"The Greatest Rivalry in Southwest Florida" has come to an end. For now.
Bishop Verot and Fort Myers, high schools separated by four miles, will not face off on the basketball or volleyball courts next season, the Lee County School District and the Diocese of Venice confirmed.
The school district and diocese declined to provide specific reasons as to why the boys basketball series, which has been played 16 times the last 14 years and fills both gyms to capacity generating considerable revenue, won’t be played.
“There was no canceling since they were not on the schedule to play each other in those sports,” diocese director of communications Susan Laielli said. “Bishop Verot and Fort Myers played in all other sports this year though.”
Laielli added said it is not unusual to have “non-play years” adding that Verot’s schedules are worked out by the school’s athletic director.
Verot principal Denny Denison didn’t return requests for comment. Athletic director Jason Baumgardner and Vikings boys basketball coach Matt Herting declined comment.
The Lee County School District noted the scheduling of sports is a school-based decision, spokesman Rob Spicker said.
“Any consideration of reinstating the series will be up to the principals involved,” Spicker said.
Fort Myers principal David LaRosa did not respond to requests for an interview while Green Wave athletic director Cameron Yearsley declined comment.
Not including football, Fort Myers will miss out on two of its bigger athletic gate receipts during the 2018-19 season – hosting the basketball game and a home match in volleyball.
Ticket sales, which include two passionate student fan bases who take the rivalry to another level, make up significant revenue in the operating budget of the Fort Myers boys basketball and volleyball programs.
Gate receipts totaled $2,112 when Fort Myers hosted Verot in volleyball in 2014, making it by far the highest grossing game on the schedule that season, according to the school’s athletic department ledger for the 2014-15 school year. The 2013 match at the Wave Cave brought in $659 and the 2016 match totaled $664.
For basketball, the 2013 Verot game at the end of the regular season reached $1,665 in ticket sales, the largest single game of the season. In 2015, the rivalry game at the Wave Cave brought in over $3,000 while the next highest grossing game was a district game with Lehigh ($1,560).
In past seasons the rivalry weeks led to some memorable pranks, including in 2017 when Herting said Fort Myers students removed the tires from his truck and left it on blocks in his driveway leaving the lug nuts in a neat pile by the truck. Herting rode to the game at Fort Myers in a yellow stretch limousine.
Fan involvement is one of the rivalry game’s draws. Members of the student sections dress up in costume, hold clever signs and square off in opposing chants.
Following Fort Myers’ 59-47 win in 2017, Green Wave senior guard TJ Prather was carried off the court by the Wave Cave Wackos, a moment that was immortalized on a mural outside the gym.
The Greenies’ 57-42 victory over the Vikings on Feb. 10 in front of a packed house at John J. Nevins Gymnasium will serve as the last meeting in the rivalry that really became a can’t-miss event in the early 2000s.
Herting told The News-Press in 2016 the end-of-season meeting became the most important game on his calendar during a February 2003 meeting won by Fort Myers 34-29. During the game, then-coach Green Wave coach Ed O’Brien was pushed in the back by a spectator, leading to a one-year hiatus for the rivalry.
When the teams met in the City of Palms Classic on Dec. 16, 2004, there was standing room only at Nevins.
The teams have combined for 18 district titles and 28 state playoff wins over the last 13 years with Fort Myers winning a Class 4A state title in 2010 under then-coach and Verot graduate Scott Guttery and Verot reaching a state Final Four in 2009.
“It’s one of the best rivalries in the state,” 2006 Verot graduate Zack Ward, now the coach at LaBelle, said in 2016.
Fort Myers has won 10 of the last 17 meetings, including back-to-back buzzer beaters in 2013 and 2014. Verot earned a few victories when the series moved to twice a season from 2010 through 2012.
“No matter how good of a season the teams have had, the game is always close,” Guttery, now the coach at Evangelical Christian, said in 2016.
The decision also eliminates one of Lee County’s fiercest volleyball rivalries featuring two highly-decorated programs who’ve faced off twice a season over the last decade-plus. Fort Myers and Verot have a state title to their credit in 1990 and 1984, respectively.
Fort Myers, which owns an 11-9 advantage in the last 20 meetings, made state final appearances in 2006, 2009, 2010 and 2010 and last reached a state semifinal in 2015. Meanwhile, Verot earned a state Final Four berth last in 2016.
Fort Myers-Bishop Verot Boys Basketball Series History (dating back to 2003)
2017-18: Fort Myers, 57-42
2016-17: Fort Myers, 59-47
2015-16: Fort Myers, 51-41
2014-15: Fort Myers, 58-48
2013-14: Fort Myers, 57-55
2012-13: Fort Myers, 62-60
2011-12: Bishop Verot 66-49; Bishop Verot, 61-50
2010-11: Bishop Verot, 66-61; Bishop Verot 61-51 OT
2009-10: Fort Myers, 66-56
2008-09: Fort Myers, 52-48
2007-08: Bishop Verot, 77-59
2006-07: Bishop Verot, 68-57
2005-06: Fort Myers, 70-68
2004-05: Fort Myers, 79-64
2003-04: No game
2002-03: Fort Myers, 34-29
Favorite Moments from past alumni
Reed Baker, Bishop Verot, '06
"As a basketball player who got to continue my career and play at higher levels, that atmosphere was second to none and I look back on it ... those games were the ones that stand out the most."
Zack Ward, Bishop Verot, '06
"The year that we went to them, in '06, I remember that was one of the most packed games we've ever had. You looked around and it was standing room only. You couldn't move on the bench, because the fans were right on top of you. You could hardly take the ball out. The refs would have to clear people out to do an inbounds play."
Wes Graddy, Fort Myers '14
"I think the biggest thing is the atmosphere. It's unlike any other game I've played in. The fans are so great. The teams are so consistent. It's a good game. No matter the records, it's a rivalry game."
Mark Matthews, Fort Myers '15
"Definitely that game-winning tip-in against Bishop Verot my junior year. Two thousand fans rushed the court. That was probably the best moment of my high school career. It's always a special game."