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The fact that the Coconut Bowl, the 34-year-old slugfest between Naples and Lely, so often decides a district championship is just a happy coincidence.

Think bragging rights among friends -- or is it enemies? -- isn't motivation enough?

Consider that Coconut Bowl championships are listed right there in gold on Naples High's shiny car dealership-sponsored scoreboard.

2007 should be up there by, oh, Christmas.

The backfield duo of Carlos Hyde and Greg Pratt gashed their neighbors to the south by combining for 263 rushing yards and five touchdowns, while a punishing Naples defense held Lely to just 26 total yards in a 42-0 pounding.

"The Dollar defense was money in the bank tonight," head coach Bill Kramer said in a postgame nod to coordinator Sam Dollar. "When your defense dominates like that, our offense just had to be good enough to take advantage. It got a little weird in the (scoreless) second quarter, with some penalties and tempo issues, but other than that, it was domination."

Particularly at the line of scrimmage, where the Golden Eagles line helped Hyde, the bulling junior, plow for 119 yards and three scores, while the shifty Pratt totaled 144 and another two. Their performance clinched the 3A-14 title, Kramer's sixth in 10 seasons, and helped the program improve to 20-14 all-time in the annual rivalry game.

"It feels really good," said Hyde, who plucked a "District Champs" sign from the stands and waved it around "The Nut" trophy with his teammates. "He's got the speed. I got the power. He does what he does and I do what I have to do. We just know how to work together and we're both enjoying every minute of this."

While the win ensures undefeated Naples (9-0, 4-0) of at least one home playoff game, Lely (5-4, 2-2) will host and get the top-seed in a Monday tiebreaker with Immokalee and Golden Gate to determine the runner-up.

"Our inexperience showed," Trojans coach Steve Pricer said. "But now we've gotta get ready for Monday night. It's not gonna be easy. They'll be licking their chops, so we've gotta rebound. We've got to find a way to get our kids to come back and believe they can win that game."

That belief, if it was there to start Friday's game, vanished in the first nine minutes, during which the hosts built a 21-0 lead behind Hyde's first two scores (from 2 and 7 yards) and a 2-yarder by Pratt. Then Class 3A's second-ranked team, so good at sensing the kill all season, slipped into an uncharacteristic funk in a second quarter that saw them gain 17 yards and lose a pair of fumbles after Rob Randolph's chip shot field goal was blocked.

With Dollar's defense, though, it didn't much matter.

The Golden Eagles held tailback Fortin Faustin, who entered the night as Collier County's leading rusher, to minus-7 yards from scrimmage (zero yards rushing on nine carries and a pair of screen passes), while rocket-armed Mike O'Regan went 7-for-23 for 31 yards, was sacked six times and threw two interceptions to Jack Swanson and Jay Bonaquist.

"We had a good game plan but we couldn't block anybody," Pricer said. "Offensively, we just played like crap. We thought we were prepared, but obviously, we weren't."

Naples, meanwhile, will start preparing for next week's highly anticipated matchup with undefeated Greenwich, Conn., a play-for-pride game before Kramer's team turns its focus to loftier goals.

"Goal No. 1 -- done," Kramer said of the district clincher. "Now we can talk about Greenwich. We're gonna represent the state of Florida next Friday next night. That's a big deal, and we're taking it seriously."

Lely 0 0 0 0----0

Naples 21 0 14 0----35

N_Carlos Hyde 2 run (Robert Randolph kick) 9:55

N_Greg Pratt 2 run (Robert Randolph kick) 6:14

N_Carlos Hyde 7 run (Robert Randolph kick) 3:34

N_Carlos Hyde 2 run (Robert Randolph kick) 8:02

N_Juno Prudhomm 15 run (Robert Randolph kick) 2:40

N_Greg Pratt 21 run (Robert Randolph kick)

COCONUT BOWL

Naples vs. Lely

(Naples leads series, 20-14)

1974 — at Naples (Lely was home team): Lely 22, Naples 13.

1975 — at Naples: Naples 21, Lely 19.

1976 — at Lely: Naples 33, Lely 8.

1977 — at Naples: Naples 43, Lely 35.

1978 — at Lely: Lely 20, Naples 17.

1979 — at Naples: Naples 42, Lely 24.

1980 — at Lely: Naples 42, Lely 24.

1981 — at Naples: Naples 50, Lely 20.

1982 — at Lely: Naples 35, Lely 6.

1983 — at Naples: Naples 43, Lely 30.

1984 — at Lely: Lely 24, Naples 7.

1985 — at Naples: Lely 21, Naples 14.

1986 — at Lely: Naples 17, Lely 16.

1987 — at Naples: Lely 20, Naples 17.

1988 — at Lely: Lely 27, Naples 0.

1989 — at Naples: Lely 21, Naples 20.

1990 — at Lely: Naples 7, Lely 0.

1991 — at Naples: Lely 10, Naples 0.

1992 — at Lely: Lely 28, Naples 6.

1993 — at Naples: Lely 46, Naples 0.

1994 — at Lely: Lely 37, Naples 10.

1995 — at Naples: Naples 45, Lely 12

1996 — at Lely: Naples 10, Lely 7

1997 — at Naples: Lely 46, Naples 3

1998 — at Lely: Lely 15, Naples 6

1999 — at Naples: Naples 24, Lely 15

2000 — at Lely: Naples 35, Lely 15

2001 — at Naples: Naples 85, Lely 0

2002 — at Lely: Naples 50, Lely 19

2003 — at Naples: Naples 42, Lely 0

2004 — at Lely: Naples 42, Lely 0

2005 — at Naples: Lely 21, Naples 14

2006 -- at Lely: Naples 27, Lely 12

2007 -- at Naples: Naples 42, Lely 0