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North routs Cypress Lake 35-0

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On a night where North Fort Myers celebrated one of its greatest football teams, the present day squad seemed to channel some of that team’s magic Thursday night at Moody Field.

The Red Knights forced six turnovers and did a great job throwing the football to rout Cypress Lake 35-0 in a District 5A-14 contest.

The Red Knights (3-3, 2-1 district) have won three of their last four and put themselves in the thick of the district hunt as they get ready for a huge game at Island Coast next week.

“They’ve been playing great defense all year. We’ve been getting turnovers and making stops,” North coach Earnest Graham said. “Cypress Lake came out hard, but we got a great effort and they got a game ball.”

It took little time for the Knights’ defense to make its mark. Tucker Sheridan picked off a Kyndall Douglas pass, one of four picks on the night, to put North in business near midfield.

Eric Russaw had two runs and a long pass to set up Zachery St. Amand’s one-yard plunge to give North a 7-0 lead.

A bad snap on a punt gave North the ball on the Panthers’ 10, and it took Russaw’s 10-yard TD catch from Quinn Bourque to make it 14-0.

Cypress Lake (2-3, 0-2) went on a 19-play 58-yard drive that ate up more than six minutes, but Douglas’ pass was picked off by J’Ravien Anderson, who got some blocks and raced 100 yards for a devastating score and a 21-0 lead late in the first quarter.

“I saw the quarterback look at the receiver and didn’t expect him to throw there, but he did and I got the pick and took it home for the team,” Anderson said. “My team blocked well. We’re family and we’re going to help each other.”

Late in the first half, North made it 28-0. Set up by a 35-yard reception by Jacob Duff, Marlon Gonzalez burst in from one yard out in the closing seconds.

North scored again early in the second half on a 24-yard touchdown pass to Shannon Sims to make it 35-0, forcing a running clock for the remainder of the game.

“We work hard in practice every day. Coach is hard on us but it pays off on Friday night,” Anderson said. “We came up with a victory and it’s on to next week.”

Joseph Wilkins and Colton Ward also made interceptions. Kalib Banasiak and Geoffrey Gentile, who went 5-for-5 on PATs, recovered fumbles for North.

Bourque went 8-for-11 for 124 yards and two touchdowns through the air on a night where the Red Knights gained just 201 yards of total offense, thanks to the short fields they inherited.

Douglas rushed for 46 yards and threw for 29 as the panthers gained just 129 yards overall.

“We’re not where we want to be because we don’t have the tools,” Cypress Lake coach Xavier McCray said. “We’re building. We have just six seniors and the kids are still learning, but we’re going to line up and play.”

Cypress Lake 0 0 0 0 – 0

North FM21 7 7 0 – 35

NFM – St. Amand 1 run (Gentile kick)

NFM – Russaw 10 pass from Bourque (Gentile kick)

NFM – Anderson 100 interception return (Gentile kick)

NFM – Gonzalez 1 run (Gentile kick)

NFM – Sims 24 pass from Bourque (Gentile kick)