North Fort Myers is two wins away from a state title, and the Red Knights believe this could be the year they finally bring one home.
The No. 3 seed in Class 5A will take on No. 2 Winter Springs at 4 p.m. Thursday in the FHSAA state semifinals. It's North's third trip to the Final Four (2009, 2017), but the program has never won it all.
“The coaches and the girls are very excited about tomorrow's game,” said head coach Jeff Miner. “Winter Springs is a very good ball club.”
North's Final Four run nearly ended before it began. In the regional finals, they survived a wild 12-11 game against rival Fort Myers. Miner said he’s proud of how the team never gave in: “Our kids very well could have been beaten... what I love about our players and our coaching staff — there's no quit in them.”
That fighting spirit has carried them through the playoffs.
"The excitement was phenomenal,” Miner said. “Watching the kids play and the coaches — our staff has worked very hard.”
Faith and teamwork, Miner added, have fueled their success.
“I give kudos to our coaching staff, and I give kudos to the Lord Almighty because He’s pulled us through this,” he said. “You got to persevere. You have to have a little luck on your side... and your kids got to play, your coaches got to coach them up.”
North Fort Myers knows the level of competition only intensifies from here.
“These teams right now are very good,” Miner said. “But like I told our kids — leave it out on the field. If you play the best you can, you can't question what happened, whether win or lose.”
The winner will go on to face either No. 1 Niceville or No. 4 St. Thomas Aquinas in the Class 5A state finals on Saturday, May 24 at 11 a.m. ET.
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