Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Hyde: Football success stories
Five Broward high school teams reach the state semifinals.
Let’s start at University School in Davie and their sudden need for a grass field.
You could start at other places to tell the heady story of five Broward high school football programs playing Friday night in state semifinal games.
At Cardinal Gibbons, the hope is the longest win streak in school history keeps going. At Deerfield Beach, the team was addressed by former Broward and NFL star cornerback Asante Samuel.
At St. Thomas Aquinas and Chaminade-Madonna, veterans of this time of year, the idea was to treat this week as just another week. Nothing special. Nothing crazy.
“Normal week,’’ Chaminade coach Daemon Jones said. “That’s what I’ve learned in how to treat this time. Don’t make one game bigger than the other.”
But it’s a big week, he’s told.
“Yes it is,’’ he said. “That’s why you treat it normal.” So much of the South Florida sports scene is down. The Miami Dolphins lost on the final play in Indianapolis on Sunday, followed by the Heat in the final seconds on Tuesday, followed by the Panthers in the final couple of minutes on Wednesday.
You want some good news? Look at Broward high schools. Look how they’re threatening to take over the
state. Look at how they’re challenging the record three Broward teams to ever advance to state championships in the various classes.
Look, too, how flexible decisions must be made. This gets back to University School coach Daniel Luque’s need for a different field. His school field is turf. The field at Cocoa High is grass, where their 4A state semifinal game will be played. So he arranged practices on the Nova Southeastern soccer field to acclimate players to grass.
“It’s not a problem,’’ Luque said. “Everybody’s juiced up.”
This time of year never gets old. Never. Even if you didn’t play sports, you remember the feel of a big game in a high school hallway or school-wide rally.
Five teams still playing isn’t a measure of the local talent. It tells how times have changed. Some history: Between 1961 and 1985, only two Broward teams reached state championships. Broward has never had more than the three teams it had advancing to the state in 2005.
“What you tell guys is to take advantage of this chance,’’ said St. Thomas athletic director and former coach
George Smith. “A lot of these guys who come back later in life, even the pro guys, say the greatest times they had playing was in high school. It becomes a job after this. But right now, these guys, you hope they understand and relish this moment.”
The college scouts are on the practice fields this week, adding to the mix of pressure and excitement. There are so many good stories playing out on these fields, too.
Deerfield Beach is chasing its first state title, while St. Thomas is after its state record-tying 11th championship. Cardinal Gibbons won its regional semifinal with record-setting quarterback, Nic Scalzo, finishing the game on a torn knee before sophomore Brody Palhegyi made his first start in the win last week.
Deerfield Beach linebacker Brandon Moses hasn’t practiced the last two weeks due to two ankle sprains, walking around school on crutches. But he had a sack, recovered a fumble and ran an interception back 35 yards to set up a touchdown as Deerfield Beach advanced last weekend.
St. Thomas lost to then-top-ranked Miami Central earlier this year, 43-27. Sometimes losses help. Those 43 points by Central represent more than the Raiders have given up in their other 12 games combined. Then again, they have defensive assistants such as former Dolphins Jason Taylor, Sam Madison and Twan Russell.
They’re all a step away from being one step away from a title. The win means something different to each of them. For veterans St. Thomas and Chaminade? Confirmation of their standing. For Deerfield Beach, which has been in only one state final, and lost that, the story is different.
“Our motto this year was, ‘Make history,’ ’’ Deerfield Beach coach Jevon Glenn said. “We’ve got close a couple of times, but no cigar. This year we want to smoke.”