Southwest Florida breeds football stars and the level of talent in this area is off the charts.
Week after week, Lely running back Nino Joseph is showing out and putting up record-breaking performances, himself a season that everyone dreams of having.
"I'm really proud of myself," said Joseph. "I'm really proud of my team and my O-line. I love my O-line. I love the O-line coach. I love my OC. I love my whole team, and without them, none of this would be happening right now."
Only a sophomore, Nino has more rushing yards in five games than many high school football players have in a whole year.
"My freshman year, I broke 1,000 [yards]. And ever since then, I just stepped up even more."
Joseph stepped into the number one spot in the state of Florida in rushing yards, with 1,300 yards racked up already and a lot more games to go. Joseph is averaging 260 yards per game.
"Nino's an awesome kid," said Lely head football coach Ben Hammer. "Nino does a great job of carrying the ball. It's not just carrying the ball and it's not just statistics that make him special. He's an outstanding young man. In 15 years of coaching, he's the only Sophomore Captain that I've ever had."
Joseph also leads Southwest Florida with 21 total touchdowns. In week 6, where Joseph rushed for more than 420 yards, he broke the Lely School record for most touchdowns in a game, scoring seven times as the Trojans defeated Barron Collier 90-56.
"I never knew I was gonna break the record, but I'm excited I did," said Joseph. "And a big appreciation to my O-linemen for letting me break that record."
"We're a hurry up, no huddle offense," said Hammer. "We take a lot of chances on special teams. We go for it on fourth down. We preach chasing success rather than fearing failure with our kids. And so the 90 points is just a byproduct of all those things."
So what's the secret to all of his success? He says it's to "stay hungry. Never, never stop being hungry. We want it. That just tells it all for sure."
Joseph and the 3-2 Trojans face 5-1 Immokalee in the week seven NBC2 Game of the Week.