Lauren Halpern
•8/21/2026
CAPE CORAL, Fla. (WINK)— Island Coast football opened its regular season under the Thursday night lights against North Fort Myers, looking to build momentum under new leadership.
The Gators entered the matchup fresh off a win at Gateway during week zero play. First-year head coach Justin Midgett said that victory was exactly the momentum he was looking for to push his team into the regular season.
"We were one and nine last year. The team was. I took over, and these guys haven't had a lot of wins. And so, seeing them win, seeing them get excited, hopefully, you know, we can keep it rolling," Midgett said.
This marked Midgett's first regular season game representing Island Coast. He already got a glimpse of what a win can mean to this group.
"It's not about me; it's about the kids. I was so happy for them. I was so proud of them. You know, we don't have a lot of guys out, but they work their butts off, and we ask a lot of them, and they rose to the challenge," Midgett said.
As the Gators geared up to face a traditional powerhouse in North Fort Myers, Midgett had one message for his team.
"Everybody knows who North is, so we got to do things the right way. We can't be intimidated," Midgett said.
Island Coast struck first, setting up a quarterback dive into the endzone for a 6-0 lead. North Fort Myers answered quickly, tying the game on a 10-yard rushing touchdown before the end of the first quarter.
The Red Knights started to find their rhythm, scoring again in the second quarter to take a 13-6 lead. After pinning Island Coast deep in its own territory, North Fort Myers capitalized one more time before the break, taking a 20-6 lead into halftime.
North Fort Myers secured a 41-6 win over the Gators.
