Lely coach praises his team's fighting spirit in away defeat | Sport

Lely coach Ben Hammer's first words to his young Trojans after Friday's 46-0 road loss to state power Sarasota Booker in the season opener were encouraging, not demeaning.

“I’m proud of you,” Hammer said to his team. “You never gave up.”

Hammer knew his team had a tall task ahead of it with Booker, which defeated SW Florida power Bishop Verot in the state Final Four last season and begins this season as the state's sixth-ranked Class 3A school. Booker signed a number of standout transfers from Sarasota-area schools in the offseason, catching the attention of the Florida High School Athletic Association, which hit its head coach Scottie Littles with a six-game suspension. Booker looked like an all-star team. The Trojans looked like a team ready to fight and battle to the end. And if a handful of plays had gone in their favor, the Trojans might have been in a shootout instead of a route.

Booker built a 20-point lead in the first quarter and led 40-0 at halftime, allowing for a running-clock second half, but the Trojans didn't let that get them down.

“Our kids battled,” Hammer said. “They competed. Booker is a really, really talented team. Their coaching staff and their kids did a great job. Our kids battled. We're young and inexperienced. We just have to keep working to get better.”

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

“We moved the ball,” Hammer said. “Our guys didn't give up. We made tackles. We played against a really good team. The biggest bright spot is that the guys didn't give up. They played until the end.”

Lely's junior quarterback Carter Quinn was composed despite the constant pressure from Booker's front seven. When plays failed, Quinn threw the ball away and avoided sacks and interceptions. He finished the game 19-40 for 197 yards with no interceptions. He also kept plays alive with his evasive skills.

Another bright spot for the Trojans was the play of sophomore Ty Collins, who ran for 24 yards 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 received bad news after last week's win against Palmetto Ridge: Top receiver Gage Rice was diagnosed with a hip fracture that could potentially end the season.

Lely hosts rival Golden Gate on Friday, Aug. 30 at 7:30 p.m. Golden Gate lost its opening game, 28-14, to Lakeland Victory Christian. Hammer downplayed the importance of the rivalry game.

“We're taking it one game at a time,” Hammer said. “Every game is a Super Bowl. We're going to go back to work this weekend and finalize a game plan and then go back to work on Monday to get better in practice. Every game is important, whether it's Booker, Palmetto Ridge or Golden Gate, they're all the same to us.”