Having won 20 of their last 22 games and back-to-back district championships seemingly would install the Cape Coral Seahawks as the odds-on favorite for Friday night’s Region 4A-3 quarterfinal playoff game against Palmetto at Dave Warkentin Field.

Not so fast, warns Seahawks coach Brad Metheny.

“They are very big and athletic,” Metheny said. “They have four or five linemen who outweigh ours by 40 or 50 pounds.”

That much size disadvantage is hard to counter, especially as the game enters the latter stages. The Seahawks can only hope to wear them down with speed and execution of the game plan.

“We have to wait and see if they can cover us,” said Metheny. “Either way, we have to establish one phase of the game, running or passing.”

The only thing left to compare the two teams are common opponents during the season – Gulf Coast and Port Charlotte.

Both teams are riding a four-game win streak. The Seahawks (9-1) had the better showing against Gulf Coast, claiming a 30-point win compared to the Tigers’ 18-point margin of victory. Cape beat Port Charlotte by 14 points while Palmetto (6-4) won by four.

The Tigers are the district runner-up to unbeaten Charlotte (10-0), which likely would be the regional semifinal opponent for either the Seahawks or Tigers.

Charlotte knocked the Seahawks out of the playoffs last year in the regional semifinal round, thereby ending Cape’s perfect season (11-1) in the process.

Tampa Catholic Crusaders (5-5) at Island Coast Gators (9-1): For the second year in a row, and only their second varsity season, the Gators will host a first-round regional matchup.

The District 2B-6 champion Gators entertain District 2B-5 runner-up Tampa Catholic at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the Region 2B-3 semifinals.

“They started out slow, but have improved a lot since then,” said Gators coach Joe Bowen. “We have the utmost respect for them. They have been there and done that in the playoffs compared to a program that has only done it once. They are a team that has to be reckoned with.”

The Crusaders started the season 0-4, but rallied to win five straight before dropping the season-ender to Tampa Jesuit.

Meanwhile, the Gators have been on a roll since suffering their only loss of the season in Week 2 at Cypress Lake. They have reeled off eight straight wins, five of those by shutout, and only two of the eight were won by less than 38 points.

The Gators’ closest scrape was a 21-11 win over the Cape Coral Seahawks.

“We will have to play a physical game because they are big up front with a good quarterback and runningback,” said Bowen. “There is no secret out there. Everyone knows what we are comfortable doing (run the ball).”

Truth be told, only a torrential rainstorm and muddy field at Cypress Lake stands between the Gators and an undefeated season.

“The only thing that loss did for us was it got that (unbeaten) monkey off our back,” said Bowen. “We also learned that we can lose a game, so we have to work hard if we want to take that next step.”

A win Friday would send the Gators to the 2B regional final round for the first time in school history against the winner between Out-of-Door Academy of Sarasota and Victory Christian Academy of Lakeland.

In other regional playoff games Friday night, undefeated Charlotte hosts Gulf Coast in the 4A-3 quarterfinals, and Naples hosts Riverdale and South Fort Myers hosts Barron Collier in the 3A-3 quarterfinals.

Other regional semifinals sends Dunbar to Lake Highland Prep in 2B-3 while Evangelical Christian hosts Admiral Farragut Academy in the 1B-3 semis.