North comes up just short of securing first win of season, 34-33
Powerful running game not enough for Red Knights
North Fort Myers dropped a heartbreaker Friday night at home, falling to Lemon Bay, 34-33, in a back-and-forth shootout.
The Red Knights (0-4) put up their highest scoring total thus far this season behind a pair of running backs eclipsing the 100-yard mark. But it was the Manta Rays (4-0) that snuck out a win, as a fourth quarter touchdown that gave the road team a 1-point advantage went unanswered.
Despite a tough defeat, North head coach David Pasquale took the positive from the contest.
“We’re improving every week,” Pasquale said. “We got hit with an injury bug early. We have four seniors right now that are playing. This group is getting better every week. I think this was a great game for us to learn from. We had opportunities to win the game, but obviously the outcome wasn’t what we wanted. But at the end of the day, we had our opportunities, and we left it out all on the field.”
Both teams’ offenses were stifled on their opening possessions, though that would quickly change for the remainder of the game.
On its second possession, Lemon Bay senior running back Joseph Scott broke through the line of scrimmage and turned on the jets, bursting for a 63-yard score to put the Manta Rays on the board first at 6-0.
The Red Knights offense swiftly responded, as Cadeon Conn hit Kirtis Denham for a big play up the left sideline, setting North up inside the 15.
A few plays later, senior running back Andre Costa took a handoff from 4 yards out and suck in on the right side to put North up 7-6 with the extra-point kick.
The Red Knights built on their lead 5 minutes into the second quarter, as Costa again found pay dirt, this time from 3 yards out to give North a 14-6 advantage.
Costa, who carried 18 times for a whopping 121 yards, scored his third TD of the game with 1 minute to play in the second quarter. After the Red Knights forced a fumble to set them up deep in Lemon Bay territory, Costa followed his blockers from 5 yards out, pushing the North lead to 20-7.
“(Costa) is a special kid,” Pasquale said. “He does what we ask of him, and he does it right. When he gets the ball in his hands, he does special things with it.”
Lemon Bay did not go quietly into the half, as quarterback Lorenzo Maurceri connected with Scott for a 33-yard catch with just 22 seconds to play before the half. A successful 2-point conversation made the score 20-14 heading into the half.
The Manta Rays scored first in a busy quarter for the scoreboard operator, as Scott reeled in his second touchdown reception of the game and third overall, this time a 25-yard strike from Maurceri after Lemon Bay picked off Conn.
The Manta Rays pushed their lead to 28-20 just three minutes later, as Scott once again found the end zone — a 42-yard reception from Maurceri.
The Red Knights offense fired back on the ensuing possession, as Virgil Malloy, who ran 20 times for an astonishing 177 yards, found the end zone from 10 yards out. North’s 2-point try was unsuccessful, with the team still trailing 28-26.
“That was our goal all week, we had to execute, and I think they did that,” Pasquale said of his offense.
A defensive play in the waning moments of the third quarter provided a massive momentum swing, as the Red Knights forced a quarterback fumble that was recovered by Christian Weber who ran it back from 5 yards out giving North a 33-28 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Lemon Bay had the final say, though, as Scott’s fifth touchdown on the night, a 6-yard rush with 9:17 left to play, provided a 34-33 advantage that was not relinquished.
Pasquale said he was proud of the way his team continued to battle throughout the game.
“This group fights,” Pasquale said. “We’ve seen it week in and week out.”
North will have its first district matchup this Friday as it hosts Cape Coral (4-0).
“At the end of the day, everything is still in front of us,” Pasquale said. “We still have an opportunity to win the district. So, we’ve got to continue to fight, continue to show our grit every week, and we’ll get there.”
1 2 3 4 F
LEMON BAY 6 8 14 6 — 34
NORTH FORT MYERS 7 13 13 0 — 33
1st Quarter
LB: Joseph Scott, 63-yard run (kick fail); 5:31
NFM: Andre Costa, 4-yard run (Mason Sargis kick); 3:08
2nd Quarter
NFM: Costa, 3-yard run (Sargis kick); 7:26
NFM: Costa, 5-yard run (kick fail); 1:00
LB: Scott, 33-yard reception from Lorenzo Maurceri (2-pt good); :22
3rd Quarter
LB: Scott, 25-yard reception from Maurceri (kick good); 10:22
LB: Scott, 42-yard reception from Maurceri (kick good); 7:40
NFM: Virgil Malloy, 10-yard run (2-pt fail); 5:00
NFM: Christian Weber, 5-yard fumble recovery (Sargis kick); :25
4th Quarter
LB: Scott, 6-yard run (2-pt fail); 9:17
— Connect with Associate Sports Editor CJ Haddad on X: @haddad_cj