Game of the Week: Barron Collier and Naples meet in Crosstown Showdown

Writer: Sylvie Sparks
Published: Updated:
Barron Collier and Naples meet in Crosstown Showdown

The Crosstown Showdown between Barron Collier and Naples is one of those the players circle on their calendars every year.

“Every second in class, I just think about it,” Barron Collier senior lineman Schaimaihn Tanelus said. “It’s boiling up inside of me. I just want to win.”

“It’s everything at this point,” Naples senior lineman Logan Nibbelin said. “They make it a bigger rivalry game. We make it just the same. It’s just a big game for us.”

This year, it’s circled in sharpie if you’re a Barron Collier senior, with one last chance to beat the Eagles.

The last time the Cougars won this rivalry was before anyone on this team was born: 1998.

“I’ve always wanted to beat Naples,” Tanelus said. “When I saw other teams lose and I had the chance to go against them I always wanted to beat them and it just didn’t go our way so beating them this year would mean a lot to me.”

Naples seniors want the win a lot too. They don’t want to be the group that ends more than two decades of dominance.

“Definitely more pressure because it’s hard for us to lose, to let everyone else down that fought for this for 25 years,” Nibbelin said.

The Golden Eagles host this year’s showdown in the same stadium they beat Riverview Sarasota 47-14 last week.

“Everyone’s looking forward to watching Barron and Naples go against each other,” Nibbelin said. “Everyone comes around for the game.”

Barron Collier is coming off of a 59-28 beating from Immokalee in week one.

“We’re cleaning things up right now and that’s how we’re going to get our redemption right now,” Tanelus said.

Redemption 26 years in the making is on the line. Will the Cougars change the course of history or will the Eagles continue to soar?

Kick off is at 7:30 on Friday night.

WINK News will have live coverage from the game all evening long and highlights on the Nightbeat.

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