Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
U-School ’12 squad paved way for 3 state finalists
St. Thomas Aquinas, American Heritage and ChaminadeMadonna will all vie for state titles this weekend, and the roots of their championship runs to Orlando spread far and wide.
One strong stem leads back to University School in 2012.
Florida’s Class 3A champs from four years ago have seen both players and coaches branch out and find similar success.
Two eighth-graders on that U-School squad — Henry Colombi and Marco Wilson — are now standout seniors helping lead Chaminade and Heritage, respectively.
The coach for those Suns (now the University School Sharks), Roger Harriott, is in his second year at St. Thomas Aquinas. Harriott’s staff at USchool included the fathers of Wilson and Colombi — defensive coordinator Chad Wilson, now DC for American Heritage, and defensive backs coach Henry Colombi Sr., now holding the same position for Chaminade.
“Marco Wilson and Henry Colombi were promising, zealous eighth-graders,” said Harriott, who on Friday night will look to make the Raiders Broward’s first team to win three state titles in a row. “Their passion and ambition to be great was evident as they matured over the years.”
Colombi at 14 years old stood 5-foot-7 and played backup quarterback to USchool starter Mike White. He stayed on the sidelines, his primary responsibility to send out offensive signals to White, and played sparingly in blowouts.
Now, the 6-foot-3 three-star Utah State commit is in the driver’s seat for Chaminade.
Wilson, now a four-star cornerback and Florida commit, has more than outgrown the label “Quincy’s little brother” over time, but back in 2012, at 5-9, 135 pounds and playing receiver, he hadn’t made a name for himself yet. The drive for the younger brother of Quincy Wilson, now a standout DB for the Gators, was there nonetheless.
“He was super hungry,” Chad Wilson said. “Only thing he was missing was size.”
Now 6-0, 180 pounds and one of South Florida’s elite athletes, Marco Wilson has certainly grown into his frame but also grown off his experience on a title-winning team at a young age.
“I learned what it actually takes to be a winner — like the work you have to put in and the mindset you need to have,” he said.
Colombi extracted lessons from that season for his pursuit of a title with the Lions.
“It was great to see what they went through that year and just to experience what it takes,” he said. “It’s remarkable how much I’ve grown — not only size, but as a quarterback, mind, physical, everything.”
Colombi will play a much greater role when Chaminade takes on three-time defending 3A champ Jacksonville Trinity Christian on Saturday morning. Wilson, who was part of the Patriots’ 2014 championship as a sophomore, gets another go on Friday afternoon versus Ponte Vedra in the 5A game. Harriott and Aquinas go for the 7A title against Tampa Plant.
The 2012 U-School Suns, who earned national smallschools recognition by MaxPreps after that season, were a special bunch assembled by Harriott, whom Colombi Sr. calls “the [Bill] Belichick of high school football.” Their reach lasts to this day as the coach and the only two players from that roster still playing high school ball look to add to their championship resume.