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NAPLES — Odds and ends from Friday night's high school football games:

BARRON COLLIER 38, GULF COAST 20

Despite the Catfish Bowl home loss against Barron Collier, quarterback Jeff Schmidt played like the senior he is.

Schmidt went 20-for-36 for 235 yards in Frank Tudryn’s spread offense. He did so with little run support, allowing the Cougars to largely disregard that threat. Schmidt led the Sharks in rushing with 47 yards on nine carries. That includes a 21-yard run that capped the scoring.

He wasn’t perfect, though. Schmidt was picked off once and three times missed wide-open receivers deep downfield, but his performance was a move in the right direction for a team that had been largely carried by its defense.

On the other sideline, the Cougars are in the driver’s seat in District 4A-15 play. Barron is 2-0 in district play. Lehigh’s 21-14 win at Palmetto Ridge moved the Lightning to 2-0. East Lee County is 1-1 and Cypress Lake and Palmetto Ridge are 0-2.

— Dana Caldwell

LELY 35, IMMOKALEE 6

Some tough football remains to be played. But after Friday night’s District 3A-14 tangle at Lely, two thoughts appeared most prevalent with the Trojans players: destiny and E.P.

E.P. are the initials of former Trojans standout Ereck Plancher, who died earlier this year during conditioning drills with the University of Central Florida. And it seems as though everything that is happening with Lely this year revolves around Plancher’s spirit.

“E.P. is with us in spirit. He never got to beat Immokalee, so we wanted to win this one for E.P. It’s kind of sad,” Trojans coach Steve Pricer said.

Players also were talking about the destiny that seems to be in the air this season.

“When these kids say they have dedicated this season to E.P., they really mean it,” Pricer said.

And while a victory over winless Estero on Oct. 24 (at Lely) appears to be a strong possibility, much attention certainly will be directed to the annual Coconut Bowl showdown with Naples. That will be played Nov. 7 at Lely, likely to sort out all the district marbles.

— Tom Rife

NAPLES 91, ESTERO 0

On a night when Estero took a licking, Josiah Arizmendi managed to keep on ticking.

The versatile senior running back was Estero’s go-to guy on one of the most painful nights in Wildcat football history. Arizmendi rushed for 103 yards on 21 carries, returned kicks and even shared QB duties with the junior varsity’s Colin Lewis after starter Will Davis departed in the first half.

Arizmendi produced the only two significant highlights for his team. He gained 42 yards on an option in the first quarter and later returned a rare returnable kick by Puma Nuredini for 37 yards.

The road won’t get easier for Estero, which visits Cape Coral on Friday. The Wildcats, who are 4-42 since 2004, will have to recover after witnessing Naples’ school record-setting night for most points scored in a game.

“(Estero) Coach (Rich) Dombroski is doing a good job,” Naples coach Bill Kramer said. “I felt bad. Our kids did, too. I didn’t know whether to take a knee or delay of game. But we got a chance to play everybody.”

— Kevin Johnson

NORTH FORT MYERS 18, GOLDEN GATE 7

He may be a freshman quarterback on an 0-6 team, but Kenneth Mouton’s play is drawing rave reviews from opponents.

North Fort Myers coach Barry Goettemoeller acknowledged Mouton’s play following his team’s 18-7 win at Golden Gate on Friday night.

“He’s going to be an outstanding football player before too long,” Goettemoeller said. “He was much better than what we saw on film. He ran the offense well, took care of the football. He’s got a lot of ability.”

Titans coach Dave Tanner realizes the youngster wasn’t put in the best situation to succeed right away. But when senior quarterback Michael Spano left the team this summer, Tanner had no other choice but to let Mouton take his lumps on the varsity level.

“He’s improving each week,” Tanner said. “It’s been a tough situation for him, but he’s learning and getting better.”

It’s been a trying year for Tanner, as he’s fielding the most inexperienced squad he’s had in 28 years as a head coach.

“You try not to change too much, but the biggest challenge is keeping the kids upbeat,” Tanner said. “It’s easy to be a player or a coach on a team that’s 10-0 or 9-1. You wear your school colors with pride at the mall, you’re heroes to your classmates. It’s a lot more difficult when you’re losing, so what we want to do is keep the kids positive going forward.”

— Andrew Sodergren

LEHIGH 21, PALMETTO RIDGE 14

It’s hard to overstate how heartbreaking Friday night’s loss was for Palmetto Ridge.

The Bears had been trailing for a full 44 minutes until their final drive tied the game at 14, thanks to a touchdown catch by senior Sean Smikle as well as a key 41-yard run by senior Teliphane Charles.

“After I scored the touchdown, I was thinking, ‘They can’t stop us. They can’t stop our team,’” Smikle said. “I was wrong.”

Even the stadium crew was going over the rules for overtime when Lehigh’s Otis Jiles ran in a 65-yard hook-and-ladder for the winning score with 9 seconds left.

In the press box, Palmetto Ridge’s announcer said, simply: “I’m not going to even call that.”

— Tom Giratikanon