North Ft. Myers Red Knights

If you play football at North Fort Myers High and you want to continue playing in college, Red Knights coach Barry Goettemoeller will make it happen.

He has done so for a school-record 10 of his 24 seniors this year, eight of whom signed their national letters of intent Wednesday in the school's cafeteria.

"Games come and go, wins and losses come and go, but going to college and hopefully one day coming back with a diploma, that's for life," said Goettemoeller, who's going into this third year at North.

"They've all earned this, and that's one of the most exciting things for me as their coach."

Evan Breyley (Illinois College), Mark Miller (Averett University), Josh Hronowski (West Liberty State University), Corbin Jackimowicz (Lake Erie College), Sergio Perera (Quincy University), Mauricio Garces (Defiance College), Clifford Smith (Methodist University) and Kyle Schmidt (Heidelberg University) joined fellow North seniors Tre Boston (University of North Carolina) and Marcus Lewis (Navy) in committing to play at the next level.

The signees credited their coach with doing much of the leg work necessary for them to find colleges that fit their needs.

North's 10 football recruits are playing at 10 different schools in seven different states.

"He tries so much harder than any other coach I've ever had," Hronowski, a 6-foot-6 left tackle, said of his coach. "Whether we like it or not, he's getting us to a school. He sent our tapes out and he talked to the recruiters and if they wanted us, he let us know. All we had to do was decide if we wanted to be recruited or not. It was that simple."

Goettemoeller's work extended well beyond the field.

He met with North's guidance counselors and teachers to make sure his athletes were academically eligible. He pushed his players to get good SAT and ACT scores in order to keep their college options as open as possible.

"We would have study tables and things for guys who were academically ineligible," Smith, a running back, said.

"He motivated us everyday, telling us we could get here. And here we are."


Marcus Lewis - 5-9, 180, RB, United States Naval Academy (Division I, Annapolis, MD.)

Tre' Boston - 6-0, 190, DB, North Carolina (Division I, Chapel Hill, NC.)

Evan Breyley - 6-0, 210, OL, Illinois College (Division III, Jacksonville, Ill.)
Mark Miller - 6-3, 255, OL, Averett University (Division III, Danville, Va.)
Josh Hronowski - 6-6, 280, OL, West Liberty State University (Division II, West Liberty, W.Va.)
Corbin Jackimowicz - 6-5, 305, OL, Lake Erie College (Division II, Cleveland, Ohio)
Sergio Perera - 5-10, 195, LB, Quincy University (Division II, Quincy, Ill.)
Mauricio Garces - 5-10, 180, WR, Defiance College (Division III, Defiance, Ohio)
Kyle Schmidt - 5-9, 185, RB, Heidelberg University (Division III, Tiffin, Ohio)