By Gary Curreri

If Friday night’s contest was any indication, the third time could be the charm for Deerfield Beach football coach Allen Jackson.

Brandon Powell rushed for 144 yards, caught two passes for 40 yards and scored three touchdowns as host Deerfield Beach blanked Northeast, 37- 0 in the season opener for both teams.

Jackson went 3-6-1 in his first year with the program and failed to make the playoffs. The Bucks went 5-5 last year and fell to state runnerup Cypress Bay, 41-13, in the regional quarterfinal round of the Class 8A state playoffs.

“Last year helped a lot for the simple reason that we figured out what we had to do, and the kids bought into the weight room during the offseason, and we’re trying to get the team continuity back together,” Jackson said. “That told them they could play. They were able to do that and we were able to bring the core of the kids back, and I think that worked out well for us.”

Northeast (0-1) looked good on its opening drive as it took the opening kickoff and marched 44 yards to the Bucks’ 22, but lost the ball on downs when quarterback DeAngelo Fulford’s pass was incomplete. From then on, it was all Deerfield Beach.

Powell and Aeron McNeal each scored twice in the first half as the Bucks (1-0) scored on its first three possessions to grab a 21-0 lead.

“They are a great 1-2 punch,” said Jackson, whose team will face Blanche Ely this Saturday. “They got over 2,000 yards last year, and we are hoping they could duplicate that this year. We added a quarterback (Danarious Graham) this year and we have some receivers so we will be able to throw the ball a little bit more this year and it will take the pressure off them. The basis of our team is still running the ball.”

Powell, a University of Miami commit, bolted to a 67-yard TD run on the Bucks’ third play from scrimmage to give Deerfield Beach a 6-0 lead. McNeal capped a 5- play, 45-yard drive with a 1- yard plunge and Powell caught the 2-point conversion pass from Graham to make it 14-0.

Powell extended the lead to 21-0 with 10:09 remaining in the first half when he hauled in a 35-yard scoring toss from Graham. The Bucks picked up a safety and McNeal added a 12-yard scoring run to propel the Bucks to a 30-0 halftime cushion. Powell, who finished the game with 15 carries for 104 yards, added a 10-yard TD run in the third to push the lead to 37-0 and force a running clock. McNeal had 12 carries for 79 yards, while Graham threw for 110 yards and added another 40 yards on the ground.

The Bucks defense is led this season by defensive ends Tyler Sayles (FIU commit) and Jason Strowbridge, and a freshman linebacker in Emmit Bruton. Justin Morgan, Artez Levine, Vernon Thompson, James Pierre all have experience in the secondary.

“I am very excited about the season,” said Jackson, whose team graduated 15 players from last year’s team, including seven starters. “We set our goals high and the kids know this is it. We have to strive for it. I am realistic, and I know you need a lot of luck. You need a lot of things to go your way. If we stay away from injuries, stay healthy and the ball falls our way, I think wecan do pretty well.”

By Gary Curreri

Lighthouse Point’s Stefanie Kenoyer is hoping the second time is a charm.

Kenoyer, 24, who was a contestant on Big Break Mexico earlier this year, will compete on Big Break NFL, which premieres on Oct. 8 at 9 p.m. on the Golf Channel.

“Not many people in our sport get this kind of opportunity to be on Big Break in the first place, let alone two Big Breaks in one year!” said Kenoyer, who was one of the more popular competitors on Big Break Mexico and was the sixth player eliminated from the series. “I’m blessed to have another opportunity to give it another go.”

Participating on two Big Break series this year was unique for Kenoyer. Big Break NFL Puerto Rico was shot the first two weeks of June while Big Break Mexico was airing on the Golf Channel. Her elimination episode on Big Break Mexico aired two weeks after she returned from Big Break NFL Puerto Rico.

“I have become an expert at keeping secrets, but this has been even tougher because I had to keep secret about not just one Big Break, but two,” joked Kenoyer, who was paired with 17-year NFL kicker Al DelGreco and Oren Geri in Big Break NFL. “All of the teams were full of great competitors! We had an absolute blast. I wouldn’t trade this experience in 2013 for the world.”

Big Break NFL Puerto Rico will be all about reunion, redemption and teamwork this fall when 12 previous Big Break competitors return to team up with six of the NFL’s all-time greats. Two past Big Break competitors – one male and one female, will join one NFL legend to form threeperson teams. The series will feature a new format twist to Big Break – teams will win or lose as teams. On the line will be $50,000 to the winning NFL legend’s designated charity, along with 2014 PGA TOUR and LPGA Tour tournament exemptions, cash and other prizes for the Big Break competitors.

“It is a pressure-packed, nerve racking situation every time you step out on the course on Big Break,” Kenoyer said. “When they called me and said, ‘we’d like to have you back,’ immediately, no questions asked, I said ‘yes’…to think I got to spend three weeks with six of some of the greatest football players there are was an incredible experience. There was no tackling on the golf course, thankfully; but we were all fierce competitors.”

NBC Sports’ Sunday Night Football sideline reporter and Emmy Award-winner Michele Tafoya joins Golf Channel’s Tom Abbott to cohost Big Break NFL Puerto Rico. Serving as the backdrop will be the luxurious Dorado Beach Resort in Dorado Beach, Puerto Rico.

“The pressure on Big Break is an all-time high because in a normal golf tournament, you have 54 holes or 72 holes to make up for your mistakes,” said Kenoyer, who played high school golf at Cardinal Gibbons and Westminster Academy high schools before playing collegiately at Furman University.

“On the show, you literally had one chance and your team is counting on you and everyone at home is watching, and you have 80 people around you with the crew and all of the cameras … and never have I felt more pressure, and I played in the U.S. Open.”

Kenoyer, the lone contestant on Big Break Mexico to have competed in a major championship – 2009 U.S. Women’s Open, said she

knows what it is like to play in front of large crowds and cameras; yet, this was a different experience altogether.

“I still felt my hands shake and my heart beat out of my chest,” said Kenoyer, who is playing full-time on the Symetra Tour with a refreshed sense of confidence and passion following the experience.

Taylor Collins, also 24, of Ft. Lauderdale, won Big Break Mexico when she defeated Tampa’s Matthew Galloway in an intense 18- hole singles match on the season finalé.

By Gary Curreri

Noelle McGuire couldn’t have thought of a better way to spend her summer vacation than to be with her friends while making a little history along the way.

The 17-year-old Deerfield Beach teenager played a key role recently in helping her fast pitch travel softball team – the Sunrise Thunder – win the United States Specialty Sports Association 18-Under South Florida B State Championships with a 1-0 victory over the Palm Beach Pride Heat at Lake Lytal Park in West Palm Beach.

Sarah Maloney tossed five shutout innings, gave up one hit and struck out six for the Thunder in the championship game. Tiffany Thompson scored the winning run in the third inning when Heather Bramos was struck by a pitch with the bases-loaded. Bramos went 10 for 11 with seven RBI’s in the state championships.

“We’ve been through a lot,” said McGuire, who played second base for the Thunder and also plays for the Pompano Beach High School team where she is a senior. “We are competitive and we are good. We have a good bond.

“Winning a tournament like this is good for us because it gives us a good reputation,” added McGuire, whose team captured its firstever state championship together. “Winning this is great. This shows that hard work pays off and all of the hours we put into this was worth it.”

McGuire said the team would practice three days a week during the summertime for two hours a day. When her high school season starts, that amps up to five days a week.

The Thunder finished the tournament 6-0 and outscored the opposition, 47-6, in the tournament. Lenny Schlecker, who has coached the Thunder since 2007, said most of the team would continue playing softball in college. The team also went on to finish second in the South Florida A State Championships in Ft. Myers when it dropped a 5-4 decision to the Tampa Heatwave a week later.

McGuire has been on the team for two years and has played softball for 10 years.

“I like to come out on the weekends,” McGuire said. “I love the girls on my team and it makes it fun. I want to play college softball and I work hard every day. I work on my hitting at home. Our team is great and we are like a family. I would rather be in a softball uniform than anything else.”

By Gary Curreri

Reg Cook won more than 500 games at Highlands Christian Academy School, however, one of the other things he is most proud of is the annual summer basketball camp offered by the school.

“The basketball camp is our most popular summer athletic camp here at HCA,” said Cook, former athletic director and boys’ varsity basketball coach at Highlands who started the camp in 1985. “Our coaches and counselors do a great job! They love the kids, the game of basketball and the Lord.”

There were approximately 100 campers between the two weeks, including 55 in the first session (7th through 12th graders), and 45 in the second session (second through the 6th grade).

“Our goal at basketball camp, along with all of our other athletic camps, is to train these young people to become better individuals as well as better players,” said Jim Good, camp coordinator and boys’ varsity basketball coach. It was his 16th year being a part of the camp. “Our coaching staff does a great job in teaching the skills of the sport while also teaching the benefits of hard work in a fun and enjoyable atmosphere.”

Josh Good, HCA’s boys’ middle school coach, worked his 11th year of camp, while Luke Still, HCA’s JV coach, worked his third year of camp. Head girls’ varsity basketball coach, Ramona Caputo along with HCA alumnus Chris Wilson (2005) and Jeff Sullivan (2011) assisted with the camp. Several varsity players from both the boys and girls varsity team earned community hours in the second week of camp while serving as assistant coaches.

Highlands Christian offers seven different summer sports camps, including cheerleading, basketball, softball, track and field, soccer, volleyball and golf.

Visit www.highlandschr istian.org for more information about the school.

Randall reinstated

Melvin Randall will return to coach the boys basketball team at Blanche Ely High School after a face-to-face meeting with the school’s principal last week ironed out their differences.

Randall had been at odds with school principal Karlton Johnson and was relieved of his duties just four months after winning his second consecutive Class 7A championship.

Randall and Johnson had clashed over the firing of his two long-time assistants, Reginald McNair and Morris Grooms, who were released before the 2012-13 season, and the fact that Randall had to apply more than once for the head coach position.

“It was a very, very good meeting,” Randall said. “Just clearing some things. We both agreed that we want to put this behind us and move forward. We want to work toward improving Blanche Ely academically and athletically.”

Both McNair and Grooms, former student athletes of Randall’s, will be allowed to return. Randall has a 458- 136 career record, including 226-79 at Blanche Ely and five state titles.

“I always believed everything would be OK,” Randall said. “The kids were thrilled when they heard the news. It was a relief for them and they are ready to work for a third state title.”

By Gary Curreri

Friends of Frankie keep turning out year after year.

The sixth annual Frankie Foundation Golf Tournament at Woodlands Country Club in Tamarac recently pulled in $75,000. In addition to the money raised, it also raised awareness for automated external defibrillators (AEDs).

The location may have moved during the six years of the annual Frankie Foundation Golf Tournament; however, one thing hasn’t changed – people still care. A record number of 242 golfers recently turned out for the tourney, whose proceeds go toward the purchase of AEDs and scholarships to local high school students.

“It was the most players ever by 12 and we had a waiting list of 30,” said Frankie Foundation Vice President Mike Goodrich, of Coral Springs. “The course is different and the banquet facility is different. We are excited about that because we were able to dress up the banquet facility and be able to accommodate all of us now, so the synergy we were able to generate there would continue what is coming off the course into there.”

Tammy Good, Shane Munson, Tracey Adcock and Dave Anderson carded a 59 to top all golfers on the east course, while Doug Kingera, Eric Depp, Hernan Millan, Hilarion Millan shot a 61 to win on the west course.

The tournament once again honored Frankie Speciale, who died of a massive heart attack while playing in a recreational men’s soccer league match in Deerfield Beach in 2007. Even though the 1982 graduate of Pompano Beach High School was given CPR immediately, his life could not be saved. It is believed an automated external defibrillator might have made the difference in him surviving.

Goodrich, who was a classmate of Speciale’s, said the tournament has grown over the years. The first tournament at Colony West drew a capacity crowd of 144 golfers. It then moved to Palm Aire Country Club in Pompano before ClubLink owners of both Palm Aire and Woodlands suggested the tournament move to Woodlands because its banquet facility can accommodate the 242 golfers.

“We’ve raised more than a half million dollars in six years,” Goodrich said. “We have given out more than 40 AEDs to cities, churches, charities, Kids in Distress, Sheridan House and other foundations.”

Goodrich said the Frankie Foundation still has the same sponsors and vendors since it started including One Step CPR, the presenting title sponsor. Goodrich said the scramble/best ball tournament is run totally by volunteers and all of the proceeds go toward the scholarships and AEDs.

Lon Rosen, of One Step CPR, hopes to generate awareness and teach people the importance of having a defibrillator at golf courses and different athletic events.

“People don’t even know what a defibrillator is,” Rosen said. “We are just scratching the surface. We want to send a message through the Frankie Foundation of what an AED [is].”

Rosen noted that Sudden Cardiac Arrest is a leading cause of death in the United States, accounting for an estimated 325,000 deaths each year, and that it claims a life every two minutes.

By Gary Curreri, Special Correspondent

Pompano Beach Middle School’s Daishaon Spann said she doesn’t feel any pressure following in her five sisters footsteps on the track.

The Pompano Beach Middle School sixth grader didn’t display any nerves as she ran away with the county title in the girls’ 800-meter run with a time of 2:26.08 in the recent Broward County Middle School track and field championships at South Plantation High School. Spann also placed fourth in the 200-meter dash as she clocked a 27.36.

“I just wanted to go out and make everybody chase me,” said Spann, 11, who is the No. 3-ranked girl in the 400- meter dash and 800-meter run in the AAU national Submidget Division. She is moving up to the Midget Division this year. “I like racing because it relieves stress and I like to travel a lot. I don’t feel pressure having to follow in their footsteps. I am looking to make a name for myself.”

Spann had a pulled muscle during the 400-meter dash at last year’s nationals in the AAU competition and took fourth.

Other locals who performed well at the county meet were Pompano Middle’s Carshalylah Harrison, who won the girls’ high jump in 4- 10.00 and placed fifth in the girls’ 400-meter dash (1:04.06). Deerfield Beach Middle School’s Sara Carroll was second in the girls’ high jump (4-08.00). Pompano Middle’s Sameria Gainer was third in the girls’ shot put with a toss of 27-01.50. Deerfield Beach Middle’s Taylor Broward was fifth in the girls’ 100-meter hurdles (18.88). Deerfield Beach Middle’s Sara Carroll was seventh in the 800-meter run (2:48.35).

By Gary Curreri

Jacob Pybus has the city of Pompano Beach’s Start Smart T-Ball program figured out. The 4-year-old swings and hits the ball off the tee and runs up the first base line. Instead of stopping at the base and running to second, he continues his jaunt to the fence bordering the field and then returns for another swing.

“He likes hitting and running the best,” said his mother, Rachael Pybus, who also helped the youth with his batting stance. She likes what the program offers. “I like that it is mainly an introduction to the sports and they get a feel for it and they can decide the ones they like the most.”

Jacob Pybus was one of 20 youngsters who came out on a Wednesday night at the Four Fields Athletic Complex at Pompano Community Park to not only connect with the Tballs, but to connect with other friends between the ages of 3 and 5.

“This is our second year in their programs,” Rachael Pybus said. “He likes T-Ball and soccer best. We have done all of their programs. I definitely like the social aspect and that there is no pressure and they can just come out here, have fun and learn about the sport.”

The Pompano Start Smart T-Ball program, which recently concluded its six-week run, attracted 80 children from 3- to 5-years-old on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings from 5:45-6:45 p.m. It is one of four such sport offerings by the city. The city also has flag football, basketball and soccer.

“We want to get the parents involved in teaching them the basics and, at 3 years old, it is kind of hard,” said Bobbi Palat, a recreation leader with the city of Pompano Beach Parks and Recreation Dept. She has been with the city for the past 15 years and is a Pompano Beach native. “We want the kids to have fun.”

Families came from as far away as Lighthouse Point, Deerfield Beach, Ft. Lauderdale and the surrounding communities, including Pompano Beach. Participants recieve a ball, bat, glove and T-shirt for their participation in T-Ball. In soccer, they get a soccer ball and shin guards; in basketball, they get a basketball and, in football, they get a football, flags and a kicking tee.

Cost for six-week program is $25 for residents, $50 non-residents. For more information, call 954-786- 4119.

By Gary Curreri

Melvin Randall admits he was “caught a little off guard” when he was told he was no longer going to be the Blanche Ely’s boys’ basketball coach after leading the team to back-to-back Class 7A state titles.

Randall said he was informed on June 7 that his 13 years at the school that yielded three state titles was over. Randall, who has been a math teacher at the Pompano Beach school for the past 26 years, has compiled a 456-136 record and five state titles between Deerfield Beach and Blanche Ely high schools.

“This has been going on for the last two years and it basically boils down to something personal,” said Randall, who was informed in a 10:30 a.m. meeting with Blanche Ely assistant principal Malcolm Spence (Blanche Ely administrator over sports) and assistant principal Antonio Womack. “There was no explanation, no nothing. I was kind of shocked. I am not bitter. There have been many placed in my position who have said ‘forget it’ and have just walked away. I am not going to walk away.”

“I am still teaching (math) there, but with the coaching it’s pending,” Randall continued. “I may go into the private sector. You have to have a better excuse than we are moving in a different direction. Which direction is that? Are you going down? I am not being cocky, but that is the only direction I can think of. We only lost five games the past two years.”

Randall finished the 2012- 13 season at Ely by winning his second consecutive Class 7A state championship and earning its second consecutive national ranking.

Randall, 50, of Ft. Lauderdale, has expressed his frustration with the school’s administration by not being allowed to keep two of his long-time assistant coaches (Morris Grooms and Reginald McNair, both former players of his,) from the 2011-12 season and also is upset at how he was treated by Ely principal Karlton Johnson after leading the team to a state championship in 2012 when he had to apply for his position twice.

“Whatever the situation was, it didn’t warrant dismissal,” said Randall, the only coach in Broward to lead two different teams to national rankings – Deerfield Beach in 1999 and Blanche Ely the past two seasons. “It could have warranted suspensions maybe, instead of the harshest thing (firing).”

I am very proud of what I have done at Ely as the boys head basketball coach,” Randall said. “And really doing it the hard way and being successful and running into a situation that I have been in a few years and being successful.”

“My job is to educate 9th grade students and above and also, when I am in the gym, I am trying to do the same thing through that crazy sport of basketball,” Randall said. “It is not just bouncing a basketball and getting Ws and Ls. It is about mentoring these kids and giving them lifelong skills.”

Randall said he didn’t want his name to be tarnished as he moved past the situation.

“I am going to be heard because they are not going to tarnish my name,” Randall said. “I don’t want people to say maybe he did something drastic because he won two state titles, and he must have done something (wrong). And to be put in a spot to coach at the next level, and that is what athletic directors would be thinking as well. It is going to be pretty interesting.”

Efforts to reach school officials were unsuccessful.

By Gary Curreri

No track. No problem! Highlands Christian Academy seniors Ryan Davis and Kyle Audet picked up where they left off last year as they advanced to the state track meet and came away with stellar performances.

Davis successfully defended his state title in the Class 1A 300-meter hurdles as he clocked a 38.04 time and won by two seconds. Audet was fifth in the event as he ran a 40.88.

Davis was fourth in the 110- meter hurdles with a 14.76 time, while Audet was close behind at 15.43 and took seventh.

Sixth-year Highlands Christian track coach Marc Veynovich said he was not surprised by their performances despite not having a track at the school.

“Watching Ryan when he first started running and how he took to the hurdles, and in pretty much every event you put him in, I wasn’t super surprised,” Veynovich said of Smith, who signed a track scholarship with Liberty. “I definitely expected a repeat from him this year even though he was suffering from a groin injury.

“Ryan had very little practice time, yet he still had the athletic ability to put it all out there and still get down to low 38s,” Veynovich added. “He would have been in the 37s this year if he had any challenge. I really feel for him.”

Veynovich called Audet a “beast.” Audet has been accepted to the University of Florida and said he would try and walk on for track and maybe kick for the football team.

“Kyle is good at whatever he does,” Veynovich said. “He is an excellent football player, an excellent soccer player and what he brought to track was complete athleticism and the ability to do whatever I asked of him. He was also an 11-6 pole vaulter in addition to the hurdles.”

Audet, 18, of Deerfield Beach, has been at Highlands for 14 years. This is his fifth year running track at the school.

“The whole point of not having a track is when you are running on the grass you don’t get correct times that you would usually get on a track,” said Audet, who finished 11th in the state in hurdles as a sophomore and eighth last year as a junior. “You can’t practice your splits in hurdles as well as you could do on a track.

“I mean, it would help a lot to have a track,” Audet said with a laugh. “I just like to consider us the grass hurdle brothers because we have been doing it on grass the whole time.”

Audet said it was a lot of fun attending Highlands where he played football, soccer and track.

“I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” said Audet, who also plays beach volleyball. “I love the fact that I went to a small school so I’d be able to play all of these sports. It conditioned my body into the perfect athlete.”

Davis, 18, also of Deerfield Beach, has been a Knight since he was in kindergarten. “It is kind of cool to see the people I have grown up with like Kyle,” Davis said. “Just through the years seeing how much I’ve changed and how much the school has changed. I am really proud of what I have been able to do.”

Davis will have a banner up on the gym wall again. Other than former Athletic Director and head boys basketball coach Reg Cook, who won more than 500 games at the school, Davis is the lone individual who is recognized with a banner.

“I was the first individual state champion for Highlands as far as any sport goes so they put that up last year,” Davis said. “I thought that was very nice of them. It feels really good. I feel that God has pushed me in this direction every step of the way. Throughout my life, he has been guiding me the right way and staying here and running track here.”

“It really set in after the race that it was my last race in high school,” Davis said. “It feels great to win states my senior year and the last two years. It was an amazing gift from God.”

Cook, who is an assistant athletic director at the school, said Veynovich has done a wonderful job building the program and guiding it to its first-ever district title this year. He said there were approximately 20 varsity girls, 20 varsity boys and 20 middle school (boys and girls) athletes in the program.

“A lot of credit goes to coach Veynovich and his leadership,” Cook said. “Track, a lot of times, was on the back burner. Now it is a prestigious part of our school. It shows pride in the track program and that is just great.”

By Gary Curreri

Deerfield Beach’s Donald Mann enjoys golf because of the challenge it presents and he doesn’t mind the scenery either. The 91-year-old Mann recently picked up his first ever hole-in-one on the Par-3,130-yard, 3rd hole at the newly renovated Greg Norman Pines course at the Pompano Municipal Golf Course.

Mann, who is a member of the Pompano Beach Men’s Golf Association, used his 28-degree, Hybrid 6 club and drove the ball within 30-35 feet of the Par-3, 130-yard, 3rd hole and watched it roll in the cup, much to the delight of his playing partners.

“It was a stroke of luck,” said Mann, a veteran of the Normandy Invasion. “I got a birdie on the next hole, so I was three under after two holes and I was thinking this game isn’t as difficult as I thought it was. Then, the wheels fell off and I started making bogeys and double bogeys.”

Mann, who takes lessons from Pompano golf pro T.J. Ziol, is originally from New Jersey and played golf as a youth, but gave it up for tennis. He took up golf again at age 70 after a 50-year hiatus. Mann said he is a 25-handicap now and has been as low as an 11. He hopes to get back there within the year.

“I’ve holed some wedges from the fairway, but this is my first hole-in-one,” Mann said. “The golf swing is a very complicated thing and I have been taking lessons. The thrill of hitting a very nice shot is a good feeling. “To some people, the professionals, they have 8, 9 or 10 holein- ones during their careers. It is a pretty small cup with a long way to go.”

Mann said he plays two to three times a week and enjoys the scenery and practicing. He also likes the commemorative plaque the PGA sent him for his feat.

“The golf swing is a very complicated thing and I have been taking lessons,” said Mann, who has shot below his age a number of times. “Now, my goal is to get into the low 80s. I have given away a lot of shots around the green because my short game needs work.”