By Scott Morganroth

A year ago, quarterback Rusty Smith made history as he was the first FAU player to ever be selected in the NFL Draft as the Tennessee Titans nabbed him in the sixth round, 176th overall.

In 2010, Smith saw some playing time by replacing the injured Vince Young.

Now, another Owl will have a chance to see his NFL dreams come true once the league’s labor dispute, lockout, comes to an end.

Tight-end Rob Housler will take his 6-5, 248 lb. frame to the Arizona Cardinals. In 2010, Housler caught 39 passes for 629 yards and four touchdowns. He was selected in the third round, 69th overall. It remains to be seen who will be throwing Housler the football since there is a dilemma at quarterback.

But as these two players write their way into Owls history books, the buzz around campus is due to construction of the new FAU Football Stadium. The 30,000 seat structure, located on the north central side of campus, is due to be completed by Oct. 15 when the team can finally forget about Lockhart Stadium and play in a real facility.

On May 4, the athletic department received a real financial boost as a $2 million gift came from longtime FAU supporters Richard and Barbara Schmidt, through the Schmidt Family Foundation. Their contribution will be recognized with permanent signage on the stadium scoreboard.

“We are extremely grateful to the Schmidt Family Foundation for this gift,” said FAU President Mary Jane Saunders. “The support FAU has received from the Schmidts over the years has helped it become the internationally recognized university it is today. With these funds for the stadium, the Schmidt family continues to leave its mark on FAU, and we will be reminded of the extraordinary generosity every time we look at the scoreboard that bears their family name.”

The $70 million project is slated to feature 6,000 premium seats, including 24 suites, 26 loge boxes, 1,000 premier club seats and 4,000 priority club seats, along with the latest state-of-the-art amenities. It is estimated to bring in $1.8 million to the local economy on each game day.

One person very appreciative of the gift is Head Football Coach Howard Schnellenberger.

“On behalf of the players, coaches and fans, I thank the Schmidt Family Foundation for their commitment to the future of Owl Football and for their generous gift to our new home,” Schnellenberger said. “Oct. 15 will forever be a day of great significance in FAU history.”

Scott Morganroth can be reached at www.scottsports33.com.

By Gary Curreri

Patrick Peterson

Patrick Peterson realized a boyhood dream last week when he was the fifth overall pick in the NFL draft by the Arizona Cardinals.

The 6-1, 219-lb. Peter-son, who was considered by some to be the best player in the draft, will keep a family tradition going. His cousins Bryant and Walter McFadden, and Santana and Sinorice Moss all play in the NFL.

Peterson, who was known as Patrick Johnson during his days at Blanche Ely, clocked a 4.31-second, 40-yard dash in the NFL combine and also had a 38” vertical jump, a 10-6 broad jump and ran 4.07 seconds in the 20-yard shuttle, 11.01 in the 60-yard shuttle and 6.58 in the three-cone drills.

“It is a great opportunity for me and my family to start a new journey,” Peterson said. “It was something I waited for my entire life. You work so hard to get to this moment. Playing in the NFL is a dream come true.”

He was named the SEC’s Defensive Player of the Year, the SEC’s Special Teams Player of the Year, and captured both the Jim Thorpe Award, as the nation’s top defensive back, and the Chuck Bednarik Award, as the nation’s best defensive player.

Tornadoes fall in regional semifinal

Pompano Beach High’s Shelby Petik throws the ball to first base during the Class 3A regional semifinal game against American Heritage-Plantation. Photo by Gary Curreri

Pompano Beach girls’ softball coach John Thigpen made the most of his first year at the school. The Tornadoes reached the semifinals of the Class 3A regional playoffs before falling 13-0 to powerhouse, American Heritage-Plantation.

“My goal for this team was to win the first regional game,” said Thigpen, whose team made its first trip to the postseason. “We had a lot of great players on this team and a lot of freshmen on the team that came in and were good. I thought we had a chance to get here.”

Pompano Beach (15-7) came up short in the semifinals as Aimee Chapdelaine tossed a no-hitter and American Heritage batted around in the first two innings, sending 14 batters to the plate in the first and 11 in the second,  grabbing a 13-0 lead.

“We have four seniors who are graduating,” Thigpen said. “This team has a lot to offer next year.”

He will miss Shelby Petik, who is one of the four seniors  graduating.

“She is a really big leader of the team,” Thigpen said. “She’ll play anywhere. She just wants to play. She really enjoys the game. There is a lot of drive.”

Thigpen, who coached a couple of travel teams in Coral Springs and his daughter through league ball, said he learned a lot during the season. He said the team performed well.

“They have a lot of integrity,” Thigpen said. “They don’t give up. They know if they are down, their bats are so strong that they can come back. There were a couple of games that we were really down and they fought back. There is a lot of will there.”

Pompano Beach High’s Danielle Conboy fires a pitch. Photo by Gary Curreri

The Phillies Kyle Bombardier tags out the Marlins’ Louis Esposito in a Deerfield Beach Little League Majors Division game. Photos by Gary Curreri

By Gary Curreri

Joey Zingarella pitched four solid innings and delivered a clutch 2-out, 2-run double to lift the Phillies past the Marlins, 8-6, in a Deerfield Beach Little League Majors Division game Friday night.

Zingarella went the final four innings and struck out the final Marlins batter as the Phillies improved to 9-5 with its sixth consecutive victory. Zingarella finished the game with six strikeouts.

Kyle Bombardier, Kyle McSweeney and Andrew Putney all scored two runs in the win, while Marcel Prummel had a key defensive play in the outfield.

“We are one of the teams to beat,” said Phillies coach Chuck Brown. “I gave my younger kids a chance to play and it showed they have to show up to play every inning.”

The Phillies jumped out to a 5-2 lead before the Marlins rallied to tie the game at 5-5 in the fourth. The Phillies broke the deadlock in the fifth as Kyle DeFrancisco doubled, Bombardier had an RBI singled and Alec Brown singled. Bombardier stole home and Brown scored on an error for an 8-5 lead. The Marlins’ Evan Dolan scored in the top of the six, but Zingarella shut the door and struck out the last batter to end the game.

Brown has been coaching eight years and said he enjoys working with the players. Most of the players in the Majors Division are between 10 and 12 and have baseball experience. He said they have one practice and two games a week. If he can get some hitting in at local batting cages, they also try and do that.”

“When we start off, I really want to find out their skill level and try to develop them and make them better by the end of the season,” Brown said. “If everybody improves, then it is a mission accomplished.”

Shane Reilly, another veteran coach of the Deerfield Beach Little League, said he was happy how his Marlins’ team kept battling back in the contest. The team slipped to 5-8 on the season with the loss.

“They kept battling,” Reilly said. “They always do. We have only lost one other one-run game. Usually, if we are in it, we win it.”

Louis Esposito, who went 2 for 2 with two walks and a run scored, led the Marlins. Zach Audet was hit by a pitch, walked and had a double, while Wade Patton had a walk, single and a sacrifice fly.

Reilly said his team has five games left before the playoffs, and they have some tinkering to do.

“We have to get better with our defense and our base running,” Reilly said. “That’s where we have struggled this year. We had five outs on the base paths today and that’s where we lost it. The main goal is to get better every game, both as an individual and as a team. Our goal is to get better for the playoffs.”

Shane Lovello bears down on a pitch for the Phillies in a Deerfield Beach Little League Majors Division game.

Cameron Ogbourne returns a shot during the District 11-4A tennis tournament final against Douglas’ Scott Korefsky. Photo by Gary Curreri

By Gary Curreri

If Cameron Ogbourne were to rank his first year playing high school tennis on a scale from 1 to 10, it would be an 8.5.

“I think I won more matches in the season than I lost,” said the Blanche Ely High School freshman. “My game is not where it needs to be. I need to improve my backhand.”

A favorable draw on the bracket, plus a victory over an opponent to avenge a regular-season loss, put Ogbourne in a rare notable spot for his high school tennis team.

For the first time in 15 seasons, a Tigers tennis player earned one of the final spots in the post-season district tournament. Ogbourne, who sports a 3.8 GPA in the BEHS magnet program, made a splash during the 11-team, District 11-4A tournament hosted by Taravella at Cypress Park Tennis Center in Coral Springs.

Representing the Tigers in the No. 3 singles bracket, Ogbourne used an unspectacular but patient baseline-to-baseline style of play to eliminate Coral Glades’ Jesse Sehr, 6-4, 6-2, in the first round.

The victory earned him a match in the semifinals against Coral Springs’ Jason Petusevsky, who a month earlier edged Ogbourne, 9-7, in a regular-season match at Coral Springs.

The Tiger freshman took advantage of his error-prone opponent, who committed 28 unforced errors (including 11 double faults) in the first set as Ogbourne prevailed, 6-3. In the second set, Ogbourne was even more flawless. After committing 18 errors in the first set, he cut it down to just six to prevail with a final score of 6-3, 6-2.

“As always, Cameron does a good job of keeping his cool no matter what the situation of the match is,” said Tigers fifth-year coach Concepçion Ledezma. “He’s been steadily improving as the season went along, and that’s a tribute to him, as well as the other guys, considering we hadn’t been able to practice at our own courts (due to construction work) all season long.

“I definitely see him challenging our No. 1 (junior Hashan Bhim) and No. 2 (junior David Bryan) next year,” Ledezma added. “As the season went along, the gap between them was narrowing.”

His district finals match against Douglas’ Scott Korefsky was cut short in the second set when Ogbourne twisted his ankle running down a deep, cross-court backhand winner. Korefsky went on to earn the points for repeating district champ Douglas with the victory (6-3, 4-2, ret.).

“It was pretty surprising for me to get as far as I did considering there wasn’t consistent practice time,” Ogbourne said. “I’ve been playing tennis since I was 5. I like tennis because it is a non-contact sport, unlike football or basketball. You can stay away from injuries and it is good exercise and a good way to have fun.”

Ogbourne doesn’t believe he will pursue a pro career in tennis; however, he would like to parlay his talents into a college scholarship.

“I believe that I will start next year at No. 3 and, hopefully I will move up to at least No. 2,” Ogbourne said. “I will have to work really hard and improve my backhand.”

Ogbourne and the rest of the Tigers found practice a challenge this year, as they scrambled for training locations because of the athletic facilities construction.

“A group of two to three (players) would go to a nearby court and others would go to another,” Ledezma noted. “I think Cameron’s biggest improvement was stamina, improving his advantage in the long rallies.”

It is a tough call, however. Ogbourne said it was more impressive to do well in the classroom than make history on the courts.

“Grades are important,” Ogbourne said with a laugh. “It was a nice accomplishment though. That’s a tough question.”

By Scott Morganroth

A week ago, I drove by the new FAU Football Stadium and, after seeing the progress, it looks like everything is moving along in time for the upcoming season. Meanwhile, a half a mile on campus, the football team is conducting Spring Practice drills, as it prepares for the 2011 season. The annual Spring Football Game is scheduled for Saturday, April 23.

The Men’s Basketball Team concluded its season on March 16 in Coral Gables, as the Miami Hurricanes ousted the Owls from the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) by routing them 85-62. The Owls set a school record with 21 wins and finished the year with a 21-11 mark. FAU also set a school record for longest winning streak at the Division One level with eight.

This past weekend, the baseball team concluded a three-game series against the South Alabama Jaguars by winning two games at Stanky Field in Mobile, AL. The Owls won two of the three contests as their record stands at 19-13 overall and 7-5 in the Sun Belt Conference.

The Owls have faced a couple of key state schools.

On Feb. 22, Florida hammered FAU 13-2 at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter.

Twenty-four hours later at FAU Stadium, the Owls rebounded with a 7-4 win over the Miami Hurricanes. The two teams squared off again on March 15, but Miami avenged its loss with a 7-4 win at Coral Gables. Their final meeting will take place in Coral Gables on May 17.

Alex Hudak leads the team with a .439 average and also is tops on the squad with 50 hits. Nick Deljudice has 25 RBIs along with a .336 average. Andy Mee has four homers and a .323 average and 23 RBIs, while Raymond Church has amassed 17 walks.

Paul Davis is the team’s top pitcher with a 6-1 record, a 2.26 ERA in 51.2 innings pitched. RJ Alvarez leads the team with 39 strikeouts and has a 4-2 record. Josh Gonzaqa has compiled a 4-2 record with a 3.11 ERA with two saves.

The Owls will face Louisiana Monroe this weekend at FAU Stadium. After this series, FAU will travel to Orlando and face the University of Central Florida Knights on Tuesday, April 19.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at www.scottsports33.com.

By Gary Curreri

Charlie Pal lines a double to centerfield in a game Friday night against Coral Springs Charter at Cypress Park in Coral Springs. Photos by Gary Curreri

George Petik has made a name for himself in Broward County High School baseball and actually thought about retiring until he was coaxed into returning one more year.

The 58-year-old Petik, who has been a staple in dugouts around the county at Cardinal Gibbons, Nova and now at Pompano Beach High School, entered the week one victory shy of a milestone 400th win.

“It means you have been around a long time,” Petik said with a laugh. “It means you have had a lot of good players and you have had a lot of good assistant coaches because without the players and the assistant coaches, you are nothing.”

Petik said he planned to retire this season, but returned for another season.

“My daughter Shelby said at the beginning of the year, ‘Dad, this will give you a chance to win 400,’ and I thought, ‘I got to be able to win nine games,’” said Petik, of Ft. Lauderdale. “I would like to think I made some positive impact on some kids’ lives, I hope so. It is a meaningful thing.”

“You don’t coach to win X number of games. I coach because I enjoy seeing a player go from here to there,” said Petik, motioning his hands from a few inches apart to a foot apart. “If we teach him as much as he is willing or capable of absorbing and then he goes out and does it, that’s fun!”

Pompano Beach was slated to play Ft. Lauderdale on Wednesday night and North Broward Prep on Friday. The Tornadoes defeated Ft. Lauderdale, 5-4, earlier in the season.

This is Petik’s fifth season as head coach at Pompano. He was head coach at Cardinal Gibbons for 17 years where he became the first Broward County team to win a state championship in 40 years in 1987. Petik is 399-194-2 and went 26-4-2 the year Gibbons won the state title.

He was an assistant under Pat McQuaid for four years at Nova before leaving for Pompano. Petik works at Margate Middle School and has been in the Broward County School system for more than 30 years.

Petik’s squad dropped a 7-2 decision to host Coral Springs Charter on April 1. The Tornadoes are 2-4 in the District 14-3A race having split with Coral Springs Charter and Pine Crest and also lost to American Heritage-Plantation and North Broward Prep.

Pompano Beach has had some lopsided victories this year over Coconut Creek, 14-0; Coral Glades, 18-4; Northeast, 20-0; Stranahan, 20-1, and Pembroke Pines Charter, 15-5. The team also trailed Pine Crest by seven runs after five innings on March 25 before rallying for a 20-14 win.

Pompano Beach had been led by seniors – Kenny Sanchez (LF), Jarod Sundook (3B), Charlie Pal (2B) and juniors – Kenny Harrell (SS) and Ryan Richman, who has tossed two no-hitters this year.

The Tornadoes (8-4) haven’t reached the postseason since 1971 under coach Herm Hatfield when it lost in the first round to Miami Beach, 4-0. It is something that Petik would like to do, but knows it is a very tough district.

“We need to be on our ‘A’ game and they need to be a little flat for us to be able to compete,” Petik said. “That can happen. We just need to do everything right.”

Tyler Keller fires a pitch in a game Friday night against Coral Springs Charter at Cypress Park in Coral Springs.

The Observer announces the return of DBLL TV. Now playing – 2010 Season. Stay tuned for upcoming games from the 2011 season.

April filming schedule

April 11 – Threshers vs. Rockhounds (Minor)

April 11 – Marlins vs. Yankees (Major)

April 15 – Mudhens vs. Blue Claws (Farm)

April 23 – Volcanoes vs. Hooks (Minor)

April 28 – Red Sox vs. Phillies (Major)

By Gary Curreri

Joe Shadowens, left, talks with catcher and captain, Jason Hepple. Shadowens succeeded Bruce Charlebois at Highlands Christian Academy this year as its baseball coach and is hoping to lead the Knights deep into the postseason.

Joe Shadowens is used to filling “big shoes.”

Shadowens succeeded Bruce Charlebois at Highlands Christian Academy this year as its baseball coach and is hoping to lead the Knights deep into the postseason.

Shadowens spent the past two years at Westminster Academy where he succeeded another high profile coach — Rich Hofman. Before moving to Florida, Shadowens did the same at a high school in Georgia. He is also an associate baseball scout in the summer and fall with the Atlanta Braves – a position he’s held since 2002.

“Baseball is baseball no matter where you go,” Shadowens said. “Traditions change and the athletes change, but Highlands has a great tradition just like Westminster does.”

“The biggest attraction at Highlands was the winning tradition and a lot of good baseball,” said the 51-year-old Shadowens. “We wanted to continue the winning tradition. We didn’t want to come here and say we were going to start the tradition because they were already winning.”

Currently, the Knights are 8-5 after a 4-3 come-from-behind victory over visiting Sagemont last Friday as Weston Clemente tossed a complete game.

“While we don’t have the blazing record right now, we have played some tough teams and, hopefully, we are learning from that and that will help us out at the end,” Shadowens said. “We played in the Florida Christian tournament and played in Ocala against some good teams.”

He said the team spent the fall and early part of the season working on its rotation and it seems to be paying off. The team has struggled a little defensively and is still finding the right pieces in its outfield rotation.

“We have been a little erratic,” Shadowens said. “We hit the ball the way I thought we would.”

One of the team’s leaders and senior captain, Jason Hepple, said he hopes the team will come together for a postseason run. The team reached the final four in 2008 and in 2010, but came up short of winning a state championship.

Hepple, 18, a catcher, has been at the school for 10 years and played for three different coaches.

“It’s been very different,” Hepple said. “It is not the same with any of the coaches. I would like to get a little more chemistry with the team going in to districts. We have had our downfalls, but we are coming back.”

He said he likes being counted on.

“I like the leadership role,” said Hepple, whose younger brother, Eric, is also a key member of the team. “I have been waiting for it ever since I was younger. I was always looking up to the older kids and now I am finally the older kid.”

“For 27 years, I was a teacher, and I am a teacher of the game,” Shadowens concluded. “When you are refining a guy to go in a different direction because you are working on the mental approach, or the technical approach … I really enjoy players who are thirsty and want to get better. I am out of the classroom now, but this is my classroom. I just love it. It is like giving your kids a Christmas gift. You get more pleasure out of seeing them happy. I get pleasure out of seeing guys successful.”

Highlands Christian Academy’s Kirvin Moesquit slides safely under the tag of Sagemont’s Elliot Leal at third base. The Knights rallied for a 4-3 victory. Photo by Gary Curreri

By Gary Curreri

72-year-old Karen Smith

Karen Smith certainly doesn’t act her age.

The 72-year-old Pompano Beach woman will be joined by more than two dozen other members from Team in Training runners from South Florida, who will run in the Marathon de Paris, set for April 10, in the French capital.

Smith is the eldest of the 30-member group, who have raised close to $50,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) and are making the trip to Paris. Her father died at 54 of Leukemia in 1961; back then, they didn’t have chemo or radiation.

“They just gave you blood transfusions and, at some point, they just couldn’t keep ahead,” Smith said. “I was moving around the country a lot and saw a flier about Team in Training and decided to get involved.”

Smith said she started running in the late 1980s as a stress reliever and is happy she did. She has mentored and coached members of the Team in Training, in addition to running 14 full marathons and 16 half-marathons.

“I started off walking and worked my way up to running and doing more distance,” said Smith, who entered several local 5Ks and 10Ks before running her first marathon in 2000 in Maui. “It was such an exhilarating feeling to … have a long-term goal and then be successful and actually finish it.

She completed the race in 5 hours and 54 minutes.

“I had visions of running and finishing dead last,” Smith said. “It was good to know I didn’t finish last.”

Smith said she sees herself continuing to run. She said the physical activity sometimes takes a backseat to the fundraising.

“Usually, the people sign up and they are more afraid of raising the money than the running,” Smith said. “Things fall into place and then the training becomes hard. There are children and others who are dying, so you want to be involved.”

“I know there are people out there who are in their 80s running, so I would hope that maybe I will keep running when I am their age,” Smith said. “I like to volunteer, and what is unique about the training is that it gives me the opportunity to volunteer and be active. I don’t want to sit around. This combines the best of both worlds. I don’t mind sweating. I love warm weather. I love to be outside. I am running for those who can’t.”

The runners are Team In Training alumni, all have returned to the program to further aid LLS in its long-term quest to end blood cancers. These participants have been training each Saturday morning and are still actively seeking donations and sponsors for their efforts.

According to Dawn Haney, senior campaign director for Team In Training in Southern Florida, Marathon de Paris was offered as an alumni-only event as, not only a thank-you for previous participant efforts, but as a special way to continue giving back to LLS.

Funds raised by Team In Training participants are used throughout the South Florida community, aiding patient outreach, health education efforts, research and advocacy, and current patient care across the region.

For more information, contact Haney at 954-744-5312 or dawn.haney@lls.org.

Gymnast Jennifer Fishman

By Gary Curreri

Jennifer Fishman spends 30 hours a week in the gym to do four total minutes of routines.

The 18-year-old Lighthouse Point girl is used to it. She has been a gymnast since she was 3 and is a Level 10 gymnast at American Twisters Gymnastics in Coconut Creek.

She hopes to bring home a state title when she competes in the 2011 Florida USAG Level 8, 9 and 10 State Championships in Lakeland at Florida Southern University next week.

Fishman prepped for the meet as she placed 12th in the vault (8.750), seventh in the bars (8.500), eighth in both the beam (8.875) and floor (8.875) en route to a seventh place finish in the all-around (34.725) at the Tim Rand Memorial Invitational, Coral Springs Gymnasium, recently.

More than 900 gymnasts from around the country competed in the meet.

“It’s been hard,” said Fish-man, a St. Thomas Aquinas
senior. “It has been physically tough and mentally tough. You get close to people and then they leave or quit the sport. Sometimes, it is hard to make new friends.

“I did have those feelings about quitting, but once you start getting better and see the potential you say, ‘this is why I am in the sport and why I enjoy doing this.’” Fishman added, “I was just doing the sport when I was younger and I wasn’t really thinking of going to the Olympics. I still enjoy it now and I am glad I stuck it out.”

Fishman said she enjoys the competition.

“It is kind of frustrating because you can knock out a million and one routines in the gym that are perfect and then you come here because you are a little nervous, you don’t do your best,” Fishman said. “It is really aggravating, but you just think, ‘can’t wait until Monday.’ It is rewarding when you do well.”