After two full days of football and 10 games at the University of South Florida Sling and Shoot 7-on-7 tournament in Tampa, members of the Hollywood Hills football team headed back home, feeling good with a top eight finish in the prestigious 62-team event.

Having spent plenty of time on the road this summer, I was in Tampa last weekend for an event that attracts some of the top high school football programs in the state. Being one of the local programs at the tournament, I had the pleasure of checking out local teams Western and McArthur as well enjoying the time with Hollywood Hills and the players.
 
As the vans, filled with players and coaches,  headed back to South Florida after two, grueling days, head coach Scott Barnwell and players Alvin Arnold, Clarence Murphy, Anthony Yerou and Jared Maldanado approached Clewiston on Highway 27. Just outside of the city, Barnwell spotted what he thought was an overturned car in the canal along the road. While it was getting dark, he wasn't sure, but acting on instinct, turned the van around and headed back to the area.

Over the course of the next hour, Hollywood Hills players and coach went from athletes to heroes.

The players and their coach helped to rescue a Flagler Beach couple and their granddaughter Sunday night from an SUV, overturned in a canal along U.S. 27.

"It was something out of a movie," Barnwell recalled. "I jumped in and found that there were people inside. It was all a blur after that."

Barnwell and his players were talking about the tournament, admiring the sunset when they came to the SUV after a rain had left puddles along the highway and left the road slick. Geoff and Sandy Lewis of Winter Haven had arrived along with Michael Canon and Waddy Thompson of LaBelle had already arrived on the scene and were starting to get the process rolling when the Hollywood Hills van pulled up.

On Sunday, all three had survived the crash, but on Tuesday, the players and coach received word that 53-year-old grandmother, Juanita Carrillo Bryan, 53, passed away at Lee Memorial Hospital's in Fort Myers earlier this week.

Barnwell acknowledged her passing but knew he and his players did everything possible.

On Sunday as two others had the baby out of the water, the 6-3, 230-pound senior Murphy, with help from his teammates, ripped the door from its hinges, pulling the baby and the grandfather, James Ashton Bryan, 56, from the murky waters.

Juanita Bryan was trapped, under water and not breathing as the passing motorists cut the seat belt away and the group pulled her free.

"My heart sunk," Barnwell said. "She was gone. I couldn't hear her breathing, but I still felt there was hope if we got her out and up on the banks fast enough."

Juanita Bryan was likely saved at the time by the quick actions of Hollywood Hills junior Jared Maldonado, who revived the unresponsive woman with CPR, a skill he learned just two years ago.

"At first, I was shocked and overwhelmed by seeing what I thought was a dead body," said the 6-3, 300-pound Maldanado. "I had taken CPR in the ninth grade, but never thought I would use it – not like this."

Maldonado pushed in sets of 30 chest compressions. During the second set, he saw the woman move, and by the third set, she was making noise and spitting up water. Medics later airlifted her to Lee Memorial Hospital.

“At a time like this, it’s like not even being in your own body,” Maldanado said. “One moment, we’re riding back and talking about the two days at USF, and the next thing you know is that you are trying to save lives.”

Barnwell, a former University of Miami kicker, and a one time policeman in Miami-Dade County, has been in situations similar, but as he gained this thoughts, he reflected back on how four young men never gave a second thought to helping and making a difference.

"I am so proud of these young men for the way they never hesitated to save a life," Barnwell said. "On the way home, we were kidding Alvin (Arnold) that if he didn't drop that pass in our last game, we would have still been playing and things would have been a lot different for everyone involved."

Already forming a close bond with all his players, Barnwell would have never expected anything different from his players.

“To me, Clarence, Alvin, Anthony and Jared are heroes and examples of what this generation holds,” Barnwell added.

A few weeks back, I had the pleasure of being at a lineman camp with Maldanado and Yerou, and while you acknowledge both and watch them perfect their craft on the football field, it never dawns on you that these young men would one day impact lives so directly. Not at 17 years of age.

On Sunday, while I had to collect game film from a few schools on the way home, I left Tampa over an hour before Hollywood Hills did. When I received the call from Barnwell on Sunday evening, I got chills up and down my body.

I cannot tell you how proud I am of these young men and Coach Barnwell for springing into action the way they did. That to me, speaks volumes about the future of this country!

"At least her family had the chance to say goodbye to her," said a distraught Barnwell. "But in the end, we all did what we could to try and save them all. I am deeply saddened that she didn't make it. Our prayers and condolences go out to the family."

You can reach Larry Blustein via e-mail at FloridaKids1@hotmail.com. He can also be heard every Thursday night (9-10) on the Miami Dolphins High School Gridiron Report on WQAM (560 AM).