Naples and Lely prepare for 50th anniversary of the Coconut Bowl

On Thanksgiving Day 1974 the longest running football rivalry in Collier County was born: Naples versus Lely in the Coconut Bowl.

The Golden Eagles own the series 34-15.

This year they head into Trojan territory for the 50th anniversary of the cross county showdown.

Lely has not won a game in the rivalry since 2009.

Trojans’ senior quarterback colin raymond told me this has to be the year his team wins.

“Oh man that would mean the world to me,” Raymond said. “Just to have this last win and be able to say I mean this was the year we beat naples. This is the year.

Ben Hammer is in his first season as head coach at Lely, but he knows how critical the Naples game is to his guys.

“It is important to them,” Hammer said. “It’s important to their families. It’s important when they go to church or the supermarket or out in the community and that’s not lost on us, but at the same time we approach it like we would any other game.”

4-2 Lely is coming off a bye week giving them some extra time to prepare for the Golden Eagles, but 6-1 Naples is fresh off a 63-0 shellacking of Palmetto Ridge.

“It’s a new week of preparation,” Naples senior defensive end Luke Walker said. “We are happy with it, but of course we had a lot of things to work on after that game. A lot of things to improve on.”

To celebrate the 50-year milestone the schools will honor players who participated in the very first Coconut Bowl.

“It means a lot to me, not only for me, for the alumni too,” Lely senior corner and wide receiver Joshua Philogene said. “They came to the school so we’ve got to show out and put on for the city.”

The Trojans and the Golden Eagles will put on a show in the 50th edition of the Coconut Bowl on Friday at 7 p.m.