Prep football: Lely holds off Golden Gate rally in final minutes STATS, PHOTOS

Lely sneaks by with a win 26-25

Golden Gate put up a tough game ...

NAPLES — Lely showed no panic in Friday’s football game against district rival Golden Gate. Not when the Trojans squandered a 19-point lead, and especially not when Golden Gate lined up for a go-ahead kick.

The Titans climbed out of the three-touchdown, and pulled within a point following a touchdown with two minutes to play. After a botched snap on the extra point, however, Lely’s defense swarmed Golden Gate kicker Jorge Moreno as he raced toward the end zone.

The stop preserved the Trojans’ 26-25 victory and squashed Golden Gate’s chance at team history. The Titans, already 3-0 for the first time, were going for their first win over Lely since Golden Gate opened in 2004.

“We’ve been in games like that before,” Lely coach Dave Miller said. “These guys have overcome adversity before. Last week against Immokalee we were down and we battled back, just like (against) Golden Gate.”

While the Trojans kept their lead with special teams, it was Lely’s offense that sealed the victory with an even bigger play.

On third down with 11 yards to go and less than 90 seconds to play, Lely quarterback Patrick Lane avoided going down in the backfield by pitching the ball to Davenson Cyceron. Cyceron barreled exactly 11 yards to get the first down. With Golden Gate out of timeouts, two kneel- downs was all the Trojans needed for victory.

“I knew I had to make (Titans defensive back) Peterson Janvier commit to me,” Lane said. “I said to myself, ‘He’s going to commit to me, I’m going to pitch it to Davenson, and we’re going to win the game.’”

Lane didn’t get the pitch off until he was falling to the ground, nearly on the turf. The first down ended a game that just minutes before appeared to be headed for overtime.

Golden Gate fell behind 19-0 thanks to uncharacteristic mistakes. The Titans entered Friday’s game with no turnovers this season, but fumbled away back-to-back kickoffs in the second quarter. Lely capitalized by scoring three touchdowns in less than three minutes.

“I said we needed to not turn the ball over, not make stupid mistakes and not commit penalties,” Titans coach Steve Crowley said. “We did exactly that. You’re not going to win too many ball games doing those things.”

After just 31 yards on its first four drives, Golden Gate’s offense finally got moving in the second quarter. The Titans scored on their final possession of the first half and the first two after halftime to tie the game at 19 with 11:40 left in the game.

Lely used a grind-it-out rushing attack to chew five minutes off the clock, and take a 26-19 lead with 6:25 left in the fourth quarter. The Trojans’ 50-yard drive was capped by Lane’s 6-yard touchdown run.

Led by a 53-yard pass from quarterback Kenneth Mouton to Javon Burks on third down, Golden Gate put together a scoring drive on its next possession. Mouton dove into the end zone on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line with 2:12 to play to pull the Titans within one point.

Following Mouton’s score, his second of the game on the ground, was the botched extra point. Golden Gate failed to convert on its final three point-after attempts.

“Special teams was the difference,” said Lane, who ran for two touchdowns and threw for another. “They hurt (Golden Gate) and helped us. I’ve got to give it up to my guys on special teams.”

There was a moment of silence before the game to honor Lely student Dehvohn Payne and Golden Gate student Janelle Sansion. The teenagers were killed in a car crash Sunday on Interstate 75.

The schools’ bands played the national anthem together, and the JROTC from each school presented the flags together in a sign of unity for the students who were killed.