Lely Shut Out in Coconut Bowl

Coconut Bowl 53, played Friday, September 4, at Naples’ Staver Field, lacked the drama often associated with the game that is the third-longest continuous high school football rivalry in the state. Naples scored early and often and the game was played with a running clock starting early in the second quarter. In the end Naples won, 63-0, stretching their Coconut Bowl win streak to 17 straight.

The Trojans were never able to establish a drive. Conversely, Naples scored easily. After the game, Lely coach Dan Nieboer was understandably brief.

"I want to keep it really short because my family is here for the first time to watch us play,” Nieboer said. “We've got to do the little things. We've got to be disciplined. We've got to execute great technique and we've got to fight till the end. And the message all week long was that this is the toughest team that we have played this season, that we shouldn't let their 0-2 record fool us, and that they were going to give us everything that they had. And they proved that. Going forward, we're going to get back to the drawing board on Monday. We have the week off to prepare and get some guys healed up. And we're going to get back to fundamentals and working on our attitude and become a better football team.”

Lely (0-3) hasn’t scored this season. They dropped their opener, 66-0, to Gulf Coast (1-2). They lost their second game, 37-0, to Immokalee (3-0) with a running clock that started in the first half. Naples lost their first two games this season, 42-21, to Sarasota Riverview (2-1) and 28-17 to Bradenton Manatee (2-1).

The Trojans are playing with a depleted roster due to a mass defection of players following the dismissal of former head coach Ben Hammer, who led the team to back-to-back district championships and regional semifinal appearances in 2024 and 2025. The Trojans are also operating with a depleted coaching staff consisting of Nieboer and two assistants.

Lely won the first Coconut Bowl, 22-13, in 1974. The teams split the first 24 Coconut Bowls, but Naples has a 26-3 edge since then. The glory years in the series for Lely came when they were 9-1 from 1984-1994. Lely last won the Coconut Bowl, 12-6, in 2009. The overall series record favors Naples, 38-15.

The Trojans have a bye week before traveling to play crosstown rival Barron Collier (1-1) on Friday, September 18. Naples travels to Aubrey Rogers (3-0) on September 10.