Zion Lutheran School recently hosted a football combine for high school football players from both Broward and Palm Beach counties. Athletes line up for the 40-yard dash. Submitted photo.

By Gary Curreri

Zion Lutheran School recently hosted a football combine for high school football players from both Broward and Palm Beach counties.

A total of 75 athletes come out from area schools including Deerfield Beach High, Zion Lutheran, Highlands Christian Academy, Coral Springs Christian School, Pope John Paul II, Ely, Piper and Coral Springs Charter.

Event featured testing in the several categories, as well as 7-on-7 passing competition. The players were evaluated by height, weight, reach, vertical leap, shuttle, L-Cone, bench press reps (185-lbs.), 40-yd. dash (laser timing provided by Impact Sports in Boca Raton).

Some of the top performers included Vincent McIntyre (Zion, 2013), who ran a 7.04 second L-Cone, and a 4.36 time in the shuttle; Rylee Hage (Highlands, 2013), who completed 24 reps of 185-lbs. on Bench Press and exhibited a 32-in. vertical jump; Bobby Lentz (Pope John Paul II, 2013) had a 6.84 time in the L-Cone drill, a 4.30 shuttle and a 32-in. vertical jump, while Ryan Davis (Highlands, 2013) had a 4.65 effort in the 40-yd. dash.

“For our first attempt at hosting a combine, I’d say it was a huge success,” said new Zion Lutheran coach Jordan Adair, who previously coached at Highland’s Christian. “The kids and coaches in attendance seemed to be pleased with the opportunity to come out and compete against each other. We know that future combines will only get bigger and better. We plan to host the ZL Combine as an annual event, from here on out.”

There was a charge of $15 per athlete to cover the costs of having a camera person in attendance (to film 7-on-7, and take photos) in addition to purchasing necessary equipment for the combine.

For any interested players or parents on future events, visit www.SouthFlorida Football Academy.com.