Lely Wins with 2 Late Scores

Two games into the Dan Nieboer era, the Lely Trojans are 2-0. Granted, neither of the two wins count since the first was the spring game and this one, a 14-3 exhibition game win over Bonita Springs at Trojan Stadium, was a preseason scrimmage. But given the hand Nieboer is playing with, winning his first two games is quite an accomplishment.

Nieboer was hired this spring to replace Ben Hammer, who was fired after leading the Trojans to back-to-back regional semifinals. The fallout was massive. The majority of starters jumped ship to new schools. And Nieboer, a strict disciplinarian, is left with a squad that consists of 10 freshmen and 19 sophomores among its 49 members. But the good news is that there are some quality football players amongst them.

“I think we have a lot of talent on our team,” Nieboer said after the game. “We’ve got a lot of kind of similarly skilled athletes at the receiver positions. And our quarterbacks are really, really good.”

Sarasota Booker, a state power who lost similar numbers to Lely after their coach resigned amid a police investigation, received sanctions from the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) for allowing eighth-grade students to participate in spring practice. Their principal and new head coach decided to cancel their varsity season for 2026, citing the long-term health of the football program. Nieboer took a different approach at Lely, choosing not to field a freshman squad this season.

“I felt like we had a great group of guys,” Nieboer said, “young guys that deserve to be able to play this year and grow in our system. I’m seeing the growth for sure. It’s been a great process.”

Against Bonita Springs, the Trojans showed a stingy defense that held the Bull Sharks to a single field goal. But that 3-0 lead looked like it might stand as the Lely offense continuously shot itself in the foot with offsides and illegal procedure penalties—including three in a row at one point. But the second half was all Lely.

Sophomore running back Billy Bornelus ripped off a big gain that brought the Trojans inside the 20 late in the third quarter. From there, the Trojans’ Swiss Army Knife Cannon Boyd took over at quarterback. On first down, he faked to Bornelus and advanced the ball up the middle to the 10. On second down, he looked for a receiver then took off around right end and scored untouched.

Nieboer was impressed with the play of both quarterbacks.

“Cannon has potential to make plays with his feet,” Nieboer said. “Catching the ball, throwing the ball. He’s going to be a weapon for us somewhere this season for sure. And Luke Trebilcock made some nice throws. He’s been working hard with the guys all summer long and really developing a good relationship with those guys. And he did throw some nice balls and he used his feet really well.”

Lely scored again in the waning moments of the game after Trebilcock hooked up with junior Nehemiah Johnson to move the ball inside the 10. From there, giant sophomore running back Rahsaan James got back-to-back carries and took the ball into the end zone on the second try.

Overall, Nieboer is pleased with his team’s effort.

“I’m really proud of our guys,” he said. “I thought that we came out and did the little things well. A little sloppy, maybe, with some penalties and some extra activities, so to speak. But I thought that we threw the ball well, we ran the ball well, and our guys had a lot of fun.”

Big man Urandle Meadows stood out on defense, blowing up a number of plays at the line of scrimmage and stopping Bonita Springs runners in their tracks.

“He has great potential to be a great player for us this year,” Nieboer said. “And he’s only a sophomore.”

On Friday, August 21, at 7:30, the Trojans travel to play their first official game with Nieboer as head coach.