Neapolitan football takes revenge on Dunbar and wins after extra time

Over the past two seasons, the 96 minutes between Naples and Dunbar have twice resulted in heartbreak for the Golden Eagles.

The Tigers played at Staver Field twice in each of the last two Novembers, both times denying Naples a spot in the Final Four. Last year’s 96-yard kickoff return by Kelby Tire was especially striking for the Golden Eagle faithful, who were just 12 seconds away from beating St. Augustine in the state semifinals.

Friday’s game with district implications was equally chaotic. Probably more than in each of the last two years. And the script in which Dunbar won in maddening fashion was on the verge of being rewritten.

But that didn’t happen.

“Holy (expletive),” Rick Martin said as he walked across the field after addressing his team, hugging players, coaches and occasionally shedding tears while looking at the empty field littered with cleat marks and torn-up grass.

What seemed impossible became possible for Naples (5-1, 1-0). The Golden Eagle defense got the stop it needed, running away from North Law Firm Stadium in a 21-20 overtime victory over Dunbar (4-1, 0-1) after a failed two-point conversion attempt.

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“I have to give a lot of credit to coach (Sammy) Brown, his staff and these kids,” Martin said. “You break it down to the last damn 10 seconds over the last two years and so on, and it’s like that because you have two teams that just go out there and play extremely hard. I have to say this first. All week long, people have been asking if it’s a rivalry, if it’s what happened a year or two ago, if it’s a motivational thing, but honestly and honestly, it hasn’t been said yet: this is our first district game and it was something extremely important for this team.

“You can’t help but have those thoughts in the back of your mind when you’re Caleb Dume, Logan Nibbelin, Brady Clark, guys who have been fighting this battle for the last two years and failed. ended the way it did tonight, you saw the raw emotions of these kids and what they were working for. There is no better feeling as a coach to experience this and to be able to enjoy it with them.

In typical Dunbar fashion, the Tigers made things interesting. Late in the third period, Austin Price (11-22, 151 yards, 2 TDs) and Tylen Gore connected for a 6-yard touchdown, and just three minutes later Dunbar tied the game on a pass from Price to TJ Schley (2 rec, 61 yards ) in the fourth minute at 10:19.

Naples, needing momentum late in the game, struggled to find it offensively as Dunbar’s adjustments paid off. With less than a minute left in regulation, Dariece Collins was just one step away from scoring a 35-yard field goal into the uprights on a Naples drive that started in midfield.

Shawn Simeon (22 rushing, 195 yards, 2 TDs) switched the offense to his back at numerous points, scoring in the first half of Naples’ offensive drive to increase the score to 14-0, then scored from 10 yards on Naples’ first drive in overtime . Simeon handled his duties without Trayvon Jean, who was on the Golden Eagles bench.

Brown and many others believed that going for two goals and winning was the right decision, looking for another way to hand Naples defeat in the decisive moments. However, Brown took full responsibility for the play call that appeared to be a blackout in the back corner of the end zone.

“The team is growing up before our eyes,” Brown said. “We have a lot of young players, but every week they are getting better and better and that’s all we can ask for. We wanted to go into this match and kind of check where we were as a club. I thought we played well. Later in the match we drew, they scored a goal in extra time, and after extra time we scored two goals.

“That’s what you have to do at the end of the day. They scored their first shot in overtime. We knew we couldn’t stop it, so we had to score two goals. Let me put it this way: it was a terrible decision on the part of the offensive coordinator, me. These are not my children. I’ll do better next week.

Martin’s defensive unit, apart from a slight difference in the second half, did a good job of keeping Dunbar’s attackers in front of them. Things got close thanks in part to Price’s ability to create and extend plays in the pocket, completing passes to six different receivers.

“You saw the coaches’ emotions,” Martin said. “There’s no doubt it’s an amazing feeling. But we also know that this is Week 6, we have a long break ahead of us and we will see these guys in the playoffs again. We’ll enjoy it tonight. it’s a great thing for our kids and our program, but we know we’re going to have to go back to the lab tomorrow morning and feel better.”

Both sides will be looking to move forward after a physically demanding game, with Dunbar looking to rebound from a loss against Lehigh and Naples and Fort Myers resuming their regular-season rivalry in Tamiami for the first time in two decades.

“At the end of the day, it makes both teams better,” Brown said. “We have a long way to go. We have to get past Lehigh next week before we even start looking at the next route. We’ve got to make sure we come in tomorrow morning as a staff and pick these guys up, put together a nice game plan and try to implement it on Friday.

“…We have to come back, regroup, get this football club back up and be ready to go next Friday night. The Dunbar Tigers don’t have time to hang their heads. We need to pick this up, stick out your chest and be ready to go.”

Follow sports reporter Alex Martin on X: @NP_AlexMartin. For the best sports coverage in Southwest Florida, follow @newspresssports AND @ndnprepzone on Instagram.