"The Cove" was the place to be on Friday night in Charlotte County. It's win-or-go-home season and two of Southwest Florida's top teams went head-to-head in our NBC 2 Game of the Week. No. 1 Port Charlotte was hosting No. 2 Naples in the Class 4A Regional Finals. The Golden Eagles had knocked the Pirates out of the postseason in the past two years, but PC got revenge in October picking up the 21-18 regular season win at Naples.
If you liked defense, this was the game for you. The first touchdown didn't come until the second quarter when PC's Logan Flaherty's pass was tipped and Naples' defensive lineman Brady Clark took it back 11 yards for the score. Naples led 10-3 at the half.
Coming out of the break, it was rinse and repeat. Flaherty's pass was tipped again and Clark took it 49 yards to the house this time.
Port Charlotte was able to find the endzone in the third quarter, cutting the deficit to 17-10, and the Pirates had another shot to tie it up in the fourth quarter, but another interception sealed the deal for Naples.
"I say it every time, my defensive staff is the best staff in America," said Naples head coach Rick Martin. "My players, my defensive guys, we hang our hat on them and they never cease to amaze me. And they amazed me a little bit today. That was pretty impressive.
"Iit's great to see all the hard work pay off," said Brady Clark. "It's a team effort. I'd love to take credit for it. But we don't win that game if we don't play as a team as well."
Naples advances to the Final Four for the first time since 2018 with the 17-10 final.