Print
E-mail
Rate
Gulliver's Travels: Lely on road in season opener Friday
By Thomas P. Corwin / Special to the Sun Times
The Lely High School football team has a big task in the 2009 football season in repeating its second-place district finish a year ago. Yet their biggest chore comes in opening the season by playing one of the best Class 3A teams in the state.
The Trojans, coming off a 7-4 showing in 2008 and the team's second playoff appearance in four years, meet Gulliver Prep in Coral Gables Friday night as the high school football regular season kicks off throughout the state of Florida.
The Raiders were a state finalist last year in Orlando's old Citrus Bowl Stadium. Gulliver hosts the Trojans in an odd 4 p.m. start, at which time the team will dedicate its stadium to alumnus and former Washington Redskins cornerback Sean Taylor, who died two years ago.
Lely missed the opportunity for a warm-up a week ago when its Kickoff Classic game with Tampa Catholic was canceled due to an outbreak of the swine flu at Tampa Catholic High School.
"It definitely didn't help us," said Lely coach Steve Pricer. "That first game is important for instruction and setting up a learning curve. We'll just have to get through it. It'll be like the old days, when there were no Kickoff Classic games."
The Raiders are led by junior quarterback Michael Strauss, defensive linemen John Zelaya, Christian Iacovelli and Hector Gonzales, and running backs Frank Telfort and Artice Kellum.
The Trojans will counter with a strong running game, led by Darion Hall, Frankie Pugh and an extremely deep backfield. Hall has committed to playing next season at the University of Miami and could possibly approach 2,000 yards this season after 1,761 in 2008.
Pricer had some question marks entering the season with the new, young Trojans offensive line, but he's pleased with the progress they've made.
"I can't say enough about the job the coaches have done in preparing the offensive line," Pricer said. "Our guys are probably a little bit nervous. Thank God that we have a lot of veteran experience on both sides of the ball, and some on our special teams as well. We have a good number of veterans, and a lot of these guys have waited two years or so to start.
"We're blessed with depth at a lot of positions, and we're looking forward to playing."
The Trojans, coming off a 7-4 showing in 2008 and the team's second playoff appearance in four years, meet Gulliver Prep in Coral Gables Friday night as the high school football regular season kicks off throughout the state of Florida.
The Raiders were a state finalist last year in Orlando's old Citrus Bowl Stadium. Gulliver hosts the Trojans in an odd 4 p.m. start, at which time the team will dedicate its stadium to alumnus and former Washington Redskins cornerback Sean Taylor, who died two years ago.
Lely missed the opportunity for a warm-up a week ago when its Kickoff Classic game with Tampa Catholic was canceled due to an outbreak of the swine flu at Tampa Catholic High School.
Advertisement
"It definitely didn't help us," said Lely coach Steve Pricer. "That first game is important for instruction and setting up a learning curve. We'll just have to get through it. It'll be like the old days, when there were no Kickoff Classic games."
The Raiders are led by junior quarterback Michael Strauss, defensive linemen John Zelaya, Christian Iacovelli and Hector Gonzales, and running backs Frank Telfort and Artice Kellum.
The Trojans will counter with a strong running game, led by Darion Hall, Frankie Pugh and an extremely deep backfield. Hall has committed to playing next season at the University of Miami and could possibly approach 2,000 yards this season after 1,761 in 2008.
Pricer had some question marks entering the season with the new, young Trojans offensive line, but he's pleased with the progress they've made.
"I can't say enough about the job the coaches have done in preparing the offensive line," Pricer said. "Our guys are probably a little bit nervous. Thank God that we have a lot of veteran experience on both sides of the ball, and some on our special teams as well. We have a good number of veterans, and a lot of these guys have waited two years or so to start.
"We're blessed with depth at a lot of positions, and we're looking forward to playing."
 |
|
 |
|
| Assistant Lely coach steps in following Steve Pricer's resignation | Cal Ripken/Babe Ruth winds up regular season |
Article RatingReader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of marcoislandflorida.com.
Submit a Comment |
