Marathon and Coral Shores have the oldest and longest-running football rivalry in the Florida Keys, but it is not the only one. On Friday, Oct. 21, Coral Shores and Key West will meet for the 12th time since the mid-1990s. With Key West’s original opponent for the week unable to play, and Coral Shores willing to fill in a bye week, the stars have aligned to renew a rivalry last seen in 2010. The game will be played in Tavernier, giving the ’Canes the home field advantage, but as far as the rivalry goes, the advantage goes to the Conchs. Ahead of the surprise showdown, Keys Weekly took a look back at the island rivalry thus far:
| Year | Winner | Score | Notes |
| 1994 | Key West | 35-0 | Key West makes it to the state playoffs; Conch wide receiver Michael Dean is named to the All-State team. |
| 2000 | Key West | 48-0 | Coral Shores wins Florida Monthly Magazine’s “Best High School Athletic Program” award, the same year Rich Russell retires. Russell now serves as the Athletic Director at CSHS. |
| 2001 | Key West | 18-14 | Justin Duck, Cody Granger, Jesse Kehoe, and Latron Hickson make the All-State cut for the Conchs; Jordan Schiengner and Daniel Biondoletti make it for the ’Canes. |
| 2002 | Coral Shores | 45-42 | Ryan Debenstedt is named to the All-State team for the Hurricanes. |
| 2003 | Key West | 46-6 | Longtime Conch coach Pat Freeman retires. |
| 2004 | Key West | 63-7 | Six Conchs were named to the All-State team including Terrance Moore, Alex Yanovych, Laurence Marius, Daniel Garci, Clinton Storr and Daryl Lewis. |
| 2006 | Key West | 35-7 | Jeff Myers semi-retires as the ’Canes head coach after eight seasons; he takes over again for one year in 2010, the year prior to Ed Holly’s first stint as the ‘Canes head coach. |
| 2007 | Key West | 15-7 | Senior running back and linebacker Ralph Major goes on to win the state championship in wrestling for Key West. |
| 2008 | Key West | 16-0 | Jerry Hughes takes over as head coach for the Conchs. |
| 2009 | Key West | 28-0 | ’Canes go 0-10, Conchs go 6-3 |
| 2010 | Key West | 46-0 | Senior Frankie Grizzle-Malgrat holds down the line for the Conchs and later goes on to achieve fame at FSU. Better known as “Red Lightning,” Grizzle-Malgrat earns the name for his striking red hair and blazing speed in his role as the Seminoles’ ball boy and equipment manager. |
TURNOVERS MAKE THE DIFFERENCE IN KEY WEST BARN BURNER
The Key West Conchs knew they would need to bring everything to beat the undefeated Estero Wildcats in their first district game this season on Oct. 14. Estero took an early lead, but a penalty held them to six points on the drive. Key West took little time to tie up the game on a 19-yard James Reynolds TD run, then took the lead with a Marco Davila kick.
Estero answered late in the first quarter, reclaiming the lead for a very short time until Kevon Mills tied it up again with 7:05 left in the half. Key West seemed to be in the driver’s seat with less than a minute remaining in the half, but quarterback Adrian Mira suffered a hard hit, fumbling the ball. Estero’s scoop-and-score on the fumble with the ensuing 2-point conversion put the Wildcats on top 21-13 at the half.
The Wildcats scored again on the opening drive of the second half, extending their lead to two scores. Undaunted, Mills went 49 yards for the Conchs, and a Davila kick brought Key West within eight points, eating up most of the third quarter in the process.
Estero then appeared to put the game away, scoring early in the fourth quarter and taking advantage of a third Conch fumble to go up 42-20.
But Key West wasn’t finished yet. Running back James Reynolds refused to go down, and when the Wildcats wrapped him up, he carried them with him on a 20-yard run that sparked a Key West offensive drive capped off by a 4-yard Mira TD. Reynolds scored 2 on the conversion, narrowing Estero’s lead to 14. The Conchs’ defense held strong, and Key West methodically moved the ball from their own 10-yard line and made it a one-score deficit with a 67-yard touchdown reception from Mira to Jakari Blackman. Davila’s kick gave the Conchs hope, but with just under two minutes left in the game, time was running out. The Conch defense held strong yet again, and rather than punt and chance a big return, Estero opted to run into their own endzone, adding a safety and 2 points to the Key West scoreboard. The 42-37 loss gives the Conchs a record of 2-4 going into an unanticipated county matchup against Coral Shores on Friday, Oct. 21.
