Little but Brave
West Oaks receiver earns MVP at Cure Classic
What happened at Showalter Field on Thursday night came as no surprise to West Oaks senior receiver Maccai Brave.
In fact, after scoring four touchdowns and earning MVP honors at the Cure Classic high school all-star game, the 5-foot-9 ½, 170-pound Brave acted as if it was just another day at the office.
He expected to go out and perform well and that’s exactly what he did. Brave caught touchdown passes of 45, 25, 7 and 8 yards from three quarterbacks to lead Team Soldier to a 38-15 victory.
“I’m not going to say I feel relaxed right now, but at the same time, I feel good. We got the dub and I proved myself tonight,” Brave said. “I go to West Oaks, and they say, ‘Private schools; that’s not real football,’ but I came out here and played against 8A guys, so I feel good.
“The key for me was to get the ball, do what I do and just play my game.”
And Brave, who would have attended Olympia High had he not opted to attend West Oaks, certainly showed his talent.
“I only have low D-II offers. I’m looking for D-I, though,” Brave said. “I feel I have the talent and I feel like nobody can burn me out here, and that’s how it is.”
“It felt good ... four TDs and our team got the win,” Brave said. “I feel like I can play at the next level, D1. [College scouts] are going to see it on video. They’re going to see what I can do.
“I’m a great pass catcher. I can run routes; I’m fast. I feel like what I got and what I bring, that’s just what I do.”
At his size, Brave has to be confident and he knows the college recruiters often hold his size against him, but Brave is unfazed by that notion.
“It’s not about size. It’s about what’s in your heart,” Brave said. “In my
heart, I can play at the next level. It’s just time for people to wake up.”
Brave hooked up on his first and longest touchdown pass of the night with Olympia quarterback CJ Brooks, who coincidentally would have been teammates with Brave if he had gone to high school in his zone. He chose, however, to attend West Oaks.
“I’m happy I went to West Oaks. I got a great coaching staff with Coach [Victor] Floyd and Coach Stacey
[Whittington], and I got Coach Collin [Hughes] and I also got Coach Ray [Patti], so it’s a good group of guys,” Brave said. “They’ve taught me a lot about the game, so I’m happy I went to West Oaks, but tonight I came to prove myself.”
Chad Mascoe of Kissimmee Osceola threw two touchdown passes to Brave and Chase Copper of Oviedo threw the other one. Brooks had another TD pass to Jones product
A’Ceon Cobb.
Both touchdowns for Team Warrior came from First Academy running back Terrence Mosley III, who had scoring runs of 11 yards and 1 yard. Mosley was named MVP for Team Warrior. Jones quarterback Julian Calvez connected with his Jones teammate Anthony Rucker for a two-point conversion to end the scoring.
Lake Mary kicker Colton Boomer, who will be a preferred walk-on at UCF, kicked a 40-yard field.
It was the second annual Cure Classic game, organized by Dan Laforest and Lo Wood. The event is in conjunction with the annual Cure Bowl, also played in Orlando. The proceeds will go to help fight breast cancer. Admission to Thursday’s game was by donation of a toy, and the toys gathered will go to underprivileged youth for Christmas.