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Prep football: Estero, South Fort Myers have headed in opposite directions
SOUTH FORT MYERS at ESTERO, 7:30 p.m.
• Video: Check back after the game for video highlights
• Key players: South Fort Myers — QB/FS Dallas Crawford, WR/RB Brodrick Jenkins, WR Tronic Williams, RB Ed Dorris; LB Alphonso Edwards; Estero — QB Will Davis, RB Josiah Arizmendi, RB Mark Celotto, LB Grady Hartt, OL/DL Mike Perez.
• What to watch for: How long can rebuilding Estero hang with surging South? Last year it was 0-0 at the end of 12 minutes before South erupted for 27 points in the second quarter. All five players who scored touchdowns in last year’s rout are back for the Wolfpack, including the elusive Jenkins. The sleek senior is dangerous as a back, receiver, and, as he proved in last year’s game with a 76-yard return for a TD, as a kick returner. South’s OL will need to do a better job of protecting Crawford than they did in last week’s preseason game against Barron Collier. Junior Will Davis, who didn’t play football last season, is slated to make his debut at QB for the Wildcats.
More Estero High School Football
- Prep football: Six South Fort Myers players selected for Carrigan All-Star Classic
- NFL Locals: Nov. 30, 2008
- College football locals: Nov. 29, 2008
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The status of the South Fort Myers-Estero rivalry can be summed up not in words, but rather conferences.
“It’s like the SEC vs. Big Ten,” Estero junior quarterback Will Davis said.
Indeed, South’s overall speed is what concerns Estero the most, just like the speed that has doomed Ohio State in the past two BCS championship games against SEC opponents. The Wildcats know they will have their hands full trying to get a grasp of Brodrick Jenkins, Dallas Crawford, Ed Dorris, Horace Berklin and others.
“With what they have, we’re not going to be able to shut them down,” admitted Rich Dombroski, who will be making his debut as Estero head coach tonight when the Wildcats host the Wolfpack in the fourth meeting of the series. “My hope is to contain them. They’re going to break long ones, but we can’t have them break 10 of them.”
Estero is the heavy underdog. It’s a familiar tag, one that the Wildcats carried through last year’s winless season and one that will accompany them throughout the 2008 campaign as Dombroski attempts to reconstruct a once-proud program. Tonight’s game could prove to be a good gauge of the Wildcats’ character in the early going under their new coach.
“It’s how we rebound if a kid breaks one for 80 yards and a touchdown: Do we put our heads down or do we say, ‘Hey, we’ll get him the next play?,’ ” Dombroski said.
This will be the first taste of the rivalry for Dombroski in a head coaching matchup of former collegiate linemen. Grant Redhead, starting his fourth season at the helm of the Wolfpack, knows what to expect from Estero.
“It’s going to be an outstanding game. I feel they play their hardest against us,” Redhead said. “If there’s anyone they get up for, it’s us. They’re going to be ready for us.”
After the teams split two close games to start the series, the rivalry produced its first lopsided affair last year when South dominated, 43-6. It was a tilt that set the tone for both teams. The Wolfpack went on to win eight games and capture their first district title while Estero endured its first winless season.
With most of its skilled players back, South is aiming to defend its district crown and make a deeper playoff run while Estero is hoping a new coach and fresh attitude can halt a losing skid that stretches back a dozen games.
The rivalry has lost some of its luster because there are fewer ties between the schools, namely many of the Estero transfers at South from the early years have graduated. But for both squads, this traditional opener remains important.
“It’s still a big deal,” South senior guard/tackle Tim Zubrycky said.
“There’s definitely a good rivalry still, even though they obviously have more athletes than we do,” Estero senior lineman and linebacker Grady Hartt said.
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