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This small district packs a big punch. Sure, most of the wallop comes from the national powerhouse that sits among high school football royalty, but don’t discount the other two programs in this district – talent abounds.
Pompano Beach Blanche Ely Tigers
2016 Record: 3-6
Coach: Calvin Davis (1st year)
2017 Outlook: It is hard to keep a school like Blanche Ely down for long. There is too much talent in the neighborhoods that are within the school’s natural boundary for the Tigers to face lean athletic times.
After a disappointing 2016 season, Ely enters 2017 with much optimism because the program received a bit of a face lift.
Calvin Davis enters as the new head coach – replacing Carl Wilburn after one season. Davis’ track record of building winning programs is well-documented, as he turned Coconut Creek Monarch Class 8A contender during his tenure as well as serving as the offensive coordinator for Deerfield Beach’s 8A state semifinal run in 2016.
Also, Davis brought in a handful of new coaches, too – including former Auburn University All-American Junior Rosegreen, who will serve as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator.
Rosegreen will have plenty to work with on the defensive side of the ball. Senior cornerback Jamari Brown and senior safety James Harris can lock down one side of the field while 6-foot-3, 275-pound defensive tackle Desmond Pete and 6-foot-3, 200-pound defensive end Jamal Bartee lead the charge up front to pressure quarterbacks.
Linebackers T.J. Louis and Carlton Cleophat, who is a Central Michigan commit, will give the Tigers defense some added bite in the middle, too.
Offensively, Ely will rely on quarterback Yanez Rogers Jr. Having recently committed to Cincinnati, will be looking to break out – lifting his own and his team’s status with a productive season.
Fort Lauderdale Flying L’s
2016 Record: 4-5 (2016 District runner-up)
Coach: Richard Dunbar
2017 Outlook: Fort Lauderdale comes into the 2017 season as a program looking to take the next step forward.
Head coach Richard Dunbar has done a very good job of lifting the program out of its previous state of languishing, but now the Flying L’s – the best mascot ever – need to build towards becoming a perennial playoff contender.
Just like in years past, Fort Lauderdale has a small core of players that will be charged with powering the entire team.
Senior Alonzo Clark is rated as a three-star wide receiver and has offers from Kentucky and Syracuse, but Coach Dunbar would be wise to use him all over the field this season.
Whenever Clark isn’t split out wide, senior receivers Deshawn Charmant and Andrew Golfin can shoulder the pass-catching load while 6-foot, 210-pound running back Lavelton Williams balances out the offense.
Also, look for 6-foot-5, 290-pound junior lineman Kaleb Boateng to contribute on both the O-Line and D-Line – but truly emerge as one of Broward County’s top left tackles.
St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders
2016 Record: 12-2 (2016 District champion; Class 7A state champion)
Coach: Roger Harriott
2017 Outlook: St. Thomas Aquinas remains the “STAndard”.
The team that many others hate, but all want to be like.
The three-time defending Class 7A state champions ride into 2017 as the overwhelming favorite to capture a Broward County-record fourth straight state title as well as being in the conversation for a mythical national championship.
As usual, Aquinas is ridiculously loaded with talented players – especially on defense. But the engine that keeps the locomotive rolling is head coach Roger Harriott.
Harriott, a St. Thomas alum, leads with a combination of charismatic swagger and Zen-like gravitas – and it works perfectly. Harriott holds his players accountable from within while always making sure that everyone on the outside sees a close-knit brotherhood.
Aquinas’ coaching staff got a few new additions.
2017 NFL Hall of Fame inductee and former Miami Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor joined as a defensive line coach and former Dolphins cornerback Sam Madison will coach defensive backs.
Taylor and Madison are the latest former pros that came to join the Raiders coaching staff. NFL Hall of Fame receiver Cris Carter joined the staff while his son Duron Carter played for Aquinas as did former pro defensive back Al Harris Sr. Hall of Fame receiver Michael Irvin, an Aquinas alum who also sent his son Michael II to play for the Raiders before he went the University of Miami, never officially joined the team’s coaching staff but routinely visits the team at practice or on game days.
Taylor and Madison both have sons who will be freshmen at St. Thomas this season.
On the field, St. Thomas will overwhelm teams with their talent.
Some other areas around the country may not be able to amass this much talent on an all-star team, let alone a single program.
Each level of the Raiders defense will have waves of players to trot onto the field.
The defensive front will be anchored by seniors Nik Bonitto (6-foot-3, 215 pounds), Caden Blanchard (6-foot-4, 250 pounds) and Miami Monsignor Pace transfer D’Andre Ragin (6-foot-3, 210 pounds). Bonitto, a former basketball standout, has become a four-star prospect with offers from all the major colleges around the country.
While most will be awed by four-star junior outside linebacker Anthony Solomon – and rightfully so – it is the return of senior middle linebacker and Duke University commit Darrell “Rocky” Shelton, who was one of the team’s overall leaders this past season, that makes the linebacker corps so good.
St. Thomas’ secondary is full of blue-chippers. Al Blades Jr. is the headliner. The son of former University of Miami safety Al Blades and nephew of former Canes and pros Bennie and Brian Blades, Al Jr. is a top-flight athlete (6-feet, 180 pounds) and uses all his physical tools well as a boundary cornerback.
Asante Samuel, the son of the former NFL cornerback of the same name, is the group’s vocal leader. His skills as a cover corner are only exceeded by his swag that he uses to get under the skin of opposing defenders.
Three-star cornerback Trenell Troutman returns for his senior year with the Raiders and should see a bump in his production after spending much of the 2016 season acclimating to Aquinas’ defense after his transfer from Miami Northwestern High.
What makes St. Thomas so scary is that players like defensive lineman Tyler Steen (6-foot-5, 265 pounds) and Christopher Beedles (6-foot-4, 240 pounds); linebackers Jalen Mackie (6-foot-1, 235 pounds) and Kaleb McCarty (6-foot-2, 225 pounds); and defensive backs Jaden Davis and Adetutu Daranijo are physically talented enough to start at just about any other program in South Florida – but they’ll provide depth and be in rotation keeping the entire defense fresh.
The Raiders offense has a lot of core pieces to replace from last year’s squad, but that only means there’s more room for new stars to emerge.
Filling the void on the outside will be senior receiver Elijah Moore. Moore made major waves during the offseason, showing off elite level agility, quickness and awareness at various camps and combines and should be in line for a big season as the No. 1 target.
Tavares Kelly, a three-star University of Virginia commit, will work in the slot while 6-foot-3, 185-pound three-star receiver Teriq Phillips will be looking to elevate his stock with a big season.
Junior running back Daniel Carter may be the best thing going for Aquinas’ offense. The 5-foot-11, 205-pound ball carrier got plenty of people’s attention this past season as a No. 3 back behind a pair of talented seniors – pairing downhill physicality with elusive speed.
Paving the way will be a massive offensive line that already was in good hands with returners Jason Swann (a 6-foot-3, 270-pound three-star prospect), Vincent Murphy (a 6-foot-4, three-star center), Marcus Dumervil and Dejmi Dumervil-Jean – but was shored up further with the arrival of Miami Belen Jesuit transfer Antonio Serrano (6-foot-3, 300 pounds).
The only question mark Aquinas has is who will be the team’s starting quarterback.
Senior quarterback Beau Fillichio, who saw limited action in 2016 while the starter missed time with injury and during blowouts, seemed to be the incumbent until junior Curt Casteel emerged during the offseason.
While Casteel appears to be the winner of the job, the main objective for whoever is the Raiders’ quarterback would be to limit mistakes, make sound decisions and rely on the players around them to make plays.
Bald Prediction
St. Thomas Aquinas wins the district title for the umpteenth time. The Raiders get the automatic playoff bid and will march towards a fourth straight Class 7A state title and maybe even a mythical national crown if everything goes the way they want it to.
Blanche Ely jumps back into the No. 2 spot this year. Right now, I will say that the Tigers will earn a playoff spot with the new point system. On paper, their schedule seems to be a playoff-worthy slate, but there is little room for error.
Fort Lauderdale falls back into the third spot, but it’s because Ely got a favorable draw during “transfer season” not because the Flying L’s regressed.
Predicted Champion: St. Thomas Aquinas
Predicted Playoff Team(s): Blanche Ely
Bold Prediction
Some people may say that this prediction isn’t all that bold, but I’m going to say that St. Thomas Aquinas runs the table this season.
Kicking off the regular season against California St. John Bosco will be tough, but the Raiders will benefit from being at home. The two-week run where Aquinas travels to Arizona to face powerhouse Centennial High (Sept. 29) before coming home to square off against Deerfield Beach (Oct. 6) is built to be a stumbling block, but I think the Raiders will still come out unscathed.
District MVP
I don’t hesitate to give this distinction to a coach and put some pressure on them to perform.
However, this might be the first time that I call out a coordinator.
The district MVP will be new St. Thomas Aquinas OC Ryan Collins. The former University of Miami quarterback takes over for Ryan Schneider, meaning he has big shoes to fill.
Collins was the offensive coordinator for Pembroke Pines Flanagan’s 2015 state championship team, but he now has the keys to a state-of-the-art sports car with all kinds of bells and whistles.
His ability to dial up the right plays against top flight competition will be huge in the Raiders’ success this season.
Top Players
Adetutu Daranijo – St. Thomas Aquinas
Al Blades Jr. – St. Thomas Aquinas
Alex McCourt – St. Thomas Aquinas
Alonzo Clark – Fort Lauderdale
Anthony Solomon – St. Thomas Aquinas
Antonio Serrano – St. Thomas Aquinas
Asante Samuel – St. Thomas Aquinas
Caden Blanchard – St. Thomas Aquinas
Carlton Cleophat – Blanche Ely
Christopher Beedles – St. Thomas Aquinas
Curt Casteel – St. Thomas Aquinas
D’Andre Ragin – St. Thomas Aquinas
Daniel Carter – St. Thomas Aquinas
Dashaun Davis – Blanche Ely
Dejmi Dumervil-Jean – St. Thomas Aquinas
Deon Crowder – Blanche Ely
Derek Wingo – St. Thomas Aquinas
Deshawn Charmant – Fort Lauderdale
Desmond Pete – Blanche Ely
Elijah Moore – St. Thomas Aquinas
Grayson Crozier – St. Thomas Aquinas
Jaden Davis – St. Thomas Aquinas
Jamal Bartee – Blanche Ely
Jamari Brown – Blanche Ely
James Harris Jr. – Blanche Ely
Jason Swann – St. Thomas Aquinas
Jordan Battle – St. Thomas Aquinas
Kaleb Boateng – Fort Lauderdale
Kaleb McCarty – St. Thomas Aquinas
Lavelton Williams – Fort Lauderdale
Marcus Dumervil – St. Thomas Aquinas
Nik Bonitto – St. Thomas Aquinas
Rocky Shelton – St. Thomas Aquinas
Tavares Kelly Jr. – St. Thomas Aquinas
Teriq Phillips – St. Thomas Aquinas
Trenell Troutman – St. Thomas Aquinas
Tyler Steen – St. Thomas Aquinas
Vincent Murphy – St. Thomas Aquinas
Wesley Eliodor – Fort Lauderdale
Woody Jean – Blanche Ely
Yanez Rogers Jr. – Blanche Ely
