While Glades Central was beating Miami Booker T. Washington, 41-40, for the team title at nearly 9 p.m., some 13 hours after it started, there were some local teams getting it done as well in the Under Armour Miami Dolphins 7-on-7 event last Saturday.

Nearly 50 teams from South Florida and into Southwest Florida headed to Plantation’s Central Park for a tournament that was won by Glades Central a year ago as the Raiders went to Minnesota and won the NFL national title.

This year, with the win, Glades Central returns to the national tournament. This year it happens to be in Tampa on July 8.

While Glades Central and Booker T. Washington battled it out for the team title, there were some BCAA teams that turned the heads of thousands on hand for the daylong tournament that was held up for nearly two hours because of bad weather.

In the field of 16, Boyd Anderson, Ely and Miramar stood tall with Boyd Anderson and Miramar making it into the field of eight, only to face each other in a thrilling game that the Cobras pulled out. The Patriots had won the Heath Evans event in West Palm Beach the week before.

In all, more than 750 high school football players in South Florida took part in the weekend’s activities which began on Friday with the NFL High School Player Development Program Presented by the National Guard. The program, which is partially funded by the NFL Youth Football Fund, was free for students and provided participants with a curriculum that focused on inspiring excellence in the classroom, community, and on the playing field.

The event on Friday featured guest speakers from the Miami Dolphins, including CEO Mike Dee, General Manager Jeff Ireland, Team Security Investigator Stuart Weinstein, offensive lineman Nate Garner and a host of other speakers. Students also took part in a Centers for Disease Control session about player safety, including concussion treatment and management.

Dillard, Deerfield Beach, Flanagan, Fort Lauderdale, Hallandale, Hollywood Hills, Northeast, Nova, Pompano Beach, Stranahan and Western also took place as coaches, players and fans had the opportunity to get together and compete and have some fun in a very well organized event.

“This is just the start of getting this team where we need it to be,” said Hallandale head coach Damian Jones. “There is a need to participate in the off season events to make us better when the year begins.”

Schools such as Deerfield Beach, Nova, Pompano Beach and Stranahan are new to the major 7-on-7 events, but all did well and made the most of the opportunity to compete as a team against quality competition.

“This weekend was exciting because we were able to pass along a lot of valuable knowledge,” said Twan Russell, Director of Youth Programs. “The kids had a great time. We played over 240 games and to have a program to this magnitude that impact students in such a positive way is unbelievable.”

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.