If you are a high school senior, searching for a scholarship on the football field, there has been plenty of opportunities for you to make an impact.
While the national games such as Under Armour and the Army All-American cater to the elite players, where we had some locals take part in, there are some impressive areas games that have also opened the door to a positive future.
This year, in addition to the Broward North-South event that opened the doors for several local players to showcase their many impressive skills, there were additional games to compete in as well.
Remember, this is a region of the country that will have thousands of student/athletes who are looking to attain that scholarship, which is like gold in these tough and uncertain economic times.
The Nike Dade-Broward game showcased a number of football players such as Stranahan standout Anthony Drayton, who turned out to be one of the best players in last week’s game that Miami-Dade won in overtime.
On Friday night, the very unique and competitive Public vs. Private game took place at McArthur High, and judging by the entire game, which was won 25-7 by the public team, it is certainly something that was easily one of the best post season events we have attended.
Only in its second year, the game, which is produced by Mario Smith and his Trainers R Us staff, managed to not only put fans in the seats and offer another well organized event for players to get that opportunity to play at the next level.
With dignitaries such as NFL players Errict Rhett, Lito Sheppard and Dante Culpepper along with Sam Madison and Pat Surtain mixed in with former local high school players such as Ivan McCartney (Miramar - West Virginia) and Damarcus Van Dyke (Monsignor Pace - Miami), this was an event that truly lived up to all of the hype.
Among the BCAA players who took part in the game included:
PUBLIC
Boyd Anderson: Sebastian Tuff; Cypress Bay: Richard Dorvilus; Dillard: William Dukes, Talmadge McCloud, Brandon Wright; Douglas: Peter Rondeau; Ely: Brent Smith; Everglades: Randall Bailey, Jonathan Rollins, Bennie Spencer; Flanagan: David Gonzalez; Hallandale: Kwame Davenport, Cedric Billings; Miramar: Daniel Harris, Kenneth Curtis, Khambreo Jenkins, Sean McVay, Ordell Etkins, Wensly Saint Juste, Sylval Taylor, Markus Thompson, Kevin Brown; Piper: Andrew Gooding; Plantation: Terrance Mitchell, Jerome Howard.
PRIVATE
St. Thomas Aquinas: Tevin Allen, Hunter Coddington, Austin Barron, Andrew Reyes.
DOLPHINS GAME ON FRIDAY
The Inaugural Miami Dolphins Dade vs. Broward All-Star Football Game presented by Under Armour and hosted by the Greater Miami Athletic Conference (GMAC) and the Broward County Athletic Association (BCAA) will be held at Traz Powell Stadium located at 11380 NW 27th Ave in Miami, FL 33167 on Friday, January 14th at 7:00pm.
The game will feature stand-out student athletes from Miami-Dade and Broward counties. All proceeds from the game will be distributed between both counties to help support the funding of their athletic programs. Admission to the game will be $10. Advanced ticket sales are not available. The game is endorsed by the Broward and Dade County School Boards, as well as the Miami Dolphins.
Coach Mark Guandolo of Cypress Bay High School will coach the Broward All-Star Team and Coach Daryle Heidelburg of Miami Norland Senior High School will lead the Dade All-Star Team. The coaches and athletes selected to participate in the game were selected by GMAC staff, BCAA staff, along with high school coaches and members of the media from both counties.
You can reach Larry Blustein via e-mail at Floridakids1@hotmail.com. Blustein is the co-host of the High School Gridiron Show each Wednesday night from 9-10 on WQAM (560 AM) or www.wqam.com.
You can also follow us on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/larryblustein |
