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NAPLES — Those who showed up to Friday’s Lely at Gulf Coast regular-season finale expecting to see fireworks had to wait three quarters. But when the show started, the explosions were quick and impressive.

The homefield Sharks led a somewhat slow first three quarters before the teams started trading blows. They combined for 25 points in the fourth quarter, but it was Gulf Coast that struck last.

The Sharks led a 14-point lead slip away before their offense awoke and won 31-25.

Gulf Coast (7-3) led the first 42 minutes of the game before Lely strung together 18 unanswered points to take a 25-21 lead with four minutes left. After being dormant for most the game, the Sharks’ offense finally responded after falling behind.

Quarterback Jeff Schmidt needed just two plays for his team to regain the lead. After Lely’s ensuing kickoff, Schmidt completed a 28-yard pass to Bo Logan, then hit Korenzo Smith on a 48-yard strike the next play. The touchdown gave the Sharks the lead for good.

Those two plays accounted for nearly one-fourth of Gulf Coast’s offensive yards on the night.

“Our offense, when it gets cooking, it’s pretty good,” Sharks coach Frank Tudryn said.

The Trojans ran through Gulf Coast’s defense most the second half, but the Sharks made the final big play. Led by quarterback Dennis Marcelin, Lely (7-3) drove to Gulf Coast’s 46-yard line with 20 second left. The Sharks’ Stephen Ritter picked off Marcelin’s final pass with eight seconds to go, however, securing the victory.

It was the third interception of the night for Marcelin, who also was sacked three times. Two of his interceptions came in the first quarter as the Trojans were in Gulf Coast territory.

“The real unsung heroes were our front four (defensive linemen),” Tudryn said. “They got great pressure (on Marcelin). They didn’t always get him, but they kept him in the pocket and compressed it and took away the options (Lely) had.”

Both teams played Friday without their leading rushers. Gulf Coast’s Sebastian Zuluaga was out with a foot injury. Tudryn said he didn’t know if he’ll be healthy for next week’s regional quarterfinal game against Miami-Washington.

Lely was without Darion Hall, the area’s leading rusher with 1,661 yards. Trojans coach Steve Pricer said Hall was being disciplined and he hoped to have him back for next week’s playoff game at Dunbar.

“We hope he gets his act together,” Pricer said.

Lely junior Frankie Pugh played well in Hall’s absence, almost single-handedly bringing the Trojans back into the game. Pugh had 110 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. He finished with 169 on the ground.

Despite Lely’s near-victory, Pricer was not happy with his team’s performance.

“We all made mistakes,” Pricer said. “We made coaching mistakes. We made bad calls offensively. We had total breakdowns personnel-wise on defense. It was just a bad game all the way around.

“It’s all on me. It’s my fault. I can’t allow that to happen.”

Both teams enter the postseason 7-3. The Sharks rebounded from last week’s loss to Cypress Lake to tie the school record for wins they set last season. Schmidt finished with 261 passing yards to extend his own Gulf Coast single-season record to 2,295.

Lely enters its first regional since 2005 on a two-game losing streak after falling to Naples last week.