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Fastbreak football

If time of possession meant anything, Naples would be toast.

But how long does it take to score on a 69-yard run? (Seventeen seconds.)

And how long to catch a 59-yard pass? (Sixteen seconds.)

And to run back a kickoff 86 yards? (Thirty-four seconds.)

And to block a punt or record a safety? (You get the point.)

Name a way to score and the Golden Eagles have done it -- quickly. Just ask Gibbs or Northeast or Seminole or Delray Beach Atlantic. Naples has outscored those four playoff foes 198-78 and has had nine touchdowns on plays of 40 yards or more.

Now it is Chamberlain's turn to make sure it doesn't pull neck muscles watching the scoring plays in Friday's Class 5A state final.

"We're a fun team to watch," Golden Eagles coach Bill Kramer said. "We feel like we can score on any play."

Whoever said defense wins championships should be forced to work the scoreboard for Naples.

The Golden Eagles have an unstoppable offense that has observers looking to the history books. Counting playoff games, Naples has scored 593 points, including a state-record 63 in one quarter against Naples Lely.

"I knew we had scored a lot of points, but I never realized how many until this week," Kramer said. "I had to fill out some paperwork for Friday's game and I noticed my kicker (Francesco Zampogna) had made 75 extra points this season. I said, "Man, that's a bunch of touchdowns."'

Naples is fastbreak football, a team that has many weapons and many dangerous formations.

"I watched three tapes and they looked different each time," Chamberlain defensive coordinator Norm Soash said. "Sometimes they run, sometimes they pass and they have all these different formations. They have a very good offense."

Kramer said his team doesn't have a lot of plays. It just seems that way with the formations they use.

"We have maybe eight running plays and a dozen passing plays," he said. "It's a flexable offense and we use it to put our players in position to make plays."

The player that makes the most plays is running back Duane Coleman. The senior has run for 757 yards and scored 10 touchdowns in four playoff games.

Coleman isn't the only threat, though. Concentrate on him and Bruce Gordon will go deep, Joe Wise will go over the middle and David Lightner will run up the gut.

The key for the Chiefs is to hold the Golden Eagles under 30 points. Only twice has Naples been held under 30, and both were losses.

"It looks easy, the way we've scored, but nothing is easy," Kramer said. "We've played some physical games and we're banged up. This is going to be another tough game. Chamberlain is the biggest and most aggressive team we've faced. It's the two best teams in Class 5A and that's the way it's supposed to be."

NAPLES BY THE NUMBERS

593 -- points scored this season.

368 -- yards gained by Duane Coleman against Gibbs

198 -- points scored in four playoff games

85 -- points scored against Naples Lely.

75 -- extra-points made by kicker Francesco Zampogna.

63 -- points scored in first quarter against Lely (state record).

11 -- number of victories this season

8 -- touchdowns scored off special teams

2 -- times the Golden Eagles failed to score 30 points in a game (both ending in a loss).

Naples game by game

Estero High School 54 21 W

Immokalee High School 15 17 L

Fort Myers High School 39 29 W

Manatee High School 34 16 W

Booker High School 28 34 L

Lely High School 85 0 W

Venice High School 43 35 W

Gulf Coast High School 48 10 W

Barron Collier High School 49 0 W

Playoffs

Gibbs 69-22 W

Northeast 58-28 W

Seminole 30-0 W

Port Orange Atlantic 41-28 W

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