Naples' Robert Oliver, who rushed for a game-high 75 yards, stiff arms a Vicenza defender in the Wildcats' 40-0 victory over the Cougars on Friday, Sept. 22, 2023. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
VICENZA, Italy – The calendar might have read Friday, Sept. 22, 2023. But on its new football field, it was definitely more like “Friday the 13th” for the Vicenza Cougars.
The Naples Wildcats, halfway through an attempted third straight unbeaten season, didn’t need any help Friday. But they got it anyway – especially when the game was on the line. Two key bounces gave the Wildcats all the momentum they needed in a 40-0 victory that became official at halftime due to DODEA-Europe’s 39-point mercy rule.
“This didn’t feel like a mercy-rule game,” Naples coach Jim Davis said. “They moved the ball pretty well. Next thing, you look up, it’s 40-0.”
It wasn’t like the Wildcats scored 40 points in one play, though.
Naples grabbed a 14-0 lead on Robert Oliver’s 13-yard run and – yes, there’s a theme, here – another 13-yard score from Gab’riel Doran.
That’s when the Cougars’ luck took a turn for the worst. On the second play of their following possession, the ball came loose during a run and sailed right into the hands of Jeramiah Robinson, who returned it to the 9-yard line.
Naples quarterback Camden Kasparek, who completed six of seven attempts for 86 yards, then showed the Wildcats’ luck hadn’t run out. The ball slipped loose during his throwing motion, going almost straight up. Kasparek tracked it down, caught it in midair and gained 5 yards. Oliver scored on the next play and it was 21-0.
“It happened one time in practice last year, too, but I definitely didn’t plan it,” Kasparek said of his self-completion.
Running back James Allen was a definite bright spot for the Vicenza Cougars on Friday, Sept. 22, 2023. The junior running back gained 55 yards in a 40-0 loss to Naples. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Naples' Jeramiah Robinson scampers away from the Vicenza defense for a big gain Friday, Sept. 22, 2023, in the Wildcats' 40-0 victory in Vicenza, Italy. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
When either team tried to gain ground up the middle Friday night, there were a lot of Cougars crashing into Wildcats. Naples downed Vicenza 40-0. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Quarterback Camden Kasparek completed six of seven passes Friday night - including one to himself - in leading the Naples Wildcats to a 40-0 victory over the Vicenza Cougars. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Naples' Gab'riel Doran eludes a Vicenza defender on the way to a 13-yard touchdown that put the Wildcats up 14-0 during their 40-0 victory over the Cougars on Friday, Sept. 22, 2023. (Kent Harris/Stars and Stripes)
Vicenza then put together its best drive of the night and reached the Naples 21 before turning it over on downs. The Wildcats responded with a long drive of their own keyed by 18- and 17-yard runs from Oliver, who finished with a game-high 75 yards on the ground. Kasparek connected with Oliver in the end zone on a 10-yard scoring pass to make the score 27-0. It became 34-0 when backup running back Michael Daniels scored on his team’s third 13-yard touchdown of the game.
It looked like the Cougars might avoid the mercy-ruling at least until the second half, but Treyvon Hoffstatter picked off an errant pass and ran it back 23 yards into the end zone to create the final margin.
“It wasn’t that bad,” Vicenza coach Jesse Woods said, looking up at the scoreboard. “What you saw there was just the inexperience. And Naples ... just gets it done.”
The Wildcats are 3-0 through the first home-and-away round of games between DODEA-Europe’s four Division II schools, with victories over Aviano and Rota as well. The four teams will go through a second round before the team with the top record hosts the No. 2 school in the championship game.
Despite a 1-2 record, Woods said he thinks his team just might turn it around.
“I still think we’re in it,” he said.
