Take a look at any pre-season website, magazine or anything else that promotes football in the state of Florida, and you will find BCAA teams and players getting plenty of publicity.

With summer/fall practice set to begin next Monday, Aug. 11, there are a number of positives to check out. As for teams, St. Thomas Aquinas, the defending 5A state champions, appear on just about every list that comes out.

The Raiders, who will be heading up to Ohio to take on Cincinnati Elder in the Herbstreit Classic, are the No. 2 rated team by Florida Football Magazine. Coach George Smith's team is also listed nationally after a strong showing in the state finals against Kissimmee Osceola.

While St. Thomas has received plenty of attention in the pre-season, Deerfield Beach is also a program that has been mentioned as the team that could make it all the way to the 6A state finals this season. The Bucks are loaded with talent, and coach Art Taylor's team has to be very hungry after losing in the final minute to eventual state and national champion Miami Northwestern.

Phil Walker & Coach Mark Guandolo

The other area team getting plenty of pre-season publicity is coach Mark Guandolo and Cypress Bay. The Lightning won 10 games last year, and with a trip looking to play at nationally-rated Katy in the Houston area, this could be the year that sees this team also grab the national spotlight.

Make no mistake about the talent in 6A this season. If Deerfield Beach or Cypress Bay is to get that one spot to represent the south in Orlando, there is a gauntlet that starts with Boyd Anderson, Plantation, Miramar and Everglades in Broward, and continues into Miami with North Miami Beach, Norland, Carol City, Miami Springs, Miami Central, Miami Northwestern, Columbus, Killian, Coral Gables, Homestead and South Dade.

"It's like the SEC of high school football," said Miramar coach Damon Cogdell. "The teams that you have to beat just to get to the state title game is a little lopsided, compared to the road the teams in the north have to travel."

Many coaches in Broward have suggested to the FHSAA that the teams in Broward should travel north, which should make the chances of getting to the state title game fair on both ends of the classification.

One of the other programs receiving pre-season attention is Hallandale. The Chargers lost twice to eventual 4A state champion Miami Booker T. Washington last year. This season, coach Dameon Jones has filled in the holes of graduation quite impressively, and after a playoff win against Naples Barron Collier a year ago, things look promising for this team this coming season.

Some of the seniors receiving pre-season attention include quarterbacks Eugene Smith (6-3, 180, Miramar), Dennard Robinson (6-0, 180, Deerfield Beach), Victor Marc (6-1, 215, Hallandale), Chris Schrippa (6-0, 190, Cardinal Gibbons) and Ryan Becker (6-0, 180, St. Thomas Aquinas). Running backs Trabis Ward (5-9, 200, Dillard), Deshaun Sands (5-8, 175, Piper) and Jason Douglas (5-7, 175, Cypress Bay).

Receivers Duron Carter (6-3, 180) and Dwayne Difton (6-1, 185) and Ronnie Kennedy (5-9, 180) from St. Thomas are getting plenty of attention. So are tight ends Gabe Holmes (6-5, 210, St. Thomas ) and Joseph Fitzpatrick (6-4, 220, Cardinal Gibbons).

Linemen Steven Jacques (6-4, 280, Hollywood South Broward) and Leslie Tripp, 6-2, 285, Cypress Bay) are also getting plenty of attention.

Defensively, linemen Kenneth Bishop, 6-1, 305, Piper) and Cassius Cooper (6-4, 220, Dillard), and defensive ends Nesly Marcellon (6-2, 220, Stranahan) and Omar Ambersley (6-4, 250, Plantation) have gotten plenty of looks as well.


Linebackers Austin Gamble (6-2, 225), Shane Gordon (6-1, 220) and Phil Walker (6-3, 220) from Cypress Bay have watched their stock rise since the spring.

In the secondary, Brandon McGee (6-0, 180, Plantation), Michael Carter (5-10, 170, Ely), Ricardo Dixon (5-10, 165, Hallandale), Josh Robinson (5-10, 175, Plantation) and Carl Miles (5-10, 180, Cypress Bay) are all impressive. So is safety Vlad Emilien (6-1, 190, Plantation) and punter Ben Turk from St. Thomas Aquinas.

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).