By Gary Curreri

The South Florida Senior Softball Association recently presented an $800 check to Mission United to commemorate Patriot’s Day. Mission United is a division of the United Way of Broward County. Michael Ellis, of Mission United, accepted the check and said the money would be used to provide dental care for Veterans.

Ellis, a veteran of the U.S. Navy, said there are 32 dentists in Broward County that provide pro bono dental work for veterans in need, but there are lab tests and other incidentals that have to be paid for out of pocket. This donation will help defray those costs.

The South Florida Senior Softball Association is based at the Four Fields Complex in Pompano Beach. Throughout the year, it provides recreational softball to players 50 years of age or older. The club meets on Mondays and Fridays year-round and adds Wednesdays during the winter season when the snowbird members arrive.

The club membership usually encompasses approximately 100 members.

“While recreational softball is the attraction that brings the players together, the club is not one dimensional,” said SFSSA board member Jeff Schrier, who is the corresponding secretary. “We involve ourselves in many activities to benefit the Pompano area, its residents and those in need. We host tournaments where the proceeds are given to worthy causes.”

On Saturday, Dec. 5, the club will split up into four teams and play games for the needy youngsters in the area. The entry fee for each player will be one unwrapped toy that will be forwarded to children who otherwise might not receive a gift for the holidays.

Schrier said 48 players have signed up for the event already.

“There should be a lot of smiles on Christmas morning,” he said. “We invite all to come down to watch and bring a toy as well. All donations will be accepted and forwarded.”

Pierre switches commitment

Deerfield Beach safety James Pierre is not planning on going to the University of Miami after all.

The 6-foot-2, 165 senior, who also holds offers from 11 schools, including Cincinnati, Kentucky and Wisconsin, had originally committed to the University of Miami last May. He also had an offer from the University of North Carolina, which he said, via Twitter, he will now attend.

Pierre helped the Bucks pull out a 44-21 District 11-8A win over host Douglas last week. He and sophomore linebacker Rosendo Louis each had a team-high six tackles for Deerfield Beach, while senior defensive backs Simeon Brown and Kimar Martin had two interceptions.

Bucks senior quarterback Teddrick Moffett accounted for 277 total yards and five scores. He passed for 232 yards and three TDs, and rushed for 45 yards and two scores. Senior wide receiver Cavin Ridley added 137 total yards, as he had 85 yards receiving and another 52 yards on the ground.

Deerfield Beach (6-1, 3-0) will host undefeated Piper (7-0, 3-0) for the District title on Oct. 30. The lone Bucks loss was a non-district, 33-15, loss to Jacksonville Bolles on Sept. 25.

By Gary Curreri

Like most of the women who play in the Plantation 8v8 Women’s Soccer League, Lighthouse Point’s Claire Lutkewitte touts the competition and camaraderie.

“We have players of all ages and abilities,” said Lutkewitte, 34, who played college soccer at Rockhurst University in Kansas City and graduated in 2004. “Our first goal is to probably have fun. There are a lot of excollege players, who are just coming off their college careers and they still want to play. We still have some players out here who can move.”

She’s played in the Plantation league for six years now.

“There are not a lot of opportunities in other parts of the country where women can play soccer,” Lutkewitte added. “When I moved here, I was actually ecstatic that there were places where women can play soccer on a regular basis, and it is good quality soccer too.”

The Plantation Women’s Soccer Club 8v8 league featured six teams this summer – all bearing prominent countries’ names. Fittingly, the USA team defeated Germany for the championship at Plantation’s Sunset Park. Lutkewitte played for Canada.

The other teams in the league included Netherlands, Canada, Brazil, and England. All six teams were involved in the playoffs. USA and Germany, the top two seeds received byes, while the other teams played preliminary games to reach the finals. Every game consisted of 25-minute halves.

Rae Vidal started directing several leagues in Plantation about six years ago. In addition to the 8v8 league on Sundays, she also runs a 7v7 (Friday) and 11v11 league, which just started at Plantation Central Park. The women range in age from 21 to 51. She said they plan to continue the 8v8 league on Tuesdays.

“The camaraderie out here is great,” Lutkewitte said. “A lot of us hang out off the field. We help each other when we need it. One of our players had passed away from Breast Cancer and there was this huge support group for that. I met some people who were in a book club and I joined a book club. I think for people that are new to the area and don’t know anyone, I think this is a great place to meet people.”

Lutkewitte, an assistant professor of writing at Nova Southeastern University, also heads up the Soccer Association of Boca Raton’s Adult programs as a coordinator. She said the Boca Raton group usually plays in the fall and the spring; however, this fall they didn’t have fields because of all the youth programs.

“We are on hiatus right now,” Lutkewitte said. “We will probably playing the spring. It would be great if more people would support adult programs and women’s programs in particular.”

Bucks stun Raiders

Deerfield Beach’s Jefferson Souza kicked a 40-yard field goal with 1:08 to play in the third quarter to snap a 3-3 tie and give the host Bucks a 6-3 victory over nationally ranked St. Thomas Aquinas on Friday night.

St. Thomas Aquinas (5-1) had an opportunity to tie the contest; however, Marco Salani was wide with a 20-yard field goal with 41 seconds remaining to give the Bucks (5-1) the victory.

Deerfield Beach took a 3-0 lead in the first quarter on a 35-yard field goal in the first quarter, while Salani answered with a 30-yard field goal in the second quarter.

Despite a 364-134 advantage in total yards and a 19-7 advantage in first downs, it marked the first time the Raiders, which was ranked as high as second in national pools, failed to score a TD in 56 games dating back to 2011. St. Thomas hurt itself with three interceptions and 152 yards in penalties

By Gary Curreri

Even though the Deerfield Beach High School football team came up short in its game on Friday night against visiting Jacksonville Bolles, Bucks quarterback Teddrick Moffett was the big winner earlier in the week when he was presented with a very large check.

Moffett and Blanche Ely High School linebacker David Francis were each awarded $1,000 scholarships from the McDougle Family Foundation. The two players were recognized as MVPs of the rain-shortened McDougle Bowl held in honor of the McDougle Brothers on Sept. 12.

Stockar McDougle (1996 Deerfield Beach grad) and Jerome McDougle (1997 Blanche Ely grad) were on hand for the second annual McDougle Bowl game. Stockar McDougle went on to play college football at the University of Oklahoma, while Jerome McDougle played at the University of Miami. Both brothers went on to play in the NFL.

The scholarships were handed out during a pep rally at Deerfield Beach. Moffett accounted for four scores, while Francis had an interception and fumble recovery.

The mission of the McDougle Family Foundation and Firstability Program is to encourage teens to stay focused on their education and provide at-risk students with support during those crisis moments.

Jerome McDougle said the game and the Foundation help start the students off with the tools necessary to succeed. Jerome McDougle, who played with the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants from 2003-2008, said the game has its place.

“The McDougle Bowl is super important because it’s about two guys coming back to the community to show the kids there are many ways to make it to the next level,” he said. “You get through the front door and achieve success through academics.”

“This is awesome,” he continued. “It is great for me and my brother to come back to one of the greatest rivalries in Broward County and we were a part of it. Both teams have had players go and play in the National Football League so it is good for us to come back.”

Stockar McDougle, who played with the Detroit Lions from 2000-04 and the Miami Dolphins in 2005 before finishing his career with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2006-07, called it cool for him and his brother to give back to the community. He is the only one from his family that didn’t attend Blanche Ely because of unusual boundaries during his high school tenure.

“This is all about pouring more resources into the community,” Stockar said. “We have a lot of athletes who have come out of these two programs and who have gone on and done great things.”

Deerfield Beach coach Jevon Glenn said the game has taken off and is glad the McDougle brothers are invested.

“It has gotten bigger and actually better,” said Glenn, who played in the game in 1995-96. “Especially with the McDougles coming on board and doing everything leading up to the game. I am very pleased and proud of the growth that the game has had over the 20 years.”

Class 4A power Jacksonville Bolles (5-0) scored 26 unanswered points in the second half to carve out a 33-15 victory over the Bucks (3-1) in a battle of unbeaten teams. Moffett once again was the star as he scored on runs of 97 and 46 yards to account for both Bucks’ touchdowns.

By Gary Curreri

As a high school junior at Highlands Christian Academy, Herman Robinson knows his time is now.

The 17-year-old Robinson, of Deerfield Beach, made the most of his opportunity recently in the “Comin’ For That #1 Spot Basketball Showcase” at the Coral Springs Gymnasium where he and another 200 athletes performed in front of college coaches and national recruiting services.

“This is awesome,” said Robinson, a standout point guard for Highlands Christian. “It is a great experience. This is pretty big to come out here and show my skills and be put on the map.”

The 10th annual tournament featured more than 200 boys and girls middle and high school aged players showcasing their skills in the two-day event at the Coral Springs Gymnasium.

Tournament organizer Tony Perkins holds various tournaments during the year; however, this is his lone showcase event. The boys played on Saturday, while the girls came in on Sunday. The athletes are guaranteed three games, in addition to skill development from various coaches.

“The purpose is to get a lot of these kids in South Florida exposure on a national level,” Perkins said.

Robinson said basketball is his “life”, although he has his priorities in order.

“God comes first, then after school comes basketball,” Robinson said. “Basketball has helped me tremendously. It has helped me become organized, have leadership and be able to go to school on time. It has helped me because the coaches are on top of me.

“College does interest me,” Robinson added. “This summer I went to Bob Gibbons camp (at the Suwanee Sports Academy in Atlanta). I have had coaches come up to me saying this year they will be contacting me.”

Bucks rout visiting Colts

Teddrick Moffett got the host Deerfield Beach High School football team off to a quick start as he accounted for three first quarter touchdowns to lift the Bucks to a 56-2 victory over Coral Springs Colts in the District the 11-8A opener for both teams.

Moffett hit Randerick Gervin for a 14-yard TD pass, and followed that up with a 25-yard scoring run. He added a 55-yard scoring toss to Ryan Powell to build a 20-0 lead. The Bucks (3- 0, 1-0 in the district) put the game away with a 29-point second period to force a running clock that helped put the winless Colts (0-4, 0-1) out of their misery.

Moffett, a senior, added scoring tosses of 12 yards to Jerry Jeudy and 11 yards to Jefftey Joseph. Aaron Robinson returned an interception of 30 yards for a score.

The Bucks’ Lafleur Limprevil went in from 5 yards out, and, after a Colts’ safety, Alton Allen caught a 28-yard TD pass from backup quarterback Alec Brown to close out the scoring. The Bucks ran for 112 yards and added 95 yards through the air. It limited the Colts to 117 yards total offense, seven first downs.

By Gary Curreri

Both the stadium and the host football team suffered from a power outage, and, in the end, Deerfield Beach prevailed 30-12 over host Blanche Ely in the second annual McDougle Bowl last Saturday night.

Deerfield Beach struck early and often, and, ultimately, a power outage ended the contest with 3:25 remaining in the third quarter with the Bucks winning the contest. The second annual McDougle Bowl game was presented by brothers Jerome McDougle (1997 Ely grad) and Stockar McDougle (1996 Deerfield Beach grad) who both went on to play in the NFL.

Deerfield Beach coach Jevon Glenn said it is was a big game for the program.

“This is huge,” Glenn said. “It is a big rivalry game between the Pompano and Deerfield Beach communities. I played in this game (1995-96) so I know the electricity in this game and I want to make sure the kids know the importance of it. You can throw the records out of the window. Throw the wins and losses out the window. It is time to battle.”

“It has gotten bigger and actually better,” Glenn said. “Especially with the McDougles coming on board and doing everything leading up to the game. I am very pleased and proud of the growth that the game has had over the [past] 20 years.”

Deerfield Beach (2-0) struck as quickly as the lightning in the area that prompted the game to be delayed for one hour and 40-minutes. The game then endured a 20-minute power outage at 10:45 p.m. before officials called the game.

Bucks senior quarterback Teddrick Moffett, who transferred from Blanche Ely prior to the season, engineered three scores in the game’s first 6:25 as he threw for two scores and ran for another. Moffett finished the game with three TD passes and one running score.

Moffett hit Jerry Jeudy on a screen play on the first play from scrimmage that covered 62 yards and gave Deerfield Beach a 7-0 lead. The pair connected again on the next series on a 9-yard scoring play for a 14-0 lead and Moffett drove his team 60 yards in nine plays and capped the drive with a 3-yard scoring run and a 21-0 lead with 5:25 remaining in the first quarter.

Blanche Ely (0-3) was able to trim the lead to 21-6 following a fumble recovery by David Francis on the Bucks’ 25-yard line. Arthur Forrest capped the 5-play drive when he bulled in from three yards out with 8:25 remaining in the second quarter. Francis later added an interception for the host Tigers.

The Bucks closed out the first half scoring with Alton Allen hauling in a 23-yard scoring pass from Moffett on the final play of the first half for a 27-6 advantage.

Jefferson Souza booted a 23-yard field goal to make it 30-6 with 10:54 left in the third quarter and Blanche Ely took the ensuing kickoff and marched 88 yards in 17 plays to trim the lead to 30-12 on a 7-yard scoring pass from Perdue to Jeremy Taylor with 4:54 left in the third quarter.

Less than two minutes later, the lights went out rendering the stadium pitch black and after a 20-minute delay, officials called the contest.

Blanche Ely entered the contest 3-7 lifetime against the visiting Bucks.

Blanche Ely lost the first four meetings and the last three games sandwiched in between three victories from 2009-11. Deerfield won 14-12, 46-6 and 19-0 the past three years. The Tigers won 28-10, 37-0 and 34-16. Deerfield Beach won the first four matchups 36-27 (2004), 28-6 (2006), 20-2 (2007) and 21-14 (2008)

Glenn said the team didn’t go into the game overconfident.

“Nobody is more desperate than us,” Glenn said. “We went 4-6 last year. We are hungry. We will never walk into a game where somebody wants to beat us more than we want to beat them. That’s the mentality of our program.”

Blanche Ely coach Nakia Jenkins had guaranteed a victory before the game. He said the team made some coaching changes during the week, and Jenkins said he took over play calling duties.

“We just had a couple of bad breaks and the kids are ready,” Jenkins said. “We made a couple of coaching changes and I am back to calling plays.”

Jenkins said things hadn’t gone the way he thought they would despite a senior-laden team entering the year.

“Speaking for myself,” Jenkins said. “I think I got away from it. I wasn’t putting both hands in it like I should have. I think my kids started drifting and not focused like they should of. I am the leadership. It starts with me. I think if they see me take it more serious, then they do the same.”

For more information on what the McDougle brothers do in the community, visit their website at http://firstability.org/#first-ability.

By Gary Curreri

Meghan Robenhymer said swimming has taken her pretty far.

The 14-year-old Coconut Creek teenager took third in the Girls 13-14 50-yard breaststroke, second in the Girls 13-18 100-yard breaststroke, and was on two winning relays to help the Deerfield Beach Dolphins win its eighth consecutive South Florida Recreational Swim League Summer Championships recently at the Coral Springs Aquatic Complex. The two-day meet was held in the Michael Lohberg Pool of Champions.

“This is my entire life,” said Robenhymer, a freshman at Monarch High School and nine-year veteran of sport. “I was average when I first started. The work I bring to it made myself better.”

Robenhymer started swimming at a preschool program and was told she had really good form.

“They said I should tryout for the recreation league,” Robenhymer added. “I was on that team for a couple of years and then I switched to Dolphins. It’s great to be winning races. It shows that all the hard work paid off.”

Parkland’s Emily Chen also turned in a strong performance for Deerfield Beach as she won three individual events and was on two winning relays at the event.

Chen, 14, who holds 12 individual league records dating back to when she was 7, added the Girls 13- 14 100-yard freestyle and the Girls 13-14 100-yard IM records to her credit. The Deerfield Beach High School freshman started swimming when she 7.

“It has just been fun,” Chen said. “It has been a really great venture. I’ve been with the same coaches the whole time and it is just a great atmosphere. The sport means almost everything to me. It is practically my life now.”

Chen hopes for a long swimming career, first high school and then college.

“It is definitely a dream to think of the Olympics,” Chen said. “It is always fun to watch. From afar, whatever is best for me in the long run. The sport definitely shaped my personality — from teamwork and how to support each other to learning how to lose. I learned not to be a sore loser.”

Chen said it has helped her stay determined.

“You just keep trying,” Chen said. “You just keep going. If you never try, you are never going to go anywhere.”

The Deerfield Beach Dolphins won the Large Division with 4,455 points, while the Tsunami Swim Team based in Coconut Creek won the Medium Division with 2,219 points. The Margate Motion Swim Team was fourth in the Medium Division with 1,346 points.

The victory marked the eighth consecutive summer championship victory for the Dolphins since 2007, and 20th overall during the same span when counting the fall and spring seasons.

Ninth year Deerfield Beach Dolphins coach Rafael DaSilva said the victory was huge for the program. The Dolphins have 90 swimmers on its roster and had 83 swimmers compete.

“This meet is the most important meet of the year,” DaSilva said. “It is the biggest championship of all three. This is where it started. The fall and the spring championships were added later.”

“There are always more people because, in the fall, you have high school swimming and, in the spring, you have water polo and some do middle school swimming,” DaSilva added. “There is a lot of competition per se to get the kids involved. The summer is where you prepare the kids for high school swimming and you have the bigger number and more quality swimmers returning. You have more teams and this is the only meet where you make the divisions based on sizes from team to team.”

By Gary Curreri

With 20 senior players returning from last year’s squad, Blanche Ely football coach Nakia Jenkins believes that his team will fix last year’s late-game woes.

Jenkins, in his second season at the helm of the Tigers football team, said his team has a wealth of experience.

“Last year, we had a lot of talent, but we were young,” said Jenkins, whose team finished 6-4 with three losses in the closing moments of games. “We are returning about 20 seniors this year that played last year so we are really senior heavy this year with a lot of experience. That should be our plus this year. We should know how to finish ball games.”

The Tigers reached the first round of the FHSAA Class 7A state playoffs where it fell to visiting Atlantic, 21-13, in the closing moments, much like two other losses during the season to Miami Northwestern (23-20) and Plantation (31-23).

“Last year, we lost three games in the last minute and a half that we were winning,” Jenkins said. “We should have easily been 9-1 last year instead of 6-4.”

“It still stings,” Jenkins added. “It is going to sting probably until our first regular season game. We have about 15-20 players who contributed last year and helped us out.”

Jenkins will need to get some rapid growth from an inexperienced offensive line; however, they will have three strong running backs to run behind them, including Arthur Forest, Demeterice Bellamy and Robert Williams. Quarterback Zackery Purdue also returns and has talented wide out Thomas Geddis to throw to.

“The offense is going to be loaded,” Jenkins said. “A couple of other wide receivers who are going to help us are Jeremy Taylor and Leonard Williams.”

Defensively, look for senior David Francis to lead the way.

“He’s a leader, captain and three-year starter,” Jenkins said. “He knows where everybody should be.”

Purdue is looking forward to the season.

“This year, I am more confident,” he said. “Last year, I didn’t really read my coverages and go through my progressions. This year, we are loaded with seniors and we are going to be a better team.”

Bellamy, 17, a senior in his fourth year at the school, said he’s excited for the season.

“I have to prove a lot of people wrong,” said the 5-ft., 6-in., 165 lb. running back. “They underestimate me. They say I am too small and not fast enough, and not strong enough. I have been doing two-a-days, and sometimes three times on weekends.”

The 18-year-old Geddis agreed and said the seniors could make the difference.

“We have a lot of guys who are going to go out there and compete and go hard, and are very experienced,” Geddis said. “Being seniors, it makes you want to go harder. Our coach says you only got one game and you have to take every game like it is your last high school game.”

Geddis, who received 18 college offers during the spring, said last year’s tight losses were frustrating and they will look to change that this season.

“You don’t have the time to come back and redo the mistakes you made,” Geddis said. “You have to go 110 (percent) on every play and just know that you are putting everything on the line.”

Jenkins said the team would have to fight through adversity.

“What I am teaching my guys now is football in four quarters,” Jenkins said. “It is not three quarters and we have to finish until the last whistle blows. That is the one thing that we are teaching day in and day out. It is fighting to the last whistle. If we do that this year, we should be in the thick of things this year.”

By Gary Curreri

Despite bowling a perfect game in qualifying, Pompano Beach’s Zach Griffin said he didn’t bring his “A” game to the Broward County (USBC) Top 8 Tournament at AMF Davie Lanes.

What he did bring was good enough as he captured his second consecutive junior boys championship with a 219-202 victory over Miami’s Cody Stevens in the final.

“I have been busy with work and getting ready for school so I haven’t been able to find the time and, when I do have the time, I sleep,” said Griffin, who works at Strikers Family Sportscenter and recently graduated from Cardinal Gibbons High School.

“When I am done with my nine-hour shift, I am exhausted and just want to go home,” added Griffin, who admitted he hadn’t practiced in 2-1/2 months.

He is headed to Springhill College in Mobile, AL on a bowling scholarship. “It is probably the last tournament I am going to bowl before college, so my dad (Greg) seeing me shoot 300 and win was nice. He really wanted to see that.”

The Top 8 bowlers in each division each bowled four games with the Top 4, with the highest pin fall after that moving on to a step ladder final with the fourth place bowler taking on the third place bowler, and the winner moving on to bowl against the second seed, and that winner taking on the highest seeded player.

The 300-game was the fifth sanctioned game of Griffin’s career.

“That was nice,” said Griffin, whose last sanctioned 300-game was in a winter league four months ago. “It was weird because I had just come off my worst game in qualifying which was a 202. I had trouble finding my line. I just moved in and started fi ring it 18-miles-an-hour at the 10-board and clearly it worked. It was really nice, too, because, the last couple of shots, I didn’t know if they were going to carry, but they did.”

“I’m happy with how I did,” Griffin said. “It is a good repeat too. If it happened, it happened. If it didn’t, it didn’t.”

Griffin is looking forward to bowling in college where he will bowl upwards of four times a week.

“It’s nice,” he said. “I always wanted to bowl in college when I heard that a couple of my older friends went. It is a really nice atmosphere, was something I was looking for when I was looking at schools.”

Two weeks remain at Simply Soccer

There are two weeks left at the popular Simply Soccer Camp in nearby Coral Springs.

Simply Soccer, which has boys and girls, ages 5-14 of all skill levels, has attracted a record number of children from throughout Broward County for its 27th annual summer camp series at Mullins Park in Coral Springs.

The camp, featured during a live broadcast by CBS4 the day following the United States’ 5-2 victory over Japan in the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, is down to its final two weeks of the summer beginning Monday. They are August 10-14 and 17-21.

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

More than 400 junior lifeguards competed in the 5th annual Junior Lifeguard State Championships recently on Ft. Lauderdale Beach.

Pompano Beach led the way with 60 competitors, while Deerfield Beach brought 27 junior lifeguards.

There were three primary age divisions in the state event including A Division (ages-14-17); B Division (ages 12-13); and C Division (ages 9-11) and an introductory Grommets Program (for 7-8 year-olds who are not yet qualified to join the Junior Lifeguard Team).

Pompano Beach’ Shannon Snell, 17, a senior at Cardinal Gibbons High School, is no stranger to the competition and turned in a stellar performance winning the Girls A Division of the beach flags event in addition to the surf swim and the run-swim-run.

Snell, who has been a junior lifeguard for nearly eight years, competed in last year’s World Championships in France last year where she placed 10th in beach flags; 6th in the 100-meter dash and 10th in the paddle.

“It was really epic to represent our country,” said Snell, who competed for the Pompano Beach junior lifeguard competition. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

Admittedly, there is a lot of pressure being at a world level and in a high performance competition she said, “you need to know what you are doing.”

“I am going to remember everyone I competed with and the teamwork,” she added. “Just the part of racing with each other and working together… and making friends for life … We know each other and learn new tricks every year from each other.”

Deerfield Beach’s junior lifeguards was led by Daniel Padron, who won the B Division of the beach flags event, while Pompano Beach also got a strong performance from Summer Schulte, who won the B Division in the paddle, run-swim-run and surf swim. There were seven events – beach flags, paddle, run relay, run-swim-run, paddle relay, surf swim, and the ironguard.

Local winners in the beach flags were Shannon Snell (Pompano Beach, Girls A Division); Daniel Padron (Deerfield Beach, Boys B Division); Christian Quinones (Pompano Beach, Boys C Division).

Winners in the paddle were Andre Bacic (Deerfield Beach, Boys A Division); Nicholas Calice (Pompano Beach, Boys B Division); Summer Schulte (Pompano Beach, B Girls Division); Jake Schulte (Pompano Beach, Boys C Division); Tamara Backers (Deerfield Beach, Girls C Division); Reef Coote (Pompano Beach, Boys D Division) and Victoria Vanacore (Pompano Beach, Girls D Division).

Winners in the Run-Swim- Run competition were Race Wilhoit (Pompano Beach, Boys A Division); Shannon Snell (Pompano Beach, Girls A Division); Christian Henderson (Pompano Beach, Boys B Division); Summer Schulte (Pompano Beach, Girls B Division); Jake Schulte (Pompano Beach, Boys C Division).

Winners in the Surf Swim competition included Shannon Snell (Pompano Beach, Girls A Division); Christian Henderson (Pompano Beach, Boys B Division); Summer Schulte (Pompano Beach, Girls B Division) and Samantha Escobar (Pompano Beach, Girls D Division).

The state championships were a precursor to the United States Lifesaving Association (USLA) regional competition recently in Daytona Beach. The national USLA competition will also be held in Daytona Beach on August 5.

Bucks hoping for big things

By Gary Curreri

Deerfield Beach High School football coach Jevon Glenn has put together quite the summer program with hopes of returning the school back to prominence.

Glenn has taken the Bucks on a whirlwind tour of college programs, 7-on-7 tournaments and football camps with hopes of winning a state title. Glenn took many of his athletes on two college tours from June 5-15 and hit many big name schools. Former Bucks running back Denard Robinson, now with the Jacksonville Jaguars, has been a regular during the offseason.

“I am very excited,” said Glenn, a 1996 graduate of Blanche Ely, where he played football and basketball, and replaced former Bucks coach Allen Jackson in the spring. Jackson resigned in December after four seasons. “We have done a lot of great things in the offseason and we are looking forward to getting started.”

The new Bucks coach will have his work cut out for him as the team is coming off of a 4-6 season in which the Bucks missed the playoffs. It was only the sixth time in school history, dating back to 1974, the Bucks finished with a losing record.

“It’s tradition rich,” said Glenn, who will tackle his first varsity head coaching job after having spent eight seasons coaching Deerfield Beach’s junior varsity squad and holding several positions with the varsity. “There is a good buzz about the program and we made it a priority to keep our kids as Deerfield kids.”

Glenn said during the past couple of years, players left the school to play for other programs – both public and private schools.

“Rather than complain about it, we raised the quality of our program and a lot of those kids came back,” Glenn said. “Many of those kids played in the Deerfield Packer/Rattler youth football program.”

Among those players returning to their roots are two wide receiver transfers from Monarch High School – Cavin Ridley and Jerry Jeudy, in addition to Blanche Ely transfer Teddrick Moffett, a quarterback.

“I think the trips we took created good team chemistry and opened up a lot of eyes with the colleges that these kids can play,” Glenn said. “We believe that we will be better disciplined this year and we can compete for a state championship.”

The Bucks will open the season on Aug. 28 when it hosts Cypress Bay High School.

Four weeks remain at Simply Soccer

There have been record numbers at Simply Soccer camps this summer.

Simply Soccer Camp, which has boys and girls, ages 5-14 of all skill levels, has attracted children from throughout Broward County for its 27th annual summer camp series at Mullins Park in Coral Springs.

The camp, which was featured during a live broadcast by CBS4 the day following the United States’ 5-2 victory over Japan in the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, has four weeks remaining beginning Monday. They are: July 27-31; Aug. 3-7; Aug. 10-14 and Aug. 17-21.

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 on the Coral Springs camp, call 954-345-2200.