Lely Makes Statement in 62-7 Kickoff Classic Win

The biggest question from Friday night’s Lely-Palmetto Ridge Kickoff Classic preseason game may have been whether the visiting Trojans are that good or if the host Bears are really that bad. Because while fans were still settling into their seats, Lely’s outstanding sophomore running back Nino Joseph already had two long touchdown runs, a 45-yarder around left end and a 46-yarder around right end. Before the quarter was over Joseph scored again, this time on a 16-yarder run around right end. The rout was on, and Lely never looked back, finishing with a 62-7 win that featured a running clock in the second half.

It’s not easy to score 62 points with a running clock, but Lely made it look easy. Trojans coach Ben Hammer was philosophical about his team’s journey so far after Friday’s win.

"We're going to continue working to get better,” Hammer said. “Something we talk to the kids about every day is that the man who loves walking is going to go a lot further than the man who loves the destination. So, we're just going to keep working on getting better every single day. Proud of the coaches, proud of the kids. Proud to represent them. They worked so hard this summer.”

Things came very easily for the Trojans against Palmetto Ridge. Lely ran for 207 yards and passed for 290. And their swarming defense gave up only a single score at the end of the third quarter.

Naples transfer quarterback Carter Quinn was responsible for all of the passing yards. He threw three beautiful touchdown passes and also passed for a couple of two-point conversions. He is also a threat to run, though he didn’t need to do much running against the Bears. Quinn connected with senior Gage Rice for an 88-yard score and hit Joseph for a 65-yard touchdown.

Joseph, who came on strong as a freshman last season by gaining over 1,100 yards after becoming a starter in week four, looks even better this season. He scored four touchdowns with 160 yards rushing on just 10 carries to go along with his long touchdown catch against Palmetto Ridge.

Hammer has seen rapid improvement from his young team over the course of the summer.

"I’m so proud to be the head coach of this program,” he said. “The games are byproducts of the work that we've put in. We're going to continue to work and get one percent better every day and keep working. This group is young; they're inexperienced, but we're not afraid to talk about winning district championships. And some people can put it on their locker room board. That's fine. That's great. We're not afraid to talk about regional titles. We're a talented group. And if we can put everything together and work as a team, the boys are going to be a good team this year.”

Joseph was literally a threat to score every time he touched the ball.

"Nino proved last year he's a special player,” Hammer said, "and he's going to continue to do that this year and for the next two years after that. He's a great kid. He works hard in the classroom. He's the only sophomore in my entire 12-year career to be elected a captain. He's just a great kid all the way around, and he deserves all of the success he's having. He loves his teammates. He can't do it without the offensive linemen. He can't do it without the proper reads or the guy calling the play or people coaching different positions. He understands that it takes everybody. He’s a very humble young man. Colleges are starting to take notice, and some college is going to be really, really lucky.”

It certainly appears that Hammer has his man at quarterback in Quinn, who looks in command of the position.

"He does a great job of controlling our offense,” Hammer said, "putting us in the right spot. He threw some great balls tonight. He does an awesome job." 

Hammer also singled out the offensive line for their job in pass protection and in opening holes for the running game.

"The offensive line was tremendous,” he said. "We played eight, nine different guys in there, six different receivers, and still were effective no matter what."

The defense was as impressive as the offense, limiting Palmetto Ridge to 129 yards, recovering four fumbles and intercepting a pass that Ayden Herrera returned for a 23-yard touchdown late in the first half.

"Our defensive front seven was exactly what they thought they would be,” Hammer said. “Our defensive backfield is young, and they've got to grow and continue to get better. But they did a nice job as well, besides the one blown coverage. We're going to be aggressive. That's what we're going to live and die by. They really have some high-octane power in terms of the athletes. When we go ones against ones in practice it's very game-like when it's best on best. And the same thing with our twos and same thing with our threes. We had twos and threes playing the whole second half. Those kids did a great job of keeping the game where it was at.”

Rice, the Trojans’ leading receiver with three catches for 121, was forced from the game early.

“We have to reevaluate this hip,” Hammer said, "it's kind of been a lingering injury. He's going to get checked out tomorrow. I'm not a medical professional. He’s in Mario Lopez's hands, our athletic trainer. I'm sure that he'll be okay. Gage is our Swiss army knife. He's done a great job leading us and kind of showing that savvy and being able to play receiver and running back and outside receiver and linebacker and tight end and return punts and kickoff returns. Gage can do it all."

Junior Ty Collins busted a long run late in the second half. He’s a newcomer to the squad.

“He was late joining the program,” Hammer said. "He's an unbelievable athlete. He's still learning the offense. He's going to be a huge player on special teams. As he continues to learn more and more, he'll do better and better.”

Lely hits the road for their first regular season game on Friday, August 23, at Sarasota Booker, a team that finished 9-5 last season and knocked Bishop Verot out of the playoffs last season. Verot is widely considered the top team in SW Florida this season. Booker’s head coach, Scottie Littles, is currently serving a six-game suspension from the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA).

The FHSAA  suspended Littles, who is also the school’s athletic director, for six games and fined him $5,000 following an investigation for violating its improper contact and impermissible benefits policy. The school suspended Littles for two games themselves and placed him on a one-year probation that includes his removal as head coach if he’s found to violate FHSAA policies in the future. 

Booker lost their Week 0 exhibition game, 45-32, to Cardinal Mooney, last year's state champions in the 1S classification. Littles is allowed to coach the team at practice during his suspension but is not permitted to coach them during games.