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2 months ago | 
coastalbreezenews.com | Scott H. Shook
Behind a dynamic second-half performance, Marco Island Academy beat visiting Village School, 5-3, Monday, January 27, to advance to the school's first-ever boys soccer district final on Thursday. Freshman Weslyn Villatoro scored a rare hat trick, knocking in three impressive second-half goals to lead the Rays’ charge. Rays coach Fernando Higuera said it’s unusual for a player to turn a hat trick in a semifinal game.
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2 months ago | 
coastalbreezenews.com | Scott H. Shook
While they missed a conference title in a 2-1 heartbreaker at Donahue Catholic on January 22, the Marco Island Academy boys soccer team had plenty to be happy about. A home win over Mason Classical Academy, 3-1, in the Paradise Coast Athletic Conference semi-final on January 21 was one bright spot - another was the team's top seed going into this week’s district playoffs. Mason Classical, who had just lost 6-0 to MIA five days earlier, was a tough out for the Rays.
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2 months ago | 
coastalbreezenews.com | Scott H. Shook
The Marco Island Academy girls soccer team got off on the right foot Thursday, January 23, dominating Seacrest, 3-0, at Manta Ray Field. The Rays advance to the 1A District 12 semifinals at top-seeded St. John Neumann on Monday, January 27. It will be the second game in 10 days between the fifth-seed Rays and the Celtics, who narrowly defended their home turf with a 2-1 win over MIA back on January 17.
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Jan 23, 2025 | 
coastalbreezenews.com | Scott H. Shook
Judging by the laughter at the end of their final home game Thursday night, January 16, you would have thought the Marco Island Academy soccer team were the winners, not the losers. For the record, the Rays dropped a hard-fought 4-2 decision to Mason Classical Academy in a chilly rain that had soccer fans popping open umbrellas and scrambling for cover at the Jane Watt Sports Complex.
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Jan 23, 2025 | 
coastalbreezenews.com | Scott H. Shook
As if there aren’t enough good reasons to get out on Marco Island’s shared-used paths, I’d like to add another: making friends. Whether it’s the two-legged, two-wheeled, or four-legged variety, I encourage you to take a minute to get to know those people you pass every day on our island's magnificent network of shared-use paths. I’ve got nicknames for some of the “regulars” we pass while going to and fro around the island by bicycle.
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Jan 23, 2025 | 
coastalbreezenews.com | Scott H. Shook
Marco Island Academy (MIA) has had some pretty good boys' soccer teams in its short history, but so far, a district championship has been elusive. However, after a home win over Mason Classical Academy, 6-0, on Thursday, January 16, and a road win, 5-3, over St. John Neumann Friday, Marco coach Fernando Higuera thinks a district title may be in reach.
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Jan 16, 2025 | 
coastalbreezenews.com | Scott H. Shook
When you watch Skip Yutzler officiate a high school basketball game you notice he’s in great shape. You notice that he’s in control of the action on the court. You notice that he works well with his fellow officials and coaches alike. What you don’t notice is that the venerable local referee is 80 years old. “The long and the short of it is this is my 53rd season of reffing,” Yutzler said after calling a game at the Don Stewart Shootout at Lely High School Saturday.
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Jan 16, 2025 | 
coastalbreezenews.com | Scott H. Shook
When Naples and Lely met up Thursday night, it was kind of like the old days for the city’s oldest high schools. The Naples gym was packed. The vociferous crowd seemed to ignite the players on the court. But after leading by 10 points or more for three quarters, Lely fell to a gritty finish by the Golden Eagles, who outscored the Trojans 28-15 in the fourth quarter to slip away with a 69-60 win. “Second half, man,” a disappointed Fritz Jacques said following the game. “We turned the ball over.
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Jan 16, 2025 | 
coastalbreezenews.com | Scott H. Shook
Everglades City basketball is back. That’s the message coach Gerald Lewis is selling. And by the looks of things, his players are buying what he’s selling. On Saturday, the Class 1A Everglades City went toe-to-toe with Class 6A East Lee County in the Don Stewart Shootout in the Lely gym before bowing 62-57. Playing five classifications up is never an easy task, but Lewis has a plan - and it all harkens back to the past glories of Everglades City basketball.
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Jan 16, 2025 | 
coastalbreezenews.com | Scott H. Shook
The deteriorating 1928 Atlantic Coastline Railroad Depot building in Everglades City has gained a new ally. Prominent local artist Paul Arsenault spent most of the afternoon on New Year’s Eve capturing the historic site on canvas. The Depot, owned by Bill Odrey, is one of 47 historic sites in the county recognized by the Historic and Archaeological Preservation Board. The Depot is immortalized in the 1958 film Wind Across the Everglades. Scenes from the movie were filmed on location at the Depot.
