A roundup of 2026 Southwest Florida high school football spring games.
Thursday, May 14
Lemon Bay 48, Gateway 14
ENGLEWOOD — The Gateway football team has played with new head coach Chris Strykowski for less than three weeks. That is a short period of time to try to change a culture.
But you have to start somewhere, and the Eagles are going to go through a lot of growing pains to get where they want to be as a program.
That started with the spring game against Lemon Bay in Englewood. After a promising start, everything went awry for Gateway as the Manta Rays scored touchdowns on seven straight possessions to cruise to a 48-14 running clock victory Thursday.
The Manta Rays dominated. Led by running back Hogan Winow’s 183 yards rushing and three touchdowns, and two scoring passes by quarterback Colton Davis and his 121 passing yards, Lemon Bay cruised.
Gateway got off to a great start. The Eagles drove into the red zone on its first possession before stalling. After Lemon Bay fumbled on its first possession, Gateway drove the short field and scored on a 2-yard run by C.J. Hood for a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter.
Lemon Bay only needed one play, a 75-yard touchdown run by Winow to get on the board. A missed PAT made it 7-6 Gateway.
Lemon Bay would score on its next four possessions. Davis hit Cory Baker on a 32-yard TD pass to take the lead for good at 12-7.
Winow scored again a few minutes later from four yards out to make it 20-7 after a successful two-point play, then dazzled with a 91-yard touchdown run, outrunning the Eagles down the sideline the last 50 yards.
A 40-yard touchdown pass from Davis to Jacob Childers in the final minute of the half made it 34-7 at the break.
Lemon Bay picked up where it left off at the start of the third quarter. Eli Humphrey went up the middle for a 49-yard touchdown run and reserve Kendall McNealy got into the act with a 22-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter to force a running clock for the remainder of the game.
Gateway got on the board again when Parker Ellis hit Aiden Gerardo on a 67-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter.
What we learned about Gateway football
Changing the culture will be difficult. The Eagles will be an FHSAA Independent this season after several years in Class 6A purgatory. Strykowski, who took over this spring, said this put the program in a bad spot.
“We went from 2A to 6A very quickly. It was tough for them to compete with that kind of schedule. When I was hired, they made it a point to go independent and set a foundation and do things in a more detail-oriented fashion,” Strykowski said.
The offense is still a work in progress. Ellis showed promise at quarterback and players like freshman guard Brayden Burke and freshman receiver Aiden Gerardo have earned praise.
“We’re starting to find out who we can run behind, and we have talent in the passing game at quarterback and receiver,” Strykowski said. “Ultimately, it will be having time to get them on the field together to make it jell.”
Despite the defeat, it was a successful spring season. The game doesn’t count. It’s a time to try things and see what the players can do. Summer and fall will allow them to clean up some things.
“We have a lot of details we need to hammer out, but I’m looking forward to getting into the summer and being able to shore those things up,” Strykowski said. “I’m looking forward to some healthy competition for jobs this fall.”
— Chuck Ballaro
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: 2026 Southwest Florida spring football roundup for Lee, Collier County