High School Sports Blog

Area football teams ready to crown nation’s best at IMG7v7

BRADENTON, Fla. – The National 7v7 Football Association (NFA7v7) will kick off the third annual IMG7v7 National Championship on the campus of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., June 21. The three-day, season-ending event features many of the nation’s elite club 7v7 teams who qualified through a series of regional championships held around the country. This year’s event includes the addition of the Future STARS division, featuring top middle school players (7th and 8th grade) from the state of Florida, as well as the return of the High School division, showcasing top high school 7v7 squads from Florida, Georgia and Mississippi.

“The NFA7v7 experienced tremendous success with its IMG7v7 event series this year,” remarked Blake Ulrich, Director of Events for IMG Performance, the managing arm of the NFA 7v7. “The quality of play and talent on the field was beyond our expectations at each local and regional event. We are excited that a dozen states, and Canada, will be represented in our national championship, indicating the tremendous growth of 7v7 across the nation.”

The full list of Club, High School and Future STARS teams includes:

Club Division: Team Tampa (Tampa, Fla.); South Florida Fire (Miami, Fla.); South Florida Express Elite (Miami, Fla.); Central Florida Top Recruits (Orlando, Fla.); Cam Newton All-Stars (Atlanta, Ga.); AWP Sports (Ft. Wayne, Ind.); Bootleggers (New Orleans, La.); Core 6 Athletes Red (Chicago, Ill.); Windy City BOOM (Chicago, Ill.); North Carolina Elite (Charlotte, N.C.); South Florida Blur (Miami, Fla.); Midwest Elite (Detroit, Mich.); College Ready Athletics (Washington D.C./Northern Va.); Go Hard Elite (Louisville, Ky.); Team Delaware (Wilmington, Del.); D-Block (Knoxville, Tenn.); Tennessee Xpress Blue (Nashville, Tenn.); IDFFL (Toronto, Canada); A&B Athletics (Denver, Colo.); Tennessee Xpress Gold (Nashville, Tenn.); Gulf Coast BKS (Gulfport, Miss.); Top Gun (Chicago, Ill.); Winning Strategy (Miami, Fla.); and La Villa (Edinburg, Texas).

High School Division: Vero Beach HS (Vero Beach, Fla.); Stephenson HS (Lithonia, Ga.); North Cobb HS (Kennesaw, Ga.); Madison-Ridgeland Academy (Madison, Miss.); Lakewood HS (St. Petersburg, Fla.); Mount Dora HS (Mount Dora, Fla.); Lincoln HS (Tallahassee, Fla.); and Strawberry Crescent HS (Dover, Fla.).

Future STARS Division: Change Factor (Tampa, Fla.); Team 904 (Jacksonville, Fla.); Tallahassee All-Stars (Tallahassee, Fla.); Palm Beach All-Stars (Palm Beach County, Fla.); North Broward All-Stars (Broward County, Fla.); South Broward All-Stars (Broward County, Fla.); North Dade All-Stars (Dade County, Fla.); South Dade All-Stars (Dade County, Fla.); and Kendall All-Stars (Kendall, Fla.).

The IMG7v7 National Championship is proud to continue its relationship with the Cam Newton Foundation, and will again host the Cam Newton Skills Challenge on Friday, June 21 from 4-6 p.m. In its second year, Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton returns to lead the competitive and fun kick-off event. The Cam Newton Skills Challenge is open to all IMG7v7 National Championship participants, and will feature a variety of physical challenges and an obstacle course.

The IMG7v7 National Championship will be broadcast this year on Fox Sports College, and will host national recruiting media from across the country, providing a unique opportunity for exposure. Players and coaches will also engage in educational college recruiting seminars, and have access to all the latest in sports performance products from IMG Performance sponsors like Under Armour, Gatorade, ALINE, Trigger Point, SPRI and beRecruited.com.

The event is open to the public, and admission is free. In addition to high-tempo 7v7 football, all participants and the general public are invited on Friday, June 21 to attend an informational seminar on NFA7v7 at 2:00 p.m. and an open seminar on NCAA rules and recruiting guidelines at 3:00 p.m.

Pool play starts Saturday, June 22, from 9a.m. – 4p.m., with the first round of the double-elimination tournament to begin at 5 p.m. The tournament continues on Sunday, June 23, from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., with an awards ceremony to follow.

Carol City Edges Jackson to win Dolphins Academy 7-on-7

MIAMI GARDENS - Carol City High narrowly edged Miami Jackson High, 28-21, in a thrilling matchup that featured two of Dade County’s premier teams to win the 6th annual Miami Dolphins Academy 7-on-7 High School Football Tournament Presented by Under Armour and the National Guard at Sun Life Stadium. The Chiefs came up with a crucial 4th down stop with 47 seconds remaining to win the title and will now represent South Florida and the Miami Dolphins in the 2013 HSPD National Championship in Cleveland, Ohio on July 11-14.

“You talk about a fourth down play, just seconds on the clock and a chance to go to Cleveland. You probably had three or four guys giving a great effort trying to knock the ball down,” first-year Carol City head coach Aubrey Hill said. “Great effort is going to give you a chance to win games, and that was an example on that play.”

Carol City came out on top from a field of over 50 schools from the tri-county area that participated in the three-day event. Carol City advanced to the championship game after defeating Boyd Anderson in the quarterfinals and Miramar in the semifinals.

“It feels good representing South Florida and putting our school on the map,” Carol City quarterback Trayon Gray said. “We came out on top, an it feels real good.”

The three-day event began with the HSPD Symposium at Nova Southeastern University on Friday, June 14. The event focused on character development and life skills training. A variety of guest speakers, including Miami Dolphins General Manager Jeff Ireland, Dolphins Youth Programs Director Twan Russell, Dolphins long snapper John Denney, Dolphins team physician Dr. Gautam Yagnik and Under Armour’s George Hegamin, gave the students practical life lessons and advice aimed to help them as they enter adulthood.

The tournament got underway on Saturday with Round Robin games and the first rounds of the playoffs. The final eight teams competed on Sunday, ultimately ending with Carol City’s victory.

“Overall, it was a successful weekend. I felt the kids learned a lot from our guest speakers about life skills and lessons that will benefit their future,” Russell said. “The weekend ended on a great note with an excellent game. I am happy for Carol City, and I look forward to them representing us and South Florida in the National Championship in Cleveland.”

The Dolphins and South Florida have had great success in past National Championships. Most recently, Booker T. Washington won the 2012 National Tournament to become the fourth team to represent the Dolphins and win the tournament.

Photo Courtesy/Miami Dolphins

SFHSSports.com Florida Summer Sports Festival

Over 1300 scholastic student-athletes will travel to Miami to compete in The 6th Annual SouthFloridaHighSchoolSports.com-Florida Summer Sports Festival June 26-30th in Miami. Summer is the single most important time period for a scholastic athlete. Athletes compete in various sports and none more exciting than summer basketball and 7 on 7 football. At all sites will be recruiting services and college recruiters present to view talent and subsequently offer college scholarships.

(1) The basketball tournament will feature 25 high schools and 25 elite youth teams from Palm Beach to Key West. Competition will be daily 5:00-8:00 PM June 26-28 and 10:00 AM-8:00 PM June 29 at Central, Edison and BTW, Championship will be held June 30th 10:00-5:00 PM at Miami Central. Former NBA forward Mark Strickland will host a special elite camp for the 25 best HS players in South Florida June 30th at 6:00 PM at Miami Central. South Florida is loaded with national recruits for big men. Tournament will include 6'9" Soph Dewan Huell of Miami Gardens and quickly becoming a national household name Zach Brown a 7'0" Freshman of Miami.

(2) The Gatorade Athletes Academic & Human Development Symposium is mandated for all competing athletes on Friday June 28, 2013 at Miami Central High Gymnasium at 3:00 PM. This unique, comprehensive and interactive symposium is a breakdown of the NBA/NFL Rookie Orientation. Symposium is designed for the athlete and his parents. Former NBA BGreat Wali Jones will facilitate the symposium,

(3) The Nike 7 ON 7 Football Challenge will be held June 29, 2013 at Amelia Earhart Park. This years challenge will feature two nationally ranked teams in Miami Rockets and Overtowners. Games start at 7:00 AM. This years challenge will include:

* Walt Frazier Lineman Challenge
* Kornblue Kicking & Punting Challenge
* Mastrole Passing Challenge
* Fastest man contest

^ South Florida youth organizations are urged to bring their children to enjoy the sports festival. To receive FREE group tickets call Ms. Latoya Williams 305-281-9461

Football:
1. Booker T. Washington
2. Miami Central
3. Northwestern
4. Stoneman Douglas
5. Columbus
6. Coral Gables
7. Miramar
8. South Plantation
9. Suncoast
10. Jupiter Christian
11. Mater Academy
12. Hallandale
13. Miami Jackson
14. Cypress Bay
15. Miami Springs
16. Southridge
17. Boyd Anderson
18. McArthur
19. Coconut Creek
20. Northeast
21. Oxbridge Academy
22. Coral Reef
23. Stranahan
24. Westchester

Basketball:
1. Columbus
2. Northwestern
3. Doral Academy
4. Plantation
5. Cypress Bay
6. Coral Reef
7. Goleman
8. Miami Springs
9. Mater Lakes Academy
10. Westminister Christian
11. Dillard
12. Gulliver
13. South Broward
14. Palm Beach Lakes
15. Dwyer
16. Edison
17. Central
18. Jackson
19. BTW
20. Norland
21.Miami Lakes
22. Mater Day
23. Park Vista
24. Miami Beach

For Festival information and sponsorship opportunities email:tocsports@aol.com

Booker T. Washington will be a national power

For the first five months of this year, while most players and teams were putting themselves in the spotlight at combines, camps and 7-on-7 events, Miami Booker T. Washington was preparing for something much bigger.

What the defending 4A state champion Tornadoes and veteran coach Tim "Ice" Harris, Sr., have been doing is getting this impressive program ready for a national championship run. That step began officially last Friday night in a 62-14 thrashing of St. Petersburg Lakewood in the spring game.

While that lopsided win - which has become the norm for BTW of late - was heard across the state and the nation, this program will not be satisfied with being second best. Too much talent, too many hours of work, way too much speed and a coaching staff that tolerates very little.

Nobody will ever minimize how good Miami Central and others are, having the right to claim that top spot, but to sit back and try to comprehend how anyone who knows anything about this game wouldn't think that BTW is not one of the best, may not have a grasp on what talent is flowing in and out of Overtown.

The Tornadoes are as balanced as you will get - on both sides of the ball. I would personally put them against any team in the country - and with a chance to play the best in Georgia, Nevada and south Florida, they will have that opportunity to back it up.

To put into perspective what this program has accomplished, all you have to do is look what's happened since the 19-3 lead they gave up to Central last year at Sun Life Stadium and lost to the Rockets. Since that game this team hasn't been pushed at all. They rolled over every obstacle on the way to state title, including traditional powerhouses Jacksonville Bolles and Cocoa.

This is the perfect storm for this program, which has taken a group of inner city athletes who have been well coached and disciplined in a system that may be the best in the country, and have developed them into prospects who are achieving on the football field and in the classroom.

At BTW, there is a solid foundation. Not something that was constructed for a few years. What you have here are coaches who are looked up to as sound football men and pillars of the community. People such as Harris, his son, "Ice Jr.", former head coach Earl Tillman, Sheldon Hanks, Sr., Torian Bean, Ben Hanks, Nitron Stork, Michael Fields, Pierre Senatus, Benedick Hyppolite, Latharrio Wright, Brian Sloan, Paul Lasseur and Murray Harris, who has been around the game for over three decades.

Having traveled with them during the 7-on-7 season, this is a program that never leaves a doubt. There is no fooling around, and if you slip up, there are several prospects waiting for their chance.

There are very few public high schools in the country who funnel so much talent from the youth football fields – where national championships have been won and a solid foundation is put into place. Pensacola Pine Forest had it in the 1980s, so did Union County. Lakeland and Cocoa also had their youth programs on the same page.

There are very few weaknesses in the lineup, and that has already shown during a spring where three new top-flight prospects are making their way into a big time rotation.

Offensively, you will have to score 35-plus if you want to stay in the game with them. They have five receivers who run in the 4.4 range and two running backs who will run away from you - in a second. They are big up front, talented at quarterback with senior Treon Harris and have the ability to create nightmares for any defensive coordinator who has the task of slowing them down.

"You watch them on offense and see receivers like Lamar Parker, Terrawn McPhee, Deltron Hopkins and Vaquan Smalls being very tough to cover," said Dana Wiley of Prep Films. "Then, you see a fast back like Krondis Larry and a big, young back like (sophomore) Mark Walton add to what they already send at you."

Defensively, losing a Matthew Thomas and a Michael Johnson are never easy, but this is talent train that has reloaded. With standout defensive linemen Chad Thomas, Demetrius Jackson and Jordan Ingraham, linebackers Tevin Evans and Terry Jefferson, and quality defensive back Nigel Patten, the balance on both sides of the ball has the attention of everyone.

"We set ourselves up with a very challenging schedule," Ice Harris said. "But we built to the point where we have taken this from a state-rated team to a national championship program with plenty of hard work.”

Class of 2015 standout linebacker James King could be the biggest addition to a team that is already busting at the talent seams.

We are always looking to help promote our area recruits for the current Class of 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017. All you have to do is send a You Tube or Hudl link and information about the athlete to: Larry Blustein at Floridakids1@aol.com. Check out our list of statewide prospects as well on the High School Blog.

Follow Larry on Twitter at twitter.com/larryblustein.

Southridge WR Gilbert Johnson has committed to Georgia

NEW YORK -- According to a text message from Miami Southridge coach Lamont Green, standout 2014 receiver Gilbert Johnson (6-4, 190) committed to Georgia on Saturday.

Johnson led Southridge with 35 catches for 572 yards and five TDs last season.