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The Lely Trojans are expecting to tighten up their offense, hosting Palmetto Ridge at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

The Trojans had six turnovers, five on pass interceptions, to quell a number of drives in its 27-9 loss to South Fort Myers last Friday.

In non-district games both teams are 1-1. Lely clobbered Barron Collier, while Palmetto Ridge downed Golden Gate and were crushed by Naples.

Lely Coach Steve Pricer said quarterback Dennis Marcelin has worked very hard this week in learning how to read defenses.

“Dennis is his own toughest critic and we have worked on building his confidence,” Pricer said. “Quarterback is the toughest position to play in high school and with our offense we are asking Dennis to do a lot. We need to help him by being smarter on our pass routes.”

Easing some of the pressure for Marcelin will be Darian Hall, whom no one has stopped in two games. He has rushed for 450 yards in two games on 37 carries. He is averaging 12 yards a carry and is a break-away threat at any moment in a game.

“We have to contain number 9 (Hall), shutting down the run and controlling Lely’s passing game to win,” said Tim Speakman, Palmetto Ridge coach. “Unfortunately for us our leading tacklers are our safeties.”

Ray Culver, free safety and Dillon Lynch, strong safety, lead the Bears in tackles, which means the defensive line and linebackers need to work harder to make plays. “We need to be more physical on defense and more physical on the offensive line,” Speakman said.

Speakman said he thought his offensive line could match up with Naples last week, but only two offensive linemen stepped up.

Tom Stevenson and Dustin Peiffer did a great job, but we need all the linemen to step up,” Speakman said.

On the other hand, Pricer is impressed with the Bears offensive line.

“They have a good running game and an outstanding quarterback,” he said. “Our defense will have its hands full.”

Pricer expects to spell Hall more now that Frankie Pugh is healthy. He sustained a shoulder injury and has been nagged by a hamstring pull.

“We stressed holding our blocks longer on offense because we know they will be aggressive,” Pricer said. “We have to find a way to use their aggressiveness to our favor.”

Speakman has been focusing on getting off to a good start.

“We have to come out strong, we can not wait until the second quarter like we did last week,” he said.

Speakman says the first possession, will be key.

“Whether it be on offense or defense we have to be successful on the first series, to send a message,” he said.