01 / 02
For the second week in a row, the Wildcats put together a dominant victory. This one was a 43-15 romp over Barron Collier on Senior Night – a win that put Estero (4-3) over .500 for the first time this season.
The Wildcats held Barron Collier (3-4) to negative yards in the first quarter, while the offense ran to a 20-0 lead early in the second. Estero punted just once and scored on every possession of the second half.
The game started with kicker Jack Hildenbrand recovering his own perfectly placed onside kick. The Wildcats then scored when Maddox Stewart hit Cam Campanella on a 29-yard touchdown pass.
Estero went up 13-0 when senior running back Nathan Watters, playing for the first time in a month due to injury, scored on a 3-yard run. Less than three minutes later, Watters scored on a 9-yard run and the Wildcats led 20-0.
Aiden Soerens caught a 9-yard touchdown in the final minute of the first half to put Estero ahead 27-7. On the first drive of the second half, Soerens caught an 8-yard score from Stewart and the Wildcats were up 33-7.
Hildenbrand drilled a 36-yard field goal, and Dylan Rubira ran it in from 15 yards out to give Estero a 43-7 lead and a running clock early in the fourth quarter.
Stewart connected on 24 of 35 passes for three touchdowns, 286 yards and zero interceptions. Soerens caught eight balls for 120 yards. Campanella finished with 65 receiving yards, while Lincoln Zadach had 42. Watters led a balanced rushing attack with 37 yards and two TDs on 5 carries.
The defense held Barron Collier to 164 yards, and 84 of them came on one scoring drive in the second quarter. In the past four games the Wildcats D has surrendered just five touchdowns – three of those coming once the game had already gone to a running clock. Angel Saaverda led the way with 9 tackles including a sack and forced fumble. Alex Lioce recovered the fumble. Jadon McClellan also returned from injury and was a difference maker with 7 tackles, 2.5 for loss, 1 forced fumble and 3 QB hurries. The secondary of Lincoln Zadach, Jackson Woss, Jackson Stopka, and Andrew Parkinson limited the offense to just 4-16 passing for 36 yards. Defensive linemen Brendan Walsh, Briggs Leach, and Alex Lioce played a huge role in suffocating the running game and applying constant pressure on the QB.
Up next, the Wildcats head to Aubrey Rogers (5-3) for another Class 4A-District 12 matchup.
vs barron collier
Your natural leadership skills and your ability to find solutions will continue to be the foundation for success in anything you want to accomplish. We are all so very proud of the incredible young man you are.
We are so incredibly proud of you! Keep grinding for your dreams and reaching for the stars! We love you!
We are so proud of the young man you have become and the way football has helped shape you. This game is about so much more than Friday night lights. It’s commitment, toughness, sacrifice, brotherhood, & showing up for the people beside you. Those are the qualities we see in you, on and off the field. Football may be a game you love, but the man it has helped you become will last long after the final whistle.
