Week 11 Game Balls: Marenco Runs for 265, Gore for 225, and Brown and Hooker Close Rivalry Week in Style
The News-Press and Naples Daily News handed out their Week 11 game balls for the regular season's final week — headlined by Gulf Coast's Gio Marenco, Dunbar's Eddie Gore, and the rivalry-week standouts from North Fort Myers and Cape Coral.
The regular season ended with a rushing clinic. Gulf Coast senior Gio Marenco rushed for 265 yards and three touchdowns in the Sharks' 48-24 win over Immokalee, and Dunbar's Eddie Gore rushed for 225 yards and two touchdowns while adding four 2-point conversions in the Tigers' 52-26 win at St. Petersburg Gibbs — the two biggest ground games on the News-Press and Naples Daily News Week 11 game-ball list, published Saturday.
The rivalry games produced their own honorees. North Fort Myers sophomore Jadarian Brown rushed for 149 yards and two touchdowns as the Red Knights beat Fort Myers 51-9 in the North of the River showdown, and Cape Coral senior quarterback Derek Hooker passed for 219 yards and three touchdowns as the playoff-bound Seahawks closed the regular season with a 56-13 win over Mariner in the 40th Black and Blue Bowl. Cape Coral junior tight end Tim Schippel caught three passes for 53 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 27 yards and another score.
Elsewhere on the list: Ida Baker's Dominic Pena rushed for 234 yards and two touchdowns in a 35-8 Crosstown Showdown win over Island Coast; Estero's Maddox Stewart passed for 195 yards and five touchdowns in a 65-14 win over Bonita Springs; Riverdale's Jacorie Darrisaw intercepted three passes and earned Defensive MVP honors in a 38-0 Battle of the Bell win over Lehigh; and LaBelle's Marquay Bradshaw rushed for three touchdowns in a comeback win over Clewiston. The FHSAA announces the postseason brackets on November 6.
