By Gary Curreri

 The annual McDougle Bowl will have to wait thanks to Hurricane Irma.

 On Tuesday morning, the Broward County Athletic Association (BCAA) had rescheduled all 16 of its weekend football games to Wednesday night, but opted to cancel those plans early Wednesday morning when the threat of Hurricane Irma to South Florida became more imminent.

 The fourth annual event between Deerfield Beach High School and Blanche Ely High School would be moved to a later date if officials can come up with an alternative date. Retired NFL players and brothers Stockar and Jerome McDougle partner with the BCAA in hosting the annual event.

 Both deeply involved in the community, Stockar (1996 Deerfield Beach grad) and Jerome (1997 Blanche Ely grad) hand out $1,000 scholarships to an MVP from each game.

 “Nothing has been rescheduled at this point,” said BCAA Director of Athletics Rocky Gillis.

 With the storm not shifting course away from Florida, BCAA commissioner Shawn Cerra said it was more important to preparing for the hurricane. In fact, all high school activities were canceled for the rest of the week.

 Broward County announced Tuesday that schools would be closed on Thursday and Friday. Palm Beach and Miami-Dade had also done the same.

 The Saturday evening contest between Deerfield Beach at Blanche Ely was one of the top Broward County matchups this week.

 Deerfield Beach, currently the top-ranked team in the Class 8A state poll, is 1-1 this season, dropped a 44-21 decision on the road against St. Joseph Regional in Montvale, NJ. The Bucks fell behind 21-0 in the first quarter and could never recover.

 Blanche Ely is 0-2 out of the gate under new coach Calvin Davis. The Tigers have been outscored 63-13 in their two games losing to Stranahan 30-13 in the season opener and 33-0 last week to Plantation and former Blanch Ely head coach Steve Davis. The Colonels are 2-0 to start the season.

 Deerfield Beach football coach Jevon Glenn said his team is primed for a breakout year. The team spent the summer touring 27 college campuses.

 “It was out biggest thus far,” Glenn said. “It is a great tool for us to get the kids out and see and get the touch feel experience and get close to their dreams. A lot of our kids were offered or being recruited by those schools, so it is also an awesome team building and team bonding aspect. We have a lot of fun and there is a lot of ribbing too, with kids taking videos while the others are sleeping.”

 “In my tenure, there is really no replacement for that,” Glenn said. “We have kids from different walks of life and different neighborhoods…there is nothing else like us being out there in the country, just us against the world. It forges that brotherhood and then we bring it back from the road and that’s why we do it every year.”

Pompano Beach falls to 0-2      

 Following a 53-0 loss to host Monarch, the Golden Tornadoes dropped a 39-6 decision to John Carroll Catholic (Ft. Pierce) on Friday night. Pompano Beach High’s game against Coral Glades, also 0-2, was canceled this week due to the Hurricane.

Knights also have to wait

 Coach Josue Paul and his Highlands Christian Academy football team will also have to wait as the Friday night game against Somerset Academy was also canceled.

By Gary Curreri

Deerfield Beach High senior quarterback Teddrick Moffett ran for two touchdowns and threw for two more to lift the North team to an easy 46-6 victory over the South team in the 19th annual BCAA All-Star Classic last Thursday night at Nova High School.

Moffett, who was named the game’s Most Valuable Player, scored on touchdown runs of 85 and 10 yards in the first half, and added fourth-quarter TD passes to Blanche Ely’s Thomas Geddis and Boyd Anderson’s Basil Spencer in the fourth quarter for the North squad.

Locals fare well

in winter

championships

Several local swimmers turned in solid performances in the recent 25th annual Speedo Winter Championships expecting the best, and at the end of the four-day meet at the Plantation Aquatic Center Central Park.

Tyler Zuyus, 15, who was the high point winner for the 15-16 Boys Division and Victoria Miyamoto, 15, who finished second in the high point race for the 15-16 Girls Division, paced the Pompano Beach Piranhas.

Others from the Piranhas who finished in the top 10 in the meet included Sloan Sizemore, 15, who was fourth in the 15-16 Girls Division; Emilio Barrantes, 12, who tied for fifth in the 12 Boys Division; Mattheus Santos, 14, who was sixth in the 13-14 Boys Division; and Summer Schulte, 12, who was 10th in the 12 Girls Division.

The Piranhas finished sixth in the Boys Division with 316.50 points and ninth in the Girls Division with 285 points and took 8^th in the combined totals as it scored 601.50 points.

Meet director and Plantation Swim Team head coach Jimmy Parmenter said the meet first attracted about 480 swimmers and 35 teams a quarter of a century ago. Parmenter said the event has been held in Plantation every year except once when it was held in Miami due to a problem with the Central Park pool.

“I cut it this year to 1,100 swimmers and 51 teams to keep the timeline tight,” Parmenter said.

Simply Soccer

Simply Soccer Holiday Camp, which has boys and girls, ages 5-14 of all skill levels, and has attracted children from throughout Broward County, will host its Holiday Camp at Mullins Park in Coral Springs. The camp will be held from Dec. 28-Jan. 1.

There are three sessions ranging from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and a Tiny Tot program from 9 a.m. to noon. Players will be taught a variety of soccer skills from dribbling to shooting.

It is the longest running soccer camp offered by the city. Campers must bring a soccer ball, swimsuit, shin guards, water bottle and lunch. For information call 954-345-2200.

By Gary Curreri

When it comes to swimming, Pompano Beach High School’s Courtney Stewart made the most of her senior year.

Stewart recently placed fifth in the 50-yard freestyle event as she clocked a 24.30 time at the FHSAA Class 2A meet at the Sailfish Splashpark Aquatic Athletics Center in Stuart to cap off a stellar career.

Stewart had won the 100-yard freestyle and was third in the 50-free in the BCAA meet that featured many of the top swimmers from Broward County.

“I definitely feel like I earned this race because I have been training in USA Swimming for the past three years,” Stewart said after winning the 100 Free at the BCAA competition. “I started in rec [recreational] league, and a lot of people underestimate rec league, but it really taught me how to swim and it really perfected my stroke before I got into the serious level of training.”

She admitted that starting USA Swimming in her freshman year was a little late; however, she was driven to become a better swimmer.

“In my freshman year, I swam the 500 free and the 200 IM and didn’t really know what I was doing,” said Stewart, who trains with BEST (Broward Elite Swim Team) under the direction of Coach Michael Hart. It is a small program composed of just female swimmers and Stewart is the oldest.

“Last year, I was third in the 100 free at the BCAA meet with a 54,” said Stewart, who clocked 53.85. “I was so close last year that I really wanted to win it this year. I didn’t even swim the 50 free last year. I wanted to try out the 50 free in my senior year and have a fun time, really sprint it out with all freestyle.”

Looking back over the past four years, Stewart is happy with her swimming path. She placed fifth at state last year in the 100 free and 14th the previous year in the 100 free.

“I have loved it,” she said. “I made so many great friends over the years that I am still friends with and they are in college now. I am so close with the team now as a captain. I am going to miss it so much.

“I know that, if I swim collegiate, it is going to be tough,” Stewart added. “It is still going to be an awesome experience though.”

This year, at states, she helped the 200 medley relay to a 12th place finish (2:05.42). Other members included freshman Gabriella Costello, and sophomores Sarah Gurdus and Taylor Zascavage. She was also a member of the 200 free relay that finished 13th place (1:43.79). [Additional] members of that relay included sophomores Mia Marquez, Francesca Vandersluis and freshman Gwen Bencie. The 400 free relay, of which she was also a member, picked up a 14th place finish (3:50.76) and that included sophomore Mia Marquez, and freshmen Gabriella Costello and Gwen Bencie.

Another Pompano High swimmer, Shane Schulte, also made the most of his season, yet he has three more years to go.

“I did pretty well this year,” said Schulte, 14, a freshman at the school. “I have dropped a lot of my times from my USA Swim meets, so that is pretty good.

“The competition is totally different from my regular USA Swimming,” added Schulte, who finished 22nd at state in boys 200 IM (2:06.92). “High school (competition) is all the way from 14 to 18 years old and, in USA, I am swimming against my own age group. Sometimes, this is a lot harder, but overall, it is pretty different and I like the challenge.”

Schulte helped the Pompano boys take 12th in the 200 medley (1:43.36). It also included his brother Christopher and fellow junior Race Wilhoite and freshman Matteus Santos.

Schulte also helped the Pompano boys take 13th in the 400 free relay (3:23.55). It also included brother Christopher and fellow junior Taylor Barton and Santos. Christopher Schulte took third in the B final of the Boys 100-yard breaststroke (1:02.51).

Other top performances by the Pompano High School team at the state meet included junior Carolyn Ehrlich, who placed third in diving (424.75), and Bencie, who won the B Final in the 100-yard backstroke (59.38). The girls finished 17th in the state, while the boys took 26th.