Trojans Fall to National Power Miami Central in Semifinals

As the final seconds ticked off the clock, Lely players and coaches began to share handshakes and hugs on the sideline. When the final gun sounded, those emotions ramped up to tears and consolation. The Trojans, who scored 540 points in one of the most prolific offensive seasons in SW Florida history, knew they faced a tall order when traveling to Traz Powell Stadium in Miami to face state—and national—power Miami Central, winners in nine out of 10 Class 6A state championship game appearances since 2010. So Lely's 70-30 loss to the aptly named Rockets in the Class 3A state semifinals doesn't come as a shock in itself. But this Trojans team believed they could beat Miami Central, and they showed their resolve by continually battling back to stave off the running clock that starts in the second half when teams become separated by 35 points or more. But in the end, the Miami Central was just too good.

"Hey, I’m proud of you guys,” coach Ben Hammer told his dejected players, who were still numb after gathering together following the handshake line. They were processing the fact that this was the end of their season—and for many, the end of their high school careers. "You fought to the very, very end,” Hammer said. "I’m proud to stand next to you. Proud to be your coach. I love you guys very much. We win together. We lose together, right? Appreciate you guys. Love you all.”

As he has throughout his three-year career as Lely coach, win or lose, Hammer took time to answer questions after talking to his team.

“We talked about showing up and how nobody besides us believed that we could play with Miami Central,” he said. “And they did. They fought to the end. Proud of them. Proud to represent them.”

Miami Central arrived at legendary Traz Powell Stadium—called the mecca of Miami high school football—fully dressed in their game uniforms, ready to go. And go they did. Before they knew what hit them, the Trojans were down 35-0 with 0:28 left in the first quarter. But the shell-shocked Trojans fought back with sophomore quarterback Brady Quinn connecting with senior Zephaniah Diamond on a 20-yard scoring toss, then connecting with senior utility man Ty Collins, who made a circus catch for the two-point conversion to make it 35-8. Another Quinn 20-yard TD pass, this time to Romeo Sararo, made it 42-22 with 5:52 left in the first half.

“They played their hearts out,” Hammer said of his team’s resilience. “Just the fact that they didn't fold. They could have so easily folded right there, and it would have been bad and got ugly really quick. But I'm proud of their fight. Proud of their resolve. Proud of them staring adversity in the face.”

Miami Central scored on a long touchdown pass just as the horn sounded to end the first half, taking a 56-22 lead into the locker room. Early in the second half the Rockets scored to force a running clock. Yet the Trojans twice battled back to stop the running clock by lowering the spread below 35 points. But the Trojans just couldn’t stop the Rockets’ high-octane offense.

While understandably disappointed to see the season end, Hammer was looking forward to the bus ride back to Naples.

“Right now is the time to be with and enjoy the seniors on that last ride home,” he said. “They're part of the program forever. Teams change from year to year, so I think you take the time to enjoy that. But that being said, after a couple weeks off, you get back in the weight room and you continue to get better and work on coming back. You get the freshmen and sophomores and juniors to band together and remember what this feels like so that they can continue to work to change it. But our last two groups of seniors have done a great job of laying the foundation. Miami Central is a very good team. Athletic, big, strong, fast, well coached. But our kids did a great job standing toe to toe with them."

The Rockets (10-1) advance to the regional finals on November 28, where they face Miami Northwestern (11-0), a 56-6 winner over Key West. The Trojans finish 8-4.