Lely Coach Praises Team’s Fight in Road Loss

Lely coach Ben Hammer’s first words to his young Trojans following Friday’s season-opening 46-0 road loss to state power Sarasota Booker were encouraging not demeaning.

“I’m proud of you," Hammer told his team. “You never quit."

Hammer knew his team was facing a tall task in Booker, who beat SW Florida power Bishop Verot in the state Final Four last season and starts this season as the state’s sixth-ranked Class 3A school. Booker added a slew of standout transfers from Sarasota area schools in the offseason, drawing the attention of the Florida High School Athletic Association who slapped their head coach, Scottie Littles, with a six-game suspension. Booker looked like an all-star team. The Trojans looked like a team willing to fight and claw till the end. And if a handful of plays had gone their way, the Trojans might have been in a shootout instead of a route.

Booker jumped out to a 20-point first quarter lead and led 40-0 at halftime, setting up a second half played with a running clock. But the Trojans never backed down.

“Our kids battled,” Hammer said. "They competed. Booker's a really, really talented team. Their coaching staff, their kids, did a great job. Our kids did battle. We are young, we're inexperienced. We've just got to continue working to get better.”

After an hour and a half lightning delay, Lely opened the game by driving to Booker’s three yard line, where they turned the ball over on downs. It was the first of five times the Trojans were turned away inside the 30-yard line. The Trojans were stopped on fourth down six times. Once, they were stopped six inches from the goal line. 

“We moved the ball,” Hammer said. "Our kids didn't give up. We made tackles. We competed against a really good team. The number one bright spot is the kids didn't give up. They played till the very end."

Lely’s junior quarterback Carter Quinn was poised despite constant pressure from Booker’s front seven. When plays broke down, Quinn threw the ball away, avoiding sacks and interceptions. He finished 19-40 for 197 yards with no interceptions. He also kept plays alive with his elusiveness.

Another bright spot for the Trojans was the play of sophomore Ty Collins, who picked up 24 yards rushing and caught three passes for 30 yards. Lely receiver Zephaniah Diamond caught six passes for 74 yards, and Brandon Baptiste caught five for 69 yards.

The Trojans got a bit of bad news after last week’s win over Palmetto Ridge when leading receiver Gage Rice was diagnosed with a hip fracture that may be season-ending.

Lely hosts backyard rival Golden Gate on Friday, August 30, at 7:30. Golden Gate dropped their opener, 28-14, to Lakeland Victory Christian. Hammer downplayed the importance of the rivalry game.

"We take it one game at a time,” Hammer said. "Every game is a Super Bowl. We’ll go back to work this weekend and get a game plan ready and then get back to work getting better at practice on Monday. Every game is important, whether it's Booker, whether it's Palmetto Ridge, whether it's Golden Gate, they're all they're all the same to us."