Lely Pulls Away from Gulliver Prep

Gulliver Prep arrived from Miami winless and went home winless. But it wasn’t quite as simple as that. After trading blows with the former state power, the Trojans rained down on Gulliver late as the skies opened at Trojan Stadium late in the second half Friday night. When it was all said and done, a 22-21 Lely lead halfway through the third quarter turned into a 44-24 route for the Trojans. 

Sophomore running back Nino Joseph was unstoppable, rain or shine. He raced through the Gulliver defense for 307 yards on 34 carries- that’s nine yards a carry. And junior quarterback Carter Quinn delivered another mistake-free performance, passing for 118 yards with touchdown passes of 28 and 39 yards. Through four games Joseph has run for 998 yards and 14 touchdowns. Quinn has yet to throw an interception. 

Gulliver Prep was once a state power, led by Miami Hurricanes and Washington Redskins legend Sean Taylor. They still have plenty of playmakers, enough to put up 394 yards of offense on the Trojans. 

Lely drew first blood when Quinn connected with junior Zephaniah Diamond for a 28-yard score early in the first quarter. 

Gulliver tied the Trojans up 14-14 with 1:45 left in the first half. After an 11-yard touchdown run by Joseph put Lely up 22-14 in the third quarter, Gulliver answered back to cut the lead to 22-21. 

Later in the third quarter, Joseph grabbed a screen pass from Quinn and turned it into a 39-yard TD catch. Joseph scored again in the fourth quarter when he bolted up the middle for a 25-yard touchdown run. 

Lely finished with 513 yards of offense compared to 341 for Gulliver. Gulliver was trying to beat the Trojans through the air, as 294 yards of their total yardage came from the passing game. The Trojans won the turnover battle, recovering a fumble and intercepting two passes while playing turnover-free football themselves.  

Lely's 6’4”, 290-pound offensive lineman Duece Thornton saw his first action this season, coming off major knee surgery. His dad is Lely’s new offensive coordinator, Tim Thornton. 

The Trojans also welcomed junior Ty Collins back to action. Senior Gage Rice, Lely’s leading receiver last season, is expected to return to action this week after suffering a hip injury. 

The Trojans (2-2) travel to Barron Collier Friday night at 7:00 PM for their first district match-up. The Cougars (1-3), who are coming off of a bye week, have struggled with lopsided losses to Immokalee, Naples, and South Fort Myers. The Cougars did bounce back with a convincing 42-28 win over Community School (1-3) two weeks ago.