PLANTATION – It had been nearly two weeks since that Sunday night that would change lives forever.

As Hollywood Hills High head football coach Scott Barnwell, senior defensive lineman Clarence Murphy, and juniors Alvin Arnold, Jared Maldanado and Anthony Yerou walked through the doors at Bokamper's Sports Bar & Grill last Thursday night, cameras clicked off pictures and many on hand pointed and clapped.

As the four players and Coach Barnwell came to take part in the weekly Miami Dolphins High School Gridiron Show on WQAM (560 AM) with Bokamper and myself, it was apparent that this was not your average feel good story. Parents and friends came out for the hour long show to congratulate these men for stepping up and trying to save lives out in the darkness of Highway 27 near Clewiston, where an SUV had overturned trapping three people.

As the players and Coach Barnwell stepped up to the microphone on this night, it was the first time they had the time to reflect back on the evening as thousands listened live on radio.

Barnwell talked about his young players while still pointing out the other four people who also stopped to help save Juanita Carrillo Bryan, her husband and their two-year-old granddaughter.

While Bryan passed away two days after the accident from bacteria that was ingested when water filled her lungs, everyone on hand did everything possible to save lives.

"I still cannot put into words what these young men did," Barnwell told Bokamper and myself on the radio show. "Everything happened so fast, and we had to act quickly."

As Barnwell went over the events of that evening, he still couldn't believe that he and his players were faced with a life and death situation after participating in a two-day, 7-on-7 tournament at the University of South Florida in Tampa.

As he spoke about all four players, you could see a genuine tear come to his eyes. He understands that mostly everything written these days about youngsters seems to have a negative tone to it, so a positive, life-altering moment like this, was so important.

"When we saw the SUV overturned and someone waving frantically, the only thing on our mind is how we could help." Barnwell said. "In the moments while we were trying to find a place to turn our van around, we came up with a plan. For some reason, I knew there was a baby in that water."

Next up on the program was Murphy. The lone senior of the group, the talented defensive lineman had so many emotions going through his head on this day. He had worked hard to impress coaches from USF, and by the end of the day, the 6-2, 235-pounder had added South Florida to an offer list that also includes Maryland, FIU and Wisconsin.

Murphy recalled his coach making a plan to follow, so when they pulled up to the canal, they all sprung into action. As Bokamper tried to paint the scene in the dark and rain of the crash site, Murphy filled in the blanks.

"It was all about survival," Murphy said. "We wanted to get people out of the water and do what we could to save all the lives."

When he heard Bryan's wife scream that his wife was still under water, Murphy started to rip away the door and then everyone else on the scene began to do their part.

"We had been riding along talking about an episode of House, taking in the sunset when  everything changed," Murphy recalled. "It was certainly a life changing event."

Next to the microphone was Maldanado, a 6-3, 300-pounder who received much of the accolades for assisting in CPR. With his mother, Leslie, and sister on hand for the evening, he spoke about being overwhelmed by what he thought was a dead body being taken out of the water.

As the body of Juanita Bryan was taken from the SUV, not one of the adults had a clue what to do. This 16-year-old who had received CPR training as a freshman in high school knew that he was in the spotlight.

"When nobody volunteered to perform CPR, I said to myself, hey, I know how to do it," Maldanado said. "After 30 compressions, there was nothing. I tried about 30 more and told her husband to start breathing air into her mouth. She then started to come around."

None of the players, Maldanado included, was comfortable with being called a hero. Not for something that all felt that anyone would have done if faced with the same situation.

Like his teammates, Maldanado spoke about how they all worked together and how Coach Barnwell set out plans to follow.

As the fans at Bokamper's were now getting into the show, applauding everything said about the athletes, it was time for Arnold and Yerou to take their place in front of the microphone.

While Arnold tried to downplay the events leading up to the chance encounter, the talented receiver admitted that if he hadn't dropped a pass in a quarterfinal game, none of this would have ever taken place. Bringing up a dropped ball that would have sent Hills onto the final four of the 63-team tournament instead turned out to be something that put these young men in Clewiston at 8:30.

"It was like the only ball I dropped all tournament," Arnold made sure he told those on hand and listening on the radio. "If there was one ball I was going to drop, I look back and say that it was the one not to catch, even though I was upset with myself at the time."

Arnold was the one in the water along with Murphy, attempting to open the door, trying to free Juanita Bryan. Like his teammates, he owed the rescue effort all to planning and being part of a team.

The bonding that went on for the two days in Tampa, along with a team line camp that six went to earlier in the month at Stetson University in Deland, helped this football team become closer.

"The bond that our entire team feels is special," said Yerou. "Not just because of this event happening, but we have had the chance to be together as a team and bond this summer."

Yerou also looks at the special bond that Coach Barnwell, Murphy, Arnold and Maldanado will always have.

"It's something that will link us for the rest of our lives," Yerou said. "This is a moment in life that will never fade away. It will be here with us every single day."

As the evening was winding down, the players received a special invitation from the Miami Dolphins to be on hand for the season opener. Representative Barry Beutel came to give them tickets, sidelines passes and a parking pass for the first game of the year.

"It's an honor to have all of you as our guests for the first game," Beutel said. "This means so much to our organization to have you on hand for what you all did to step up and make a difference."

When the players jumped into the canal, they ruined their new sneakers, and Wesley Frater, organizer of the Miami-Dade/Broward All-Star Football Game and President of the Tournament of Champions, was there with new shoes for all the players.

"This is the least we could do for these young men who saved lives and made a difference," Frater said. "I am so very impressed by their actions and the way they never hesitated to do what needed to be done."

On a night that many came out to welcome and greet these young men for a job well done, Bokamper also opened his tremendous restaurant to the athletes and their coach for truly stepping up.

"How can you not be in awe of these young men for what they did," Bokamper said. "This is truly one of the best stories to come along in quite some time, and I am honored that we could be a part of it – at the restaurant – and on our Dolphins Tonight radio program.

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).