone won’t do the trick, though.

Holding offers from Western Kentucky and the University of North Carolina isn’t enough. Curry, who may possess one of the best combinations of speed and physicality in the area, understands he still has a lot to prove.

After impressing at a Clemson University camp last summer, the hype surrounding Curry was already nearing a fever pitch before he played a down his sophomore season. He posted three 100-yard rushing performances in three games before dislocating his shoulder and missing the last half of the season.

Lehigh finished a turbulent season at 3-6 and missed the state playoffs.

The News-Press Football Big 15 Recruits.

Curry blamed himself.

“I felt like I let my team down,” he said. “I felt like I let the fans down. It was a stressful point in my life.”

Lehigh second-year coach James Chaney said guilt is a common emotion for a player suffering their first major injury.

“That first injury hurts you mentally,” Chaney said. “You learn to deal with it. He took it pretty hard, but he rehabbed, he worked hard and got back pretty quickly.”

The goal was to come back bigger and faster.

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Curry’s calling card has always been having a big frame and strong base to take on multiple tacklers. The speed part took some work.

He was fortunate to have a resource like Lehigh strength and conditioning coach Matt Booth, who also is a personal speed and conditioning coach to a handful of pro football athletes and has worked with Olympic-caliber track athletes like legendary Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell.  Booth focused on refining Curry’s running mechanics throughout the winter and spring.

The results on the field were eye-popping. During the Lightning’s 43-40 spring game victory over Immokalee May 26, Curry rushed for 237 yards and four touchdowns, adding great breakaway speed to his repertoire.

“You could see it when he was running away from guys half his size,” Chaney said. “It’s just a testament to his hard work. He identified the problem and worked on it.”

Judging by the volume of phone calls he receives from Division I coaches about Curry, Chaney believes his feature back is headed full steam toward his goal.

Yet, he warned Curry that running backs don’t tend to blow up on the recruiting circuit as early as receivers.

“He’s got two seasons left,” Chaney said. “I told him not to rush it. I don’t put much stock into a lot of those offers. You never know what’s going to happen until he’s at that table signing.”

The Big 15 

The News-Press and Naples Daily News will be counting down the top football recruits in Southwest Florida every Tuesday and Friday until the start of the high school football season. The Big 15 features players going into their junior and senior years from Lee and Collier counties, with respect paid to those with hard scholarship offers and those without who possess great potential.

The Next 15

22. Blane Briggs, LB, First Baptist Academy: The 5-foot-10, 206-pounder finished with 76 tackles (eight for a loss) last season and is verbally committed to Colgate.

As fall camp opens for Southwest Florida high school football teams Monday, the favorites to dominate the area come Aug. 26 and beyond are the teams with storied histories.

There are cornerstones like Fort Myers High and Naples High who’ve been buzzsaws for decades while South Fort Myers High has been one of the most talent-rich programs with sustained success since its inception. Meanwhile, no one can deny that North Fort Myers High and Dunbar High, both stacked with primetime players, are built to win now.

It would be a disappointment if any of these five teams didn’t win their respective districts or — gasp — make the state playoffs.

What isn’t clear are the schools that will overachieve, coming out of nowhere to challenge for a postseason berth. Here are the teams that could surprise and be the topic of many conversations by the time Week 5 rolls around.

Ida Baker runnng back James Stewsrt gets squeezed between two Barron Collier defenders during a run in the first half of the spring gamee Friday night at Ida Baker’s field.

Gulf Coast High

1. Gulf Coast High: Admittedly, it won’t be much of a surprise if the Sharks win seven games and qualify for the playoffs out of a three-team District 7A-12 as they did a season ago. However, knocking off district favorite South Fort Myers Oct. 28 at home to win the district would be something only a select few saw coming. The News-Press was a bit premature in predicting Gulf Coast to win the district last season, but this year it has no excuses. With a third-year starter at quarterback in Kaden Frost, who threw for over 1,800 yards and 17 touchdowns last season and is one of two Sharks in The News-Press and Naples Daily News’ Big 15 this summer, the Sharks offense should soar after averaging 24 points a game last season.

The four teams the Sharks lost to last season had a combined record of 38-10. Cross-town rival Naples holds an 18-0 record against them. That could change this season.

Lehigh Senior High

2. Lehigh Senior High: Last season was supposed to be a breakout year for the Lightning. Never devoid of talent, everything started to crumble during the first week as quarterback D’Marquise Collins went down with an injury. Lehigh was then without head coach James Chaney for six weeks as he faced a one-game suspension for sideline infractions by his staff and then a five-week absence as he was under a professional standards inquiry by the School District of Lee County for his handling of an off-campus incident. Throw in star running back Chris Curry’s dislocated shoulder ending his season after five games and you have a 3-6 record without a playoff appearance.

Chaney has grown as a coach over the last nine months through offseason workouts and spring practice and has a team that could contend in District 6A-11. Upsetting a stacked Fort Myers team may be a stretch, but expect the Lightning to put a scare into — or even beat — top dogs like Dunbar and South. The team’s chance at redemption will come in a district game Oct. 28 at Estero High, which posted a 21-7 victory over Lehigh with a playoff spot on the line last season.

Ida Baker

3. Ida Baker High: It seemed like the Bulldogs were involved in a high-scoring, arena-football-type game every week last season. After scoring 26.2 points per game and giving up 33.1 points a game, Baker ended up about where it should have — 4-6 and in the middle of the pack in District 6A-10.

It didn’t quite get the quarterback production it had in past seasons with Sage Attwood. Enter junior signal caller Toby Noland, who led the junior varsity team to a 6-1 record last season. Noland, a relatively unknown during the spring, stepped in to throw for 264 yards and three touchdowns in a 39-27 spring game win over Barron Collier High. With great vision, solid footwork and the ability make plays with his feet, Noland could be the X-factor in this district, which may be the deepest in the region.

Both of Baker’s money games are on the road at North and Charlotte High. However, six or seven wins isn’t out of the question for coach Brian Conn’s team.

LaBelle High School logo

4. LaBelle High: Now is the time for the Cowboys. Seeking to make its first state playoff appearance in three years, LaBelle is coming off a 5-5 season. With Avon Park and Bishop Verot being the favorites to take District 4A-6, there’s no reason a team like the Cowboys with a standout running back and a stingy defense can’t sneak in there.

Junior feature back Tray Williams will look to build on a season where he rushed for 1,059 yards and 11 touchdowns while a defense that gave up 17.7 points per game last season showed flashes of greatness during a 14-12 spring game loss to Southwest Florida Christian Academy.

LaBelle will have to face Lakeland Tenoroc and Avon Park on the road and gets Verot at home on Sept. 23. The Hendry County team will be a force  to be reckoned with in the fall.

Southwest Florida Christian Academy

5. Southwest Florida Christian Academy: Last season the Kings hung with state semifinalist First Baptist Academy in a 14-7 loss and District 2A-7 runner-up Community School of Naples. SFCA will need to make a few more stops this season with an improved defense to compliment an offense that scored 32.4 points per game to get into the postseason.

While the Kings will have to replace standout running back Tristian Upton, who ran for 1,176 yards and nine touchdowns last season, 6-2, 245-pound offensive guard Dillon Martino should provide some very big holes for up-and-coming backs.

The defense will be anchored by players like Kyle Nolan and Jordan Weatherbee.

Dawson DeGroot has never been short on confidence.

Fort Myers safety Dawson DeGroot

Take last football season, for instance. The Fort Myers rising senior scored on a punt return against Naples in the second round of the Region 6A-3 playoffs.

The News-Press Football Big 15 Recruits.

Only, he didn’t do it in the traditional sense. The 6-foot-2, 170-pound athlete made the brash decision to take the kick off the bounce. Then, for good measure, he spun between three defenders, delivering one of the more remarkable plays of the season.

“It goes against my MO to put someone back there who’s a risk taker,” Fort Myers coach Sammy Sirianni said of his punt returner. “But he has a knack. It’s worth the risk to put him there.”

Those types of plays have proven to Sirianni there’s something special about DeGroot, who lands at No. 6 on The News-Press/Naples Daily News Big 15 list of best recruits in Southwest Florida.

The free safety has the kind of natural instincts you just can’t teach.

“You tell him no, no, no … yes, yes, yes,” said Sirianni, who sometimes refers to DeGroot as a 
‘wild stallion.’ “That fine line isn’t easy to find. As his coach, and as I tell our other coaches, we can’t pull the reins on that kid too much.”

Big 15: Lehigh RB Curry poised for big junior season

The three-star recruit, who runs the 40-yard dash in 4.59 seconds, has scholarship offers from Boston College, Connecticut, Cincinnati and Central Michigan, among others.

He comes from a family of athletes. His brother, Dylan, was the quarterback at Fort Myers two seasons ago. His father, Ken, was a minor league baseball player for the Minnesota Twins organization.

As a junior, DeGroot was a three-sport athlete, competing in football, baseball and track. Last spring, he did something you rarely see of the modern high school athlete: he competed twice in one day in two sports — going from the high jump to the pitching mound.

“Whatever he does, from a sports standpoint, it turns to magic,” Sirianni said. “He can do whatever. He’s a pure athlete. I call him a throwback athlete. He can do everything.”

Football, however, seems to be taking DeGroot places.

He made varsity as a sophomore and found his role in a vaunted Fort Myers defense as a junior.

In his first full season starting in the secondary, he put together a career year, totaling 78 tackles and two interceptions, both of which resulted in touchdowns. He had 11 tackles in a win over South Fort Myers in September, then added nine more the next week in a loss against Charlotte.

“Everyone at Fort Myers is about hard work,” “he said. “That’s what we pride ourselves on.”

It showed in his last game against Naples. Aside from that jaw-dropping punt return, he finished with 13 tackles, nine of which were solo.

“I put a lot of trust in my coaches,” he said.

Game tape paints DeGroot’s ability in broad strokes. College programs can see how he uses smart angles to find the ball in traffic, how he has a nose for the ball in the air and how he rarely misses open-field plays.

“He is a physical, downhill, really good tackler,” Sirianni said. “He’s a throwback safety. If colleges ask me about him, I say he’s a throwback guy. He’s downhill. He’s attacking.”

DeGroot earned his first scholarship offer in February from Boston College. Central Michigan followed in March. Cincinnati came in May. Southern Mississippi and Louisiana Tech have also shown verbal pledges.

Sirianni knew he had something special in DeGroot early on. He indicated DeGroot had the potential to play Division I football even before he stepped on the field as a junior.

“His natural ability, I call it that free spirit,” Sirianni said. “That’s what sets him apart from a lot of people.”

As a senior, the safety has high aspirations for a team with a litany of talent.

“We’re not out to prove anyone wrong or prove that we’re better than anyone else,” DeGroot said. “We just want to go out there and compete and do our stuff and go into the season as strong as we can.”

As an added bonus, DeGroot is showing leadership qualities his coaches haven’t seen of him yet.

“He’s a student of the game,” Sirianni said. “Last year, we had to get him to be more vocal. We needed him to be that leader. I noticed this spring, it was natural to him. He now understands the big picture and what his role is.”

The Big 15 

The News-Press and Naples Daily News will be counting down the top football recruits in Southwest Florida every Tuesday and Friday until the start of the high school football season. The Big 15 features players going into their junior and senior years from Lee and Collier counties, with respect paid to those with hard scholarship offers and those without who possess great potential.

The Next 15

21. Marlon Gaymon WR, Island Coast: The 5-foot-11, 175-pound receiver has a scholarship offer from Southern Mississippi. He finished with 43 catches for 694 yards and five touchdowns last season. 

Cypress Lake High School’s first year head football coach Richie Rode, speaks with seniors during its first varsity football practice of the upcoming school-year Monday morning (8/1/16).

As underclassmen made their way to individual stations during the first day of high school football practice at Cypress Lake High on Monday, first year head coach Richie Rode held back his 15 seniors.

He huddled the group together and looked them in the eye. If first days were all about moments, Rode was certain this was one of them.

“C’mon now, new season, new expectations,” said Rode, a 1997 graduate of Cypress Lake. “Make this season what you want it to be. You can decide what you want this season to be. You have a clean slate.”

Since January, when the former Fort Myers offensive coordinator was hired to take over a struggling Panthers program, the Cypress Lake alum has gone about changing the identity of the team bit by bit.

As part of the last Panthers district championship team in 1995, Rode, 37, understood that to change the culture, he had to build it back up. In the months since, he’s focused on details. He’s concentrated on gaining commitments from athletes.

But on Monday, during the beginning of high school football across Southwest Florida, he needed something different. He looked to motivate.

“For them, I want them to ignore anything outside of us and our family and themselves as a senior class and set their goals and expectations based on what they think and not what has happened in the past,” Rode said. “There is no reason we can’t turn this thing around if we take care of what we need to take care of and they lead us as a senior class.”

Cypress Lake hires FM offensive coordinator Richie Rode as head football coach

Rode said approximately 70 players, including a high influx of freshmen, were out for the first day of practice. The team spent the first two hours taking FHSAA required concussion testing.

Afterward, the Panthers ran through a series of individual stations, then transitioned into base offensive and defensive concepts. Under Rode, the program will use a base 3-4 defense and run a Wing-T spread offense.

“There’s a lot of excitement,” Rode said. “A lot of them are introduced to how we are and what we did in the spring. We want to get a lot of enthusiasm. We’re excited for the season and we want to get through these first few days of conditioning and making sure we’re ready with this heat.”

Rode said he was hopeful the Panthers could use a strong spring as a backdrop for a successful fall.

“We have three short weeks before we have to play a good Riverdale team,” Rode said. “We don’t have a lot of time to sit down and get ready.”

The Panthers begin their season August 19 against Riverdale in a preseason classic.

— Cory Mull

Cypress Lake High School’s first year head football coach Richie Rode, speaks with seniors during its first varsity football practice of the upcoming school-year Monday morning (8/1/16).

South Fort Myers

While the big bruisers and high-profile playmakers of a season ago are gone, Anthony Dixon believes the Wolfpack are as strong as ever to start the football season.

The South Fort Myers coach, in his second year leading the program, saw strong performances over the summer transition into the first day of practice.

The Wolfpack featured a contingent of roughly 70 players before it was whittled down to 50 by the end of the day because of paperwork issues – many had to get their physicals notarized, Dixon said.

Dixon said the coaching staff would focus on the fundamentals over the first week of practice. Under new FHSAA guidelines, football teams would not able to perform live hitting in practice for the first week.

“So we try to pick up the pace,” Dixon said. “With the skill guys it’s easy. Because you’re running a lot of routes, you’re doing a lot of backpedaling. With the running backs, it’s with the ball in your hands.”

Dixon said he also believes this season’s team has a stronger mentality together.

“I think we have more guys with the all-in mentality,” he said. “We’ll be a lot closer. The kids, they’re more friends than the team we’ve had in the past. They care about their brothers.”

The Wolfpack begin their season August 19 against Largo.

— Cory Mull

Dunbar

First-year Dunbar coach Sammy Brown estimates it took all of eight seconds to convince Dwayne Donnell to return as the Tigers’ offensive coordinator after a four-year absence.

“It was one of those things where I’m like, ‘I need you right now,’” Brown said on the first day of fall camp.

Dunbar offensive coordinator Dwayne Donnell works with quarterbacks and receivers Monday on the first day of fall camp.

With Donnell in the fold, Brown expects to pass a lot more this season compared to the 44 yards per game the Tigers averaged last season.

Donnell, who had Brown on his bench for three seasons coaching girls basketball, spent a good portion of the morning session working with the quarterbacks.

“He comes back and gets everybody thinking they’re pretty darn good,” Brown said of Donnell. “He’s a great asset to what we’re trying to do and we’re glad to have him back.”

Dunbar is coming off a 9-3 season under former coach Phil Vogt where the Tigers won a district title and reached a regional final.

Senior slot receiver Kenny Benjamin said his squad is no longer flying under the radar and the target on its back is quite large.

“We love it,” Benjamin said. “We know that we’re the ones everybody wants to go out and beat. Especially at 7-on-7s all summer, everybody wanted to play us. We love the attention. We’re going to live up to it.”

Brown mostly preached fundamentals on the first day, namely ball security. Dunbar fumbled seven times in a 23-20 win over Cape Coral in a May spring game.

“I just want to get the kids acclimated back to what we’re doing and the success we’re trying to bring to the program and have a championship mentality,” Brown said. “We come in Day 1 wanting to learn how to practice hard, practice right and pay attention to detail.”

— Adam Regan

Island Coast

As fall camp opened at Island Coast High not only were the players more comfortable with their second-year head coach, but coach John Schwochow had a better feel of how to handle practice.

He said last year was extremely hectic and little got done, which put the Gators behind the 8-ball before they ever got going.

Island Coast offensive linemen hit the sled Monday as fall camp opened.

On Monday, Schwochow put seniors like quarterback Kory Curtis and receiver Marlon Gaymon in front of the rest of the team as examples.

“It’s their job to make sure everyone is moving at 1,000 miles an hour, full go as hard as they can,” Schwochow said. “The younger kids need to know those are the expectation of what we’re doing.”

The Cape Coral school is trying to put the worst season in its eight-year history behind it.

“The seniors work hard because they don’t want a repeat,” Schwochow said. “Island Coast has been good in the past. Last year was kind of a different year. They expect to be successful.”

At the top of Schwochow’s list is repairing a defense that gave up nearly 42 points a game last season. He brought in defensive coordinator Roy Stabler, who he worked with for three seasons at South Fort Myers High.

“They know the scheme a little more, they know where they fit,” Schwochow said. “I already know some of the guys. I can put them in different spots that is going to make us better.”

— Adam Regan

North Fort Myers

Before North Fort Myers High could excel on the field, coach Earnest Graham wanted to make sure the Red Knights were aligned as a team.

On Monday, he put special emphasis on players wearing their helmets at all times and buckling their chin straps as the team faces a season with sky-high expectations.

North Fort Myers High football coach Earnest Graham address his team following the first practice of fall camp on Monday.

“It’s about understanding the little things,” Graham said. “As a third-year coach, I felt like I was probably obsessed with scheme. The second year was just a lesson in leadership and accountability and doing all the small things right.

“We want to break down all those small things in a million different ways so that they’re always conscious of the small things,” he continued. “Everybody buckle their helmets, everybody dressed the same way, everybody taking their helmet off at the same time. We’re blessed to play this game.”

North got on the practice field late, but managed to complete all of its offensive and defensive work while forgoing special teams. Graham said he wants to spend the first few days making sure his players are bringing the right attitude and great effort to the field.

“You can’t reach a kid if his attitude isn’t right,” Graham said.

The Red Knights, who finished 5-5 last season, have a little more than two weeks before facing off against a Deion Sanders-coached Dallas Triple A Academy Aug. 18.

— Adam Regan

Estero

Wildcats coach Jeff Hanlon said nearly 110 players were out for the first day of practice Monday. 

Entering his second year as head coach of the program, he hopes to build on last season’s 4-7 record.

“It’s going to be a transition for us this year,” Hanlon said. “Last year we had 21 seniors and every one of them got some sort of college offer.”

Hanlon hopes his spread offense can flourish under junior quarterback Philip Setterquist and sophomore running back Willie Neal, who led Estero with two touchdowns and nearly 100 all-purpose yards in the team’s spring game against Evangelical Christian School. 

“We’re really young, but we’re the closest we’ve ever been as a team,” said Setterquist, who threw for 65 yards passing in the spring. “We break down every huddle with the word ‘Brotherhood.’”

While Setterquist said his favorite targets are Neal and senior wide receiver Victor Shelly, he believes the Wildcats’ offense has promise.

“I feel really comfortable throwing it to all of these guys,” Setterquist said.

Neal, who featured as a quarterback last season, said he’s challenging himself to reach new heights.

“I want to score more touchdowns, and help my team win more games,” he said.

— Matt Vieceli

Ida Baker

At Ida Baker High, coach Brian Conn met with his players inside for about 20 minutes, detailing the afternoon plan.

“We worked on special teams in the spring, but not nearly to the degree that we needed to,” Conn said.

The players also watched parts of a video titled “Safer Tackling, with Pete Carroll,” in which proper tackling techniques were stressed and shown on film.

Conn devoted 90 minutes of the afternoon to special teams work.

“Snap, hold, timing,” Conn told his players before they emerged from the classroom and to the field. “Snap, hold, kick. We need to get it right.”

The News-Press Big 15: Shocky Jean-Louis

Dunbar High’s passing game was nearly non-existent last season. Southwest Florida teams constantly dared the Tigers to throw the ball as they stacked the box against running back Abraham Alce and company.

Playing that same defensive scheme this season with the addition of Lehigh Senior High transfer Shocky Jacques-Louis to Dunbar may be a bit difficult.

The versatile 6-foot-2 receiver requires eyes on him at all times on the outside. Ranked at No. 5 in The News-Press and Naples Daily News Big 15, Jacques-Louis is a threat to score every time he touches the ball.

“It’s a whole different ball game with Shocky,” Dunbar first-year head coach Sammy Brown said. “He keeps everybody honest. You have to play four defensive backs against four receivers against us now.”

Film speaks volumes about how many ways Jacques-Louis can beat you when he finds a seam. No highlight on his 8-minute, 34-second reel from his sophomore season with the Lightning is remotely similar. He can be found befuddling defenses down the field, on bubble screens, catching the ball at its highest point, taking handoffs, in the return game or out of the Wildcat.

To cap last season Jacques-Louis stepped in for Lehigh quarterback Delshawn Green in a rivalry game at rival Riverdale. With the Raiders keying on feature back Chris Curry, Jacques-Louis rushed for 190 yards and accounted for three touchdowns in a 24-0 victory.

“He can get to so many spots on the field,” Brown said of the junior, who finished with 14 catches for 287 yards and three touchdowns last season. “He demands double coverage most of the time from what I watched. Just coaching against him for a few years, you always have to know where that guy is at.”

That’s great news for Dunbar, which finished 9-3 and made a regional final despite averaging just 44 yards through the air per game. Jacques-Louis and his brother and tight end Rocky Jacques-Louis, second cousins of Brown, will be primary targets for improving junior quarterback Jarius Johnson.

While it was difficult for Jacques-Louis to leave teammates he called “brothers” at Lehigh, he said he looked forward to going to school closer to his home and making a run to state with a revamped offense to go with one of the top defenses in the area.

“Football is football,” Jacques-Louis said. “And I feel more comfortable at Dunbar because I have a lot of family on the football field.”

He’s already developed a rapport with Johnson, who struggled last season but was sharp in a 23-20 spring game victory over Cape Coral in May.

“We just clicked,” Jacques-Louis said. “He always puts (the ball) on point. We’re locked and loaded. We’re ready.”

A strong close to the 6-2, 170-pound target’s sophomore season drew interest from a few Power 5 schools. The University of South Carolina stepped up first with an offer in February and the University of North Carolina followed.

The News-Press Football Big 15 Recruits.

It was a humbling experience for Jacques-Louis and motivated him to work on running crisper routes and putting on a few more pounds to impress college coaches during his junior year.

“Everybody wants to be happy,” Jacques-Louis said. “And who wouldn’t want to have more options. I’m going to work as hard as I can to get more offers.”

Although he hasn’t made a verbal commitment, South Carolina will always be in the back of his mind because the Gamecocks “looked at me first.”

However, the dream is an offer from Florida State, a school he’s rooted for as long as he can remember. Jacques-Louis attended camp on the Tallahassee campus and was confident in how he performed.

“I just have to continue to work,” he said. “If I get an offer from (FSU), I’m set.”

The Big 15 

The News-Press and Naples Daily News will be counting down the top football recruits in Southwest Florida every Tuesday and Friday until the start of the high school football season. The Big 15 features players going into their junior and senior years from Lee and Collier counties, with respect paid to those with hard scholarship offers and those without who possess great potential.

The Next 15

20. Kory Curtis, QB, Island Coast: The 6-foot-4, 225-pound signal caller has seen interest from several Power 5 schools, but none have offered as of yet. Curtis passed for 1,233 and eight touchdowns last season.

Junior Fa’Najae Goyay, a South Fort Myers High transfer, will fill the linebacker role left vacant by the graduated Mi’Cario Stanley at North Fort Myers High this upcoming season.

Lee County has an extensive track record of sending its top talent to play Division I college football every year. And 2015 was no exception.

With recruits headed to schools like the University of South Florida, Marshall and Appalachian State to play on Saturdays, it left a few of their high school coaches scrambling to fill the huge void left by these standout players.

In the offseason and spring practice it’s all about evaluating the talent coming back.

Here are five teams with players who’ll be stepping into important roles. They have big shoes to fill.

1. Lehigh Senior High

Shoes to fill: DE/OT Austin Pariason, DT/OT Matt Williams

Next men up: Travis Lewis, Chad Sykes

The skinny: It’s hard enough to replace one Division I talent nor less two, especially up front. Yet that’s what Lightning coach James Chaney has been preparing for ever since 6-foot-6, 270-pound UNC-Charlotte signee Paraison and 6-foot-6, 266-pound App St. signee Williams played their last games at Lehigh. Both were big, agile players who played both ways, creating some big holes for standout back Chris Curry early in 2015 and creating havoc in the backfield while on the defensive line. An offensive guard last season, the 6-foo-4, 269 pound Lewis is cut from the same cloth with the size to be a dominant lineman at the next level. Meanwhile Sykes (5-11, 212), who has experience playing tackle, is one of the hardest working players on the team with strong leadership qualities.

2. North Fort Myers High

Shoes to fill: LB Mi’Cario Stanley

Next man up: Fa’Najae Gotay

The skinny: Shockingly, Stanley flew under the radar during his senior season mostly due to North’s 5-5 record. However, the USF signee carried the Red Knights defense, averaging 12 tackles a game. Replicating that type of production is a tall order, but South Fort Myers High transfer Gotay showed during the spring he is North’s best bet. During North’s spring game against Sarasota Riverview, Gotay was the best defensive player on the field as he put his high motor and eye-catching sideline-to-sideline speed on display. It seemed like he was around the ball on every play. “You don’t get better instinctively than him,” North coach Earnest Graham said of Gotay.

3. Bishop Verot High

Shoes to fill: RB William Scott

Next man up: Deven Thompkins

The skinny: Few could argue Scott had one of the best starts to a career for a running back in Southwest Florida. After bursting on the scene as a freshman, he rushed for 1,468 yards and 17 touchdowns during the Vikings’ 8-3 2015 campaign. His transfer out of Verot left coach Bill Shields searching for a replacement. He didn’t have to look very far. As good of a two-way player as there is in the area, Thompkins, a junior has a nose for the ball as a defensive back, but he will see a lot more time in the offensive backfield this season. As a slot back last season he averaged nearly eight yards a carry. His blazing speed makes him a candidate to score any time he touches the ball. However, don’t expect Thompkins to get 20 to 25 carries a game with all the work he has to do on defense and special teams. Shields expects the running game to be by committee.

4. Dunbar High

Shoes to fill: LB Zach Lackman, LB Jailyn Mays

Next men up: Justin Michel, Bakari Jackson, Alonzo Russell

The skinny: The football gods smiled on Dunbar last season when Lackman elected to transfer from Island Coast High. With over 400 tackles for his career, Lackman helped form one of the most feared linebacking corps in the area along side Shanon Reid and Mays (94 tackles in 2015). Now, first-year coach Sammy Brown is in need to two replacements to plug in next to Reid. Michel, Jackson and Russell are in camp competing for two starting positions. “You can’t replace a Lackman or a Mays,” Tigers coach Sammy Brown said. “But we’re looking for guys that can lead and make their teammates better.”

5. South Fort Myers High

Shoes to fill: WR Willie Johnson

Next men up: Brandon Lewis, Jeshaun Jones, Darfnell Gouin

The skinny: Johnson, a Marshall signee who was a News-Press Offensive Player of the Year finalist, was a jack of all trades for the Wolfpack. Getting the ball in his hands whether it was off a screen pass, a handoff or a kick return usually paid dividends thanks to his high-end speed and great vision. Thinking one player could replace Johnson is just foolish. Lewis, a senior, caught 11 balls for 241 yards and three touchdowns last season while Jones, named the No. 15 recruit in Southwest Florida by the News-Press, showed during the spring he could be a threat downfield. Gouin, at 6-foot-3, is a big target with great potential, but he may get most of his reps on the defensive side of the ball.

Scenes from Stef’An Strawder’s funeral Saturday at New Life Assembly of God in Lehigh Acres. Strawder was killed recently in the Club Blu nightclub shooting in Fort Myers.

Scenes from Stef’An Strawder’s funeral Saturday at New Life Assembly of God in Lehigh Acres. Strawder was killed recently in the Club Blu nightclub shooting in Fort Myers.

Stef’An Strawder’s jersey drapes a seat of remembrance Saturday during his funeral at New Life Assembly of God in Lehigh Acres. Strawder was killed recently in the Club Blu nightclub shooting in Fort Myers.

An entire community laid to rest a promising student-athlete on Saturday. In truth, many were coming to grips with the death of Stef’An Strawder, the 18-year-old Lehigh student who died at Lee Memorial Hospital on July 25 after a shooting that same day at Club Blu.

In death he was remembered for the things that inspired those around him: his passion for basketball, his humor and drive for success.

Family, relatives, friends, teammates, coaches and teachers packed New Life Assembly of God Church to pay their respects, many taking 2-3 turns to face him one last time.

As the choir sang, “Power in the name of Jesus,” individuals in pews wept. Some tiptoed near his casket and screamed. Others fell to the ground.

Stef’An Strawder’s jersey drapes a seat of remembrance Saturday during his funeral at New Life Assembly of God in Lehigh Acres. Strawder was killed recently in the Club Blu nightclub shooting in Fort Myers.

“Stef’An has stepped down and left his seat empty,” former Lehigh Senior High basketball coach Dawn McNew said. “But my instinct is that he upgraded and went first class.”

Tokens of Strawder’s life were placed in the church. A basketball hoop. His No. 5 jersey draped over a school chair. Pictures of the athlete, compiled over years traveling the country playing in tournaments, were stationed in front of his casket.

Strawder left this world just past 18. In three years he scored over 1,000 points. He was one of The News-Press’ All-Area finalists. He was destined for college, coaches said, and almost undoubtedly basketball beyond that.

“There may not be another one better than him,” McNew said.

Anthony Sibert, 17, weeps at Stef’An Strawder’s casket Saturday during Strawder’s funeral at New Life Assembly of God in Lehigh Acres. Strawder was killed recently in the Club Blu nightclub shooting in Fort Myers. "Memories," of playing basketball with Strawder are what Sibert said he would cherish most.

The funeral drew a crowd of over 600, with individuals lining the aisle to get a glimpse of the student-athlete one final time.

Bernard Edwards, parent of one of the Strawder’s teammates and an old family friend, told a story of Strawder’s willingness to let things go. Another coach, Vincent Mitchell, spoke of Strawder’s confidence, even as young as 10 or 11.

The proceedings, while tragic, also remained grounded in hope.

Those inside the auditorium found reconciliation through song. Many stood during selections to raise their hand in praise.

“We all must remember,” said Strawder’s former coach, Vincent Mitchell. “We all helped shape and mold this young man in some way.”

The Lehigh Senior High basketball team,  new teammates and old, entered the church wearing not black but white.

As they approached his casket, they wrapped their arms around each other. They cried. They hugged. 

Later, while asked to speak on his behalf, McNew hesitated to find the right words in front of the church.

“What I liked most was watching his face light up each and every time he stepped on the basketball court,” she said.

Kenny Rager, of Fort Myers and a friend of the Strawder family, recited a poem he wrote, illustrating the sudden and tragic nature of a lost child.

It doesn’t really matter if this event was unwarranted or not right
We must accept death’s cold darkness, as we did life’s warm sun light

Today we gather around to tearfully reminisce, mourn and pray
A dear love that was one of our own, has now lived his final day

Big 15 Logo for Print

Viktor Beach

Bill Shields knows what he likes most about Bishop Verot offensive lineman Viktor Beach. 

It’s not his size, speed, or ability to get downfield and make a bone-crunching block 20 yards from the line of scrimmage.

The Vikings football coach says what makes the 6-foot-5, 295-pound athlete the kind of player that many Division I college football programs covet centers around his attitude off of the field.

“He’s just a good teammate,” Shields said of Beach. “He has character. And that’s important to us.”

Contrary to popular belief, it’s not all about the measurements. Sometimes, those indefinable variables lend the most important details about a player’s ability — not to mention his future.

But OK, let’s be fair, Shields won’t deny Beach has the size, speed and ability to dominant in the trenches during most high school football games, too.

The Big 15: South’s E’Quan Dorris ready to prove doubters wrong

That combination of on-field ability and headiness off the field makes the rising senior, No. 4 on The News-Press/Naples Daily News Big 15 list of best high school football prospects, one of top recruits in Southwest Florida.

“Even though I have Division I offers, I know I can’t go out there and show off,” Beach said of the upcoming fall season. “My career isn’t over. It’s game time. I still have to be a high school player and a high school teammate. I have to lead my team as much as possible.”

Fortunately, Beach has one major hurdle out of the way.

The projected offensive guard or tackle committed to the University of Central Florida on June 18, cementing a seal of approval for a program that went 0-12 in 2015.

“It just felt right,” Beach said. “From Day 1, they’ve been so good to me and my family.”

Gulf Coast back DeMarcus Townsend flying up recruiting boards

In the process, he quietly bypassed major conference programs like Boston College, Cincinnati, South Carolina and Mississippi State, all of which offered scholarships.

From the start, Beach said his priorities were twofold.

His first mission was finding a school that held a strong civil engineering program and internship opportunities — Central Florida historically has sent graduates to NASA and Disney, he said.

His next goal was finding a program that felt like a natural fit.

Verot’s Viktor Beach commits to UCF

“I know college football won’t be easy,” Beach said. “You have to love it and want to be able to do it. That’s why you have to find the right school.”

Beach visited the Knights twice before committing, meeting with newly signed coach Scott Frost, offensive line coach Greg Austin and quarterbacks coach Mario Verduzco. The feeling he earned walking away from those meetings was that he could be a part of a great rebuilding project at Central Florida.

“I think he’ll be a great fit for that school,” Shields said. “That offense will be good for him, and he really felt comfortable with the coaches.”

Which leaves Beach with just one more season with the Vikings, a team that won eight games in 2015.

A year ago, he was a major cog on an offensive line that helped the Vikings average over 250 yards rushing and 100 yards passing per game.

Shields valued Beach’s versatility, using him in a number of different packages. At times, he asked him to play center, guard and tackle.

The News-Press Football Big 15 Recruits.

“The players we have, we make sure they play the positions that can help us win,” he said. “But when injuries happen, he’s been there to fill in and he does a very good job with that.”

A run-dominant team in 2015 could turn into a more balanced offense with junior quarterback Korey Besse. Shields believes that could give Beach, a top-level pass blocker, more opportunities to flourish.

“His ability to run,” Shields said of Beach’s up field blocking. “He gets up on people pretty quick. And watching him with double teams is pretty fun.”

College coaches point to a clip from a season ago. It places Beach mid play, racing up the field to lead his running back through a sea of would-be tacklers. Beach blocks through the play, ultimately creating a hole big enough for his back to find the end zone.

“When you have 295 pounds running toward you, you’re going to find a way to get out of the way,” Shields said.

There is one possible exception to his commitment. The University of Florida.

It’s been Beach’s dream school since he was a boy, back when he first started playing football in the sixth grade. He’s taken visits to Gainesville, spoken with coaches and says he wouldn’t be surprised if an offer did come over the fall.

It would at the very least challenge Beach’s thinking. Oral commitments, after all, are promises that could be subject to change.

But in the meantime, Beach isn’t worrying about speculation.

He’s concentrating on the immediate future. At Bishop Verot, he’s a member of the 1,000 pound club — a feat that’s seen him combine weights in the hang clean, squat and bench press.

He believes that will lead to success down the road fro the Vikings, too.

“A district championship is our goal,” Beach says of his team’s plan in 2016. “And to do that, we have to go in the weight room and get better. And to get out on the field at Verot, you have to go through the weight room.”

Shields would probably agree with that.

The Big 15 

The News-Press and Naples Daily News will be counting down the top football recruits in Southwest Florida every Tuesday and Friday until the start of the high school football season. The Big 15 features players going into their junior and senior years from Lee and Collier counties, with respect paid to those with hard scholarship offers and those without who possess great potential.

The Next 15

19. Bensley Bornelus, Fort Myers, WR: The 6-foot-1, 170-pound wide receiver has offers from Florida Atlantic and Southern Mississippi. He caught 22 passes for 402 yards and five touchdowns in 2015. 

An emotional Madison Clinger, 16, gets a hug from her sister Abigail, 15, after arriving at Southwest Florida International Airport Monday afternoon. Clinger’s team, The Florida District 9 Senior League arrived to Fort Myers after winning the Senior league World Series  by beating British Columbia, Canada 3-0 in Delaware, Sunday afternoon. The team is comprised of players from the Greater fort Myers and Cape Coral American little leagues.  

Friends, fans and family members of the Florida District 9 Senior League team show their support and enthusiasm as the team arrives at RSW Monday afternoon (8/8/16) after winning the Senior league World Series  by beating British Columbia, Canada 3-0 in Delaware, Sunday afternoon. The team is comprised of players from the Greater fort Myers and Cape Coral American little leagues. 

Members of the Florida District 9 Senior League arrive at RSW Monday afternoon (8/8/16) after winning the Senior league World Series  by beating British Columbia, Canada 3-0 in Delaware, Sunday afternoon. The team is comprised of players from the Greater fort Myers and Cape Coral American little leagues. 

Lena Wallace gets a champion’s welcome from her grandmother Monday afternoon at Southwest Florida Interbnational Airport. Members of the Florida District 9 Senior League arrived at RSW M after winning the Senior league World Series  by beating British Columbia, Canada 3-0 in Delaware, Sunday afternoon. The team is comprised of players from the Greater fort Myers and Cape Coral American little leagues. 

Family, friends and fans welcome members of the Florida District 9 Senior League Softball team, showing their support and enthusiasm as the team arrives at Southwest Florida International Airport Monday. The team won the Senior League World Series beating British Columbia, Canada 3-0 in Delaware Sunday.

As Nicole Rodriguez, Tayli Filla and Sammie Massaro walked down the corridor of Terminal D at Southwest Florida International Airport Monday afternoon, there was a sense of pride.

Proudly wearing their black and gold Southeast jerseys, there was pride in their Florida District 9 team, comprised of players from Greater Fort Myers and Cape Coral American little Leagues, that destroyed its competition en route to a Senior League World Series softball championship Sunday.

A young fan holds a sign as he welcomes the District 9 Senior League Softball World Series champions at Southwest Florida International Airport on Monday.

Underneath that, there was pride in a different black and gold club.

The Bishop Verot High trio along with teammates Madison Clinger, Jordan Breadmore and Rebekka Fila celebrated their second major championship in three months. The Vikings won a Florida High School Athletic Association Class 4A state title in May.

The team was greeted by a welcoming committee of approximately 70 fans at the airport.

“I’ve been waiting for this for a long time,” said Rodriguez, whose team knocked off British Columbia, Canada 3-0 in the final . “I’m just glad I was able to do it with these girls.”

An emotional Madison Clinger, 16, gets a hug from her sister Abigail, 15, after arriving at Southwest Florida International Airport Monday afternoon. Clinger’s team, the Florida District 9 Senior League champions. arrived to Fort Myers after winning the Senior League World Series  by beating British Columbia, Canada 3-0 in Delaware, Sunday afternoon. The team is comprised of players from the Greater fort Myers and Cape Coral American little leagues.

Just as the run to Lee County’s first softball state title was a long journey — Verot entered this year’s 4A Final Four with a 1-4 record in championship play — a few of the District 9 players, including Massaro and Rodriguez, entered the World Series still with a bad taste in their mouths from a fifth-place finish two years ago.

Filla, who didn’t experience that heartbreak, recalls the pep talk those veterans gave the newcomers.

“They said that can’t happen again,” Filla said.

Senior League softball: District 9 wins World Series over Canada

Throughout district, state, regional and World Series play, Verot players had their fingerprints all over the outcomes, especially the last seven games where District 9 outscored its opponents 51-6.

In the final, Rodriguez tossed a one-hit shutout with 14 strikeouts. Filla connected for a triple and a two-run home run.

With a mostly Verot infield of Massaro, Filla, Clinger and Rodriguez there was a sense of comfort and familiarity between the players.

“It was a lot easier for the infield and outfield to work together because a lot of us have played together so much,” said Massaro, whose go-ahead sixth-inning home run against Montverde Academy clinched the state title for Verot in May. “We all get along. We’re a family.”

Filla agreed.

“Sometimes we didn’t even have to do any communicating,” Filla said. “We know what each other is thinking when it’s going on.”

Each big-game situation they faced over the weekend was met with confidence because of the experience of chasing the Vikings’ first state crown.

Through it all, District 9 stuck together.

Senior softball: District 9 reaches Little League World Series final

“At Verot, we’re taught to not only to be a good player, but a good teammate, a good friend and just to have respect for others,” Filla said. “It just teaches you a good lesson.”

The next challenge for Massaro, Rodriguez, Clinger, Filla and Fila will be defending a high school state championship .

Filla said it’s nothing they can’t handle.

“Even though we’re losing so many seniors,” she said, “we can still do it.”

Senior World Series results

Pool play

Sunday July 31

Southeast 4, British Columbia, Canada 1

Monday, Aug . 1

Southeast 14, Czech Republic 4

Wednesday, Aug. 3

Southeast 10, Garden City, Montana 1

Thursday, Aug. 4

Southeast 10, Clay County, Kentucky 0 

Quarterfinals

Friday, Aug. 5

Southeast 11, Makati City, Philippines 0

Semifinals

Saturday, Aug. 6

Southeast 2, Waco, Texas 0

Championship

Sunday, Aug. 7

Southeast 3, British Columbia 0

Senior League roster

Sarah Giompalo

Lexi Hollinger 

Nicole Rodriguez 

Selena Lugo 

Abby Love

Daniella Iantosca 

 Tayli Filla 

 Madison Clinger 

Hannah Holloway 

Monica Montes 

Kristen Rodriguez 

Sammie Massaro 

Jordan Breadmore 

Rebekka Fila 

Lena Wallace 

Coaches 

John Breadmore 

John Clinger 

Ken Wallace

Shanon Reid, Dunbar

Shanon Reid admits he’s always been a little impatient.

Since his freshman season at Dunbar High he waited for his time. He wondered when he would blow up on the recruiting scene. When would his name be followed by a few gold stars on recruiting websites? When would he finally be considered one of the most feared linebackers in the state?

It took the magic touch of Reid’s mother to calm him down. Lindell Anderson urged him not to rush the process. His time would come if he put in the work.

Reid’s time is now.

A consensus four-star recruit, the 6-foot-1, 195-pound outside linebacker is coming off a productive junior season that netted him a host of scholarship offers from Power 5 schools. Reid checks in at No. 3 in The News-Press and Naples Daily News’ Big 15, a ranking of the top recruits in Southwest Florida.

And, of course, Anderson also had some advice for her son for this very moment.

“Don’t let it get to your head,” Anderson said. “You’re still the same person.”

Three years of waiting only to realize all of the gold stars and press clips mean little.

“Some kids with the stars, they need to not worry about all that,” Reid said. “(Recruiting) services are just making their money off all that. I don’t care if I’ve got stars or not. I’m my own person. When you get to the school there’s four or five star players everywhere.”

Reid’s main focus is building on a season where he was a key part of one of the area’s best defenses, racking up 95 tackles (eight for a loss), two sacks and four interceptions. The Tigers went 9-3 and reached a regional final.

The News-Press Football Big 15 Recruits.

He believes a trip to state isn’t out of the question.

“We’re good enough,” Reid said.

Originally a defensive end in Pop Warner, Reid transitioned to linebacker on the advice of then-defensive coordinator Sammy Brown, who was promoted to head coach in the spring.

“I told him he was going to be a fine defensive end in high school, but a big-time linebacker in high school,” Brown said. “He bought in.”

Growing up with former Dunbar linebacker Jailyn Mays and learning a great deal from Old Dominion-bound linebacker Zach Lackman last season, Reid’s lone goal is to take an opportunity to leave his neighborhood and play the game he loves.

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“I hear so many stories from older adults saying how they wished they could have done this and done that,” Reid said. “They tell me every time don’t do what they did and I feed off that.

“ … I want to be someone who said I did this and did that.”

With 4.4-second 40-yard dash speed, a love of hitting and great instincts in pass coverage, Reid is the type of player colleges who play in 4-2-5 defenses covet for the Spur position. Right now, he has offers from teams like Mississippi State, Michigan and Rutgers.

Programs like Tennessee, North Carolina State, Colorado and Miami are also hot on his trail.

Reid estimates he’s called out of class five times a day to field phone calls from coaches.

“You can’t tell he’s a national recruit, though,” Brown said. “He walks around during practice as just an average player. We spare no one on the team. There is no special treatment and he knows that.”

Reid plans to verbally commit to a program sometime during the season with hopes to enroll early. He said he’s not concerned with the name recognition of a program or how many conference or national titles they own.

His goal is to play early and make an impact.

“I want to be that spark for my team,” Reid said. “I’ve been waiting my whole life for that.”

The Big 15 

The News-Press and Naples Daily News will be counting down the top football recruits in Southwest Florida every Tuesday and Friday until the start of the high school football season. The Big 15 features players going into their junior and senior years from Lee and Collier counties, with respect paid to those with hard scholarship offers and those without who possess great potential.

The Next 15

18. Rocky Jacques-Louis, Dunbar, DE: The brother of No. 5 in the Big 15 Shocky Jacques-Louis, the 6-foot-3, 200-pounder also has an offer from North Carolina.