FORT MYERS — Speculation swirling that a slew of South Fort Myers High School football players were involved in an after-school Tuesday incident involving allegations of multiple male students having sex with a 15-year-old girl in a school bathroom apparently were dead wrong.
Although there have been reports of suspensions, apparently none of them are players — at least evidenced by the fact that everybody on the varsity roster was dressed for Friday night’s spring game against Charlotte that was delayed by lightning for about 45 minutes.
Like everyone else employed at the school, second-year Fort Myers coach Anthony Dixon wouldn’t comment on the situation, but when a reporter pointed out all his players were dressed, he grinned and winked. That said a lot.
There were no live kicks — both teams took over on their 30 after foe scores and to start each half — and the player classes listed below reflect next fall’s statuses.
In a real physical slugfest, Class 6A Charlotte knocked back Class 7A South, 34-12 as senior running back Maleek Williams ran wild.
Williams rushed 24 times for 242 yards and three touchdowns against the Wolfpack, a regional semifinalist last season.
“We’ve got to get better,” Dixon said. “But that back’s going to give everybody problems. He’s a big fellow. We’ve got to get better.”
Sophomore running back William Scott, a transfer from Bishop Verot, and junior quarterback Trent Rogers, a transfer from Cypress Lake, both made their South debuts. Scott rushed five times for 52 yards and Rogers completed 2 of 4 passes for 14 yards with an interception.
South struck first as senior running back E’Quan Dorris rushed for 52 yards on the game’s first possession. Senior Riley Ware capped the drive with a 9-yard run. The two-point try failed and the Wolfpack led 6-0 just three minutes and four seconds in.
Charlotte’s Williams capped a 62-yard drive with a two-yard TD plunge. Kenny Scriber’s point-after make gave the Tarpons a 7-6 lead with 23 seconds left in the first quarter.
On the most electric play of the game, junior Jeshaun Jones batted a ball passed by junior starter William Morris (3 of 7 for 55 yards) from a defender and back to himself. He cradled it, then made a short zigzag into the end zone to complete the 34-yard scoring play. Again, the two-point try failed and South led 12-7 with 10:31 left in the half.
Williams answered with a 34-yard TD run right up the middle to give the Tarpons a 14-12 lead with 7:20 remaining in the second quarter.
Scribner’s 32-yard field goal with 5:23 left capped the first-half scoring and pushed the Charlotte lead to 17-12.
Scribner opened the second half with a 49-yard field goal for a 20-12 lead with 6:48 left in the pass-heavy third quarter and shortly after Williams broke away for a 48-yard TD run to shove the lead to 27-12.
Dorris was, as usual, South’s leading running back. He had 96 yards on 14 carries.
“I think he’s the best back in the area,” Dixon said. “We ran five backs tonight. We didn’t want to run him into the ground.”
CHARLOTTE 34, SOUTH FORT MYERS 12
C 7 10 10 7 — 34
SFM 6 6 0 0 — 12
SCORING
First quarter
SFM — Ware 9 run (pass failed), 8:46
C — Williams 2 run (Scribner kick), :23
Second quarter
SFM — Jones 34 pass from Morris (run failed), 10:31
CHS — Williams 34 run (Scribner kick), 7:20
CHS — Scribner 32 FG, 5:23
Third quarter
CHS — Scribner 49 FG, 6:48
CH — Williams 48 run (Scribner kick), 3:56
Fourth quarter
CHS — Warren 24 run (Scribner kick), 1:55
About Dana Caldwell
Dana has been the leading source of FGCU athletics reporting since joining the Daily News in 2005. Besides blanketing FGCU’s dramatic rise into a Division I mid-major power, he’s covered the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the Tampa Tribune as well as Arkansas Razorbacks, Indiana Hoosiers and Purdue Boilermakers basketball and football.
