It remains to be seen how the Ida Baker Bulldogs will respond after an opponent’s score. They haven’t allowed one of any kind through the first eight quarters (96 minutes) of action this season.

The defense set the tone in back-to-back shutouts – a 27-0 win over Lehigh in Week 1 and a 36-0 win over North Fort Myers in Week 2.

Baker coach Brian Conn said there are a few reasons for the early success on that side of the ball, including good preparation, a team effort in running to the football and good composure when faced with difficult situations.

“What I like the most is every play it seems like we have seven or eight guys running to the ball,” Conn said.

The Bulldogs (2-0) hope to continue their effort and match the best start in program history when they host city rival Island Coast Thursday night. The visiting Gators (1-1) are coming off an encouraging 21-10 win over Cypress Lake.

Many of the area high school games are played Thursday this week due to Rosh Hashanah. Cape Coral (2-0) faces North Fort Myers (1-1) at Moody Field, and Charlotte (2-0) invades Mariner (0-2).

Bishop Verot (1-1) hosts LaBelle (0-2) Friday night at Viking Stadium.

After making their first serious playoff push last season, Baker returns this year with confidence and a talented nucleus of players.

Defensively, the Bulldogs have received steady play at each level.

A leader on the defensive line is senior end Felix Solano (three sacks). He is joined up front by seniors Joab Sparks and David Ramos, and junior Tae Kim.

As expected, senior linebacker Johnny Garcia, a Wake Forest recruit, senior safety Andrew Haynes and senior cornerback Joseph Byrd are making a big impact.

In the win over Lehigh, the Bulldogs clamped down on a pivotal series in the first quarter when the Lightning returned a kickoff across midfield. The Bulldogs got the stop on a fourth down and never allowed much after that.

They got stronger as the game went on against North. The Knights had a long, potential scoring drive in the first half, but that ended when the Bulldogs recovered a fumble near the end zone.

“Coach (Dwayne) Mack has put together a great plan each week and the defensive guys have followed it,” Conn added.

The Gators used a powerful, ball-control rushing attack in their win over Cypress Lake. Sophomore quarterback Mike Dumas found the end zone three times, and sophomore fullback Louis King provided a lift.

Baker defeated Island Coast 31-15 in the schools’ first meeting last season.

Cape Coral Seahawks (2-0) at North Fort Myers Red Knights (1-1): Given their three fumbles inside the 20-yard line against Mariner, and six turnovers against Fort Myers, the Cape Coral Seahawks don’t have to look hard to find an area of concern despite posting back-to-back victories to open the season.

The Seahawks, who are ranked No. 7 in the Class 4A state poll, can be encouraged by the connection between senior quarterback Jaylen Watkins and junior receiver Prince Holloway through the first two games.

The 5-foot-10 Holloway has been a go-to target on several different occasions.

“(Jaylen) has been my quarterback for almost six years,” said Holloway referring to high school and Pop Warner. “I was his receiver then and so we’re just trying to keep it going.”

Holloway hauled in three touchdown passes in Friday’s 26-13 win over Fort Myers and also caught a key 30-yard pass when the Seahawks were backed up near their own end zone in the second half.

“It feels good to get in the end zone,” Holloway said, “but we all did it as a team, so I have to thank them.”

Senior nose tackle Shawn Argoe was another bright spot for the Seahawks, shedding blockers and making several tackles of Wave ballcarriers behind or right at the line of scrimmage.

The Red Knights hope to have senior receiver/defensive back Tre Boston back in the lineup Thursday. He was held out of last Friday’s game due to disciplinary reasons.

Charlotte Tarpons (2-0) at Mariner Tritons (0-2): The Tritons were unable to overcome some costly turnovers in their loss at North Port. They’ll need to play a near-flawless game to have a chance to upset Charlotte at Tony McKenna Field.

The Tarpons, ranked No. 4 in Class 4A, pummeled North Port 69-13 in Week 1 and handed Riverdale a 42-6 defeat in Week 2.

The Tarpons feature one of the state’s top running backs in junior Mike Bellamy.

LaBelle Cowboys (0-2) at Bishop Verot Vikings (1-1): The Vikings came back strong after a season-opening loss to Evangelical Christian, beating Lemon Bay 35-6.

They also got their offense in gear. Donnie Farah rushed for more than 100 yards and two touchdowns and Forrest Campbell hauled in a 38-yard TD pass from Jake Kistel.

Breeze Area

Football Poll

Breeze sports staffers rank area teams each week. Rankings are listed with record through Sept. 11 & last week’s ranking:

Rec. Prev.

1. Cape Coral 2-0 2

2. Dunbar 1-1 1

3. Riverdale 1-1 3

4. South FM 2-0 4

5. Ida Baker 2-0 7

6. Fort Myers 1-1 5

7. Evangelical Christian 2-0 8

8. North FM 1-1 6

9. Bishop Verot 1-1 9

10. Island Coast 1-1 12

11. East Lee County 0-2 11

12. Mariner 0-2 10

13. Cypress Lake 0-2 13

14. Lehigh 0-2 15

15. Gateway Charter 0-2 14

16. SWF Christian 2-0 16

17. Estero 1-1 17

State Football Poll

The Associated Press Top 10 Florida high school football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records, rating points and previous rankings:

Class 6A

1. Miami Northwestern (12) 1-0 120 1; 2. Miami Central 2-0 117 2; 3. Dr. Phillips 2-0 102 3; 4. Apopka 2-0 85 4; 5. Christopher Columbus Catholic 2-0 78 5; 6. Mainland 1-1 57 6; 7. Atlantic Community 1-1 44 7; (tie) Orange Park 2-0 44 9; 9. Miramar 2-0 14; 10. DeLand 2-0 11

Others receiving votes: Miami Palmetto 10, Vero Beach 7, Olympia 6, Deerfield Beach 5, East Ridge 4, Treasure Coast 4, Plantation 4, Lake Brantley 2, Sanford Seminole 1.

Class 5A

1. St. Thomas Aquinas (14) 2-0 140 1; 2. Lakeland 1-0 126 2; 3. Manatee 2-0 102 5; (tie) Tampa Bay Tech 1-0 102 4; 5. Kissimmee Osceola 1-1 73 3; 6. Countryside 2-0 68 7; 7. Venice 1-1 57 6; 8. Seabreeze 2-0 41 9; 9. Plant 0-1 32 8; 10. Fleming Island 2-0 8

Others receiving votes: Royal Palm Beach 6, Tampa Freedom 5, Clearwater 4, Bayside 2, St. Petersburg 2, Blanche Ely 1, Fletcher 1,

Class 4A

1. Armwood (12) 1-0 136 1; 2. Niceville (1) 2-0 122 2; 3. Largo 2-0 104 3; 4. Charlotte (1) 2-0 102 4; 5. Dwyer 1-1 89 5; 6. Lincoln 1-1 68 7; 7. Cape Coral 2-0 46 10; 8. Hillsborough 0-1 22 9; 9. Lake Gibson 2-0 21; 10. Bartow 2-0 12; (tie) Gainesville 1-1 12

Others receiving votes: Kathleen 10, Ft. Walton Beach 8, Edgewater 7, Pace 4, Tarpon Springs 3, Lake Weir 2, Palm Beach Lakes 1, Pine Forest 1.

Class 3A

1. St. Augustine (12) 2-0 138 1; 2. Miami Washington (2) 2-0 128 2; 3. Pasco 1-0 110 4; 4. Nature Coast Tech 2-0 92 5; 5. Andrew Jackson 2-0 78 8; 6. Arnold 1-0 66 7; 7. Eastside 2-0 53 9; 8. North Marion 1-1 29 10; 9. Naples 1-1 25 3; 10. (tie) Southeast 1-1 13 ; Barron Collier 2-0 13 6

Others receiving votes: Jefferson 11, Jensen Beach 3, Lake Wales 3, Merritt Island 3, Miami Jackson 3, Dunnellon 1, South Fort Myers 1.

Class 2A

1. Cocoa (11) 1-0 137 1; 2. Glades Central (3) 2-0 129 2; 3. Madison County 1-0 112 3; 4. Frostproof 2-0 98 4; 5. Cardinal Gibbons 2-0 36

Others receiving votes: Plantation American Heritage 18, Godby 12, Immokalee 12, South Sumter 6.

Class 2B

1. Bolles School (12) 1-0 138 1; 2. Pahokee (2) 2-0 128 2; 3. Tampa Catholic 1-0 109 3; 4. Monsignor Pace 1-1 100 4; 5. Gulliver Prep 1-0 49 5

Others receiving votes: Chaminade-Madonna College Prep 12, Ocala Trinity Catholic 12, Pensacola Catholic 6, Mount Dora 6.

Class 1A

1. Fort Meade (12) 1-0 129 1; 2. Trinity Christian-Jacksonville 2-0 109 5; 3. North Florida Christian (1) 1-0 87 2; 4. King’s Academy 2-0 86; 5. Melbourne Central Catholic 2-0 26

Others receiving votes: Port St. Joe 25, Delray American Heritage 25, Blountstown 13, John Carroll Catholic 12, Clearwater Central Catholic 8.

Class 1B

1. Jupiter Christian (12) 2-0 127 1; 2. Warner Christian 2-0 114 2; 3. Glades Day (1) 2-0 108 3; 4. Evangelical Christian 2-0 78 5; 5. FAMU Developmental Research 0-2 63 4

Others receiving votes: Agape Christian 12, Lafayette 12, Santa Fe Catholic 6.