By Gary Curreri

Marianne Weber fired a three-day total of 249 to win the Pompano Beach Women’s Golf Association Club Championship. Weber won the 3-day Low Gross tournament that was played Jan. 23, 25 and 26 defeating last year’s club champion, Mimi Denoma, by 13 strokes.

Nancy Rack won the B Flight with a 264 total, while Janet Tomchik shot 270 to finish as runner-up. In the C Flight, Vonnie O’Keefe (279) edged runner-up Kathy Dunn (289) for top honors. Alberta Bove carded a 316 to win the D Flight over Roseanna Nixon, who finished with a 321.

Charity beach volleyball event set

The Embrace Life Children’s Foundation has teamed up with Dig the Beach Volleyball to host a charity beach volleyball Pro/Am Tournament slated for next weekend on Deerfield Beach. Proceeds are going to the Salah Children’s Hospital at Broward Health.

The event, to be held on Feb. 10-11, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. will feature two days of competition. Saturday will include Men’s/Women’s Doubles for both professional and amateur players, while Sunday will include Junior Boys/Girls 12-18 and Co-Ed Doubles. The event will be held at 310 N. Ocean Blvd.

Several community sponsors have already joined, including Jersey Mike’s Subs and Harmless Harvest Coconut Water, who will feed and hydrate the players on Saturday. Other local businesses supporting the event are Rox Volleyball as a Title Sponsor, Pediatrix, Island Water Sports, Hypower Electric and International Union of Police Associations. Registration deadline is Feb. 9.

For player and sponsor information, visit www.embracelifechildrensfoundation.com or call Ben Koos at 954-608-2779.

Dillard tops Ely in 4-0 thriller

Dillard’s Bryce Oliver scored a game-high 25 points, including a key free throw down the stretch to help the Panthers escape with a 78-72 victory in four overtimes over visiting Blanche Ely.

Oliver scored all of his points in the second half and overtime as the Panthers improved to 9-7.

Deshawn Bartley had two free throws with 2:39 remaining in the final overtime to give the Panthers a 73-70 lead that it never relinquished. Bartley, who had seven points in the four overtimes, finished with 22 points, while teammate Seth Coddington chipped in with 11 points.

Blanche Ely guard Michael Forrest buried a 3-pointer at buzzer for a 39-36 lead heading into what was expected in the fourth and final quarter of the game. He scored 16 of his team’s final 18 points in regulation and finished with 22 points after going scoreless in the first half.

The Tigers (15-7) also got strong performances from Joshua Scott (20 points) and Calvin McCutcheon had 19 points.

By Gary Curreri

The first thing on Pompano Beach High School boys’ basketball coach James Stone’s bucket list was to win a game.

Check!

The Tornadoes were coming off an 0-21 (2016-17) season and lost the final game in the 2015-16 season when they finished 5-16. Pompano Beach dropped their first eight games of the 2017-18 campaign before a 72-65 victory against host Plantation on Dec. 14 snapped a 30-game losing streak. The team was 5-16 and 4-16 the two years prior to that.

“My biggest priority was to get a win after they went 0-21 last year,” said Stone, who moved up from the junior varsity team after a year with the Tornadoes and a year at Coral Springs Charter School. It is his first varsity head coaching job.

“I told them to act like we won before (after beating Plantation) so we got on the bus and we had one guy, Conrad (Bennett), he’s a sophomore so he was about to cry,” Stone said. “He was on the team last year and he said, ‘coach that was my first win as a Pompano basketball player.’ It was a big moment for me to get him his first win.”

Pompano Beach (4-9) defeated a team from Australia in the Deerfield Beach Holiday Tournament in an exhibition game and that has sparked the team to back-to-back wins over Cardinal Gibbons (60-56) and Coconut Creek (57-55). Pompano Beach travels to play at Hallandale on Friday night at 7:30 p.m.

“That was a big tournament for us because last year they didn’t win a game,” Stone said. “This was a good confidence builder for them this year. It was a great experience for us to play against a team from Australia.”

Stone said he has a junior oriented team, with eight juniors and three seniors. Senior Andre Francis leads the team with 16 points and 10 rebounds a game and Stone also said he’s received solid play from the following juniors — Cedric Camper, Braxton McMillon, Takobe Clark, Brandon Peets and Tristen Anderson.

Stone said the team is buying into his philosophy.

“They keep their composure,” Stone said. “They are a very composed group of guys. They don’t get rattled when they go down.”

There has been little adjustment in becoming head coach.

“There really hasn’t been too much of an adjustment since most of these guys came up with me from the JV,” Stone said. “The transitions are easy since they already knew the system. The ones who played on the varsity last year, those are the ones that had to buy into the system.”

Knowing that all but three players will return next year has Stone excited.

“Having the core coming back is great,” Stone said. “I wanted this to be a building year and next year I would have had my guys together for three years, so next year I am looking to turn it around. I want to go far in the district and make the (BCAA) Big 8 tournament.

“They can be a great team,” Stone continued. “Sometimes they get into the ‘I’ basketball and they want to be the guy to carry the team and I tell them it is a team sport. If I can get them to focus on team and play hard and fight for all 32 minutes, we’ll be alright.”

By Gary Curreri

At 86 years of age, Pompano Beach’s Carlo Spirito is showing no signs of slowing down. In fact, like a fine wine, he seems to be getting better with age.

Earlier this year, Spirito was the 2017 Club Masters Champion for the Pompano Beach Men’s Golf Association and he followed that up by picking up his fourth career hole-in-one recently on the third hole of the Greg Norman Signature Pines Course at the Pompano Beach Municipal Golf Course.

“It ran about 145-yards,” said Spirito, who captured the C Flight championship that day in the individual class play, odd holes minus ½ handicap, with a 24.5 total. “It is a tricky little hole with water on the left and the pin was in the back. I hit a 6-iron with a nice draw on the ball and it was coming in towards the hole. I saw it hit the green and roll up towards the pin, but I never saw it go in.”

“The guys I was playing with said, ‘it’s in, it’s in the hole,” he continued. “I couldn’t believe it. It is always exciting when you get a hole-in-one.”

The first hole-in-one for Spirito came in 1985 at the Cape Cod Country Club in Massachusetts where he aced the Par-3, 150-yard fifth hole. The second one came in 1988 at the White Mountain Country Club in New Hampshire where he negotiated the Par-3, 5th-hole, 175-yard distance with a 5-wood. His third ace was in 2002 where he needed just one shot on the 125-yard, third hole at the Oriole Golf and Tennis Club in Margate.

Spirito was proud of winning the Master’s title at the club.

“I was really excited to win the men’s championship,” Spirito said. “You play and you play, and you play, and you never expect it to happen. I just happened to have a couple of good weeks. The putts were falling and you wind up with a low score, and you end up winning. I was surprised. I never expected to do it. There are a lot of good golfers.”

Spirito said he has won tournaments throughout his career, but it was nice to win one as he approaches 90 years of age. He started playing golf at the age of 25, so six decades longer and he is still at it.

“I have never won one alone,” he continued. “It was always with a foursome or a twosome or something like that.”

Since turning 86 in October, he has shot his age or better eight times.

“It is very exciting because when I do it, I call my son (Steven) in Rhode Island and say, ‘guess what? I shot my age today,’” Spirito said with a laugh. “He will ask me what tees am I playing from and I say, what’s the difference?”

Spirito said the longevity on the course comes from being in good shape. He carries a 22-handicap from the senior tees at the course.

“Up until they put the Pines course in about three years ago, I would walk every time I played,” said Spirito, who plays three times a week. “My son will come down next month for a week or so and we will play everyday. He is a really good golfer.”

How long does he plan to keep at it?

“Until I am in the 100s or so,” Spirito said. “I like it because it is good exercise and something to do.

There is good camaraderie and it is challenging. Of course, you always have a little side bet here and there.”

“I think getting a hole-in-one is always more exciting,” Spirito said. “I’ve been playing for 60 years and I only have four of them. Winning a tournament, or something like that, I have done many times…shooting my age will be exciting. The older I get the easier it will be. When I am down in the 80s like that, I feel good about it.”

By Gary Curreri

After opening the season with wins over Sheridan Hills and Boca Raton Christian, the Highlands Christian Academy boys’ basketball team found the going rough in its own holiday tournament.

The Knights began the regular season as it topped Sheridan Hills, 83-67, and then downed District 7-3A rival Boca Raton Christian, 53-40, in the opener of the 40th annual event that was started by former AD and basketball coach Reg Cook.

Sophomore guard Alex Villas led the team in scoring with 16 points, including going 6 for 6 from the field with 2, three-pointers in the win over the Blazers.

The Knights (2-2) dropped its final two games in the tournament, falling to the eventual tournament champion, Pine Crest, 57-44, and to King’s Academy, 57-56, in the third place game. Highlands trailed Pine Crest by 14 points and were able to draw within four before the Panthers pulled away for the win.

“Playing these three games really sets the tone for our season and gives me a good indication of what our strengths and weaknesses are,” said Knights coach and Athletic Director Jim Good. “Although we ended up losing two out of the three games, I was very encouraged and pleased with our effort. Unfortunately, we found ourselves too deep in a hole versus Pine Crest and King’s trying to overcome double digits.”

Highlands and King’s are quite familiar with each other as they faced off the previous two tournaments. Highlands defeated King’s for third place last year and in double overtime the previous year for the championship game. The Knights were down 12 in the third quarter before senior point guard Sawyer Lawhon hit 3, threes to draw them close. Lawhon was named to the All-Tournament team.

“We, unfortunately, did not shoot the ball well from the free throw line that night,” Good said. “I guess King’s was finally due to pick up a win against us. It’s always a great week as we host the Classic right after Thanksgiving.”

Pine Crest, the defending champion, won the title with a 72-55 victory over North Broward Prep as Brian Anderson was named tournament MVP. The Knights had won its own tournament nine times – 1978, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1992, 2000, 2009, 2010 and in 2015.

Santos Sweep helps Piranhas finish 15th in Winter Champs

Pompano Beach’s Mattheus Santos, 16, and his 15-year-old brother Raphael went 1-2 in the 15-16 boys high point standings to help the Pompano Beach Piranhas swim team to a 15th place overall finish at the 27th annual Speedo Winter Championships at Plantation Aquatic Complex recently.

Mattheus had 64 points, while Raphael added 60.50 as the pair combined to score 124.50 of the swim club’s points for the four-day meet and led the boys’ team to an 11th place finish with 219.50 points. The girls’ team finished 28th with 26 points as the program ended up with 245.50 total points.

The meet featured nearly 1,100 swimmers and more than 50 teams from the Florida Gold Coast (South Florida teams) organization, in addition to teams from out of state and international squads. Swimmers ages 9-16 were involved in the competition.

Hosted by the Plantation Swim Team, the Winter Championships is the state’s largest age group meet and one of the nation’s largest LSC (Local Swimming Committees) meets.

Other top finishes for Pompano included Emilio Barrantes, 14, who was sixth with 46 points; Summer Schulte, 14, who finished 18th in the Girls 13-14 high points with 17 points; Alex Marquez, 15, (7 points) and Shane Schulte, 16, (5 points) placed 30th and 35th, respectively, in the meet.

By Gary Curreri

Pompano Beach’s Shannon Snell has not only made her mark locally as a junior lifeguard – she has competed at the highest levels.

At the end of month, the 20-year-old Snell and 2016 graduate of Cardinal Gibbons High School will represent the USA Open Team in the upcoming International Surf Rescue Challenge in New Zealand from Nov. 30 — Dec. 4.

Snell has been an Ocean lifeguard since 2016 on both the east and west coast of the United States, and prior to that was a Pompano Beach Junior lifeguard since the age of 9. During that time, she was selected to represent the United States Youth National Team in France in 2014. She also travelled to Japan and Australia the following two years.

Based on her performance at the United States Lifeguarding Association Nationals in Daytona Beach this summer, Snell earned her fourth invitation to represent her country.

“When I was younger, I just did junior lifeguarding for fun, I didn’t think it would turn into a professional level,” said Snell, who is lifeguard for both the city of Ft Lauderdale Ocean Rescue and Miami Beach Ocean Rescue. “Back then it was a killer workout for the summer and now it is more mental, physical, more intense and more professional.”

“I am super honored with all of the opportunities it has opened up for me in the sport. I have gotten to travel the world and meet people that I am still friends with today. It is just something that I never experienced and never thought would be such a big part of my life.”

Snell, currently ranked seventh in the Nation for Open Women, is self-trained and does distance running, swimming, weight training, yoga, stretching and concentrates on her nutrition to be a top flight athlete.

She also works 10 hours a day as a first responder, Ocean Rescue. At the nationals in the summer, she competed in 10 events and had 40-plus races during a three-day span that featured more than 1,000 lifeguards. She was fifth in Beach Flags and earned her overall ranking based on individual points through prelims, semifinals and finals.

Competitions involve everything from sprinting out of the water in the sand to paddling in overhead surf pounding your body; to simulated surf rescue races involving more than one person to surfsking a ski threw heavy surf.

Pool events also take place at the World Championship every two years, apart from swimming and rescuing an unconscious person (simulated as a mannequin) you have to pull to safety.

“Looking back, I never pictured myself being where I am today,” Snell said. “With the help of my parents making sure I did the right things as far as training, I am very proud to be where I am and I couldn’t have done it without them helping me get through all of the tough obstacles.”

Snell said there are lifeguards who still compete at the age of 50. She sees herself doing this a couple of more years and then enlisting in the Coast Guard.

“It has become a very mental and physical challenge because now you know what is important and the sacrifices you have to make in order to compete at this level,” Snell said. “I just want to race my heart out and make some memorable friends and meet up with some old friends who are going from other countries. I just want to have a really good time because New Zealand is someplace that I have not been, so I want to explore and see how their culture is.”

Snell has set up a GoFundMe page to help defray the cost of the trip since the United States Lifeguard Association covers nothing. For more information, go to www.gofundme.com/shannonsnell.

Ranse Classic this weekend

The Ranse Volleyball Classic Pro Am 2-man volleyball tournament is headed to Deerfield Beach this weekend (Nov. 4-5).

Last year’s tournament raised nearly $40,000 and the event is a blind draw grab bag event, with King of the Beach style of “pool play.” You will sign up as an individual, and then players are “picked” during the Friday night player’s party to determine what court they will be playing on to determine their division level (Open/AAA – OR – AA/A).

The cost is $53 for adults and $31.80 for juniors, and the registration is open until 6 p.m. Nov. 2. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/RanseVolleyballClassic or www.facebook.com/DigtheBeach.

By Gary Curreri

Pompano Beach coach Melvin Jones knew it would be a tough road in his first stint as a varsity football head coach, especially with the schedule he’s faced.

Pompano Beach (0-3), which entered the game having been outscored 92-6 this season, kept pace in the early going of its most recent game against Hollywood Hills.

“The season obviously hasn’t gone according to plan, but I know what I was getting into,” said Jones, whose team opened with a 53-0 loss to Monarch and a 39-6 defeat at the hands of John Carroll Catholic. “I was just trying to change the culture and get kids to understand football and the fundamentals and to be able to line up and that is what we have been trying to accomplish.”

His team was also part of history on Friday night when Hollywood Hills junior quarterback Holly Neher became the first female quarterback to start a varsity football game in Broward County, and possibly the nation.

Neher started the team’s 51-27 win over Pompano Beach High School at Cooper City High School and was perfect on her first five passes in the first quarter for 126 yards. She led the Spartans to two first half scores, including a 67-yard pitch and catch to senior receiver Alexander Shelton.

The Tornadoes trimmed the early deficit to 13-7 on a 61-yard run from senior Brian Campbell.

Hills freshman Emile Bien-Aime made it 20-7 on a 65-yard scoring toss to Shelton before Pompano Beach’s senior Andrew Putney connected with senior Andre Francis to pull within 20-13. It was the closest Pompano Beach would get the rest of the night.

“We are just trying to get better each day,” Jones said. “I expect to get better each day. I expect them to learn more as they watch the film and being with us. They will get an understating about what football is all about.”

There was optimism following the Golden Tornadoes’ kickoff classic game against St. John Paul II Academy – a 36-34 setback – and Jones said the two schools are similar in size and mirror each other.

They are in an independent league and we were in that league, but now we are playing with the big boys.

“I knew what we are in for,” Jones said. “We are looking forward to the challenges ahead.”

Jones said he has received strong play this season from Putney, Campbell and Jalal Jean-Charles.

“A lot of our guys go both ways,” Jones said, “so they are doing good things on both sides of the ball.”

Tigers notch first victory

Blanche Ely picked up its first victory of the season thanks to a little trickery on the first play from scrimmage in its game against host Boyd Anderson.

On the first play, the Tigers (1-2) lined up two quarterbacks, both Yanez Rogers and James Wallace, in the backfield. Rogers handled the snap from center and pitched the ball to Wallace, who rolled to his left and launched a 73-yard scoring toss to a wide-open Dennis Pete for a 6-0 lead.

Boyd Anderson (1-2) answered on its opening possession as sophomore quarterback Hansy Colas connected with Johnny King on a 15-yard touchdown pass to tie it at 6 on the final play of the first quarter.

Blanche Ely converted a special teams miscue early in the fourth quarter to go up 12-6. Boyd Anderson, facing fourth down, attempted to get off a punt, however, the snap sailed over the punter’s head and the Tigers got the ball on the Cobras’ 14.

Three plays later, Rogers hit Pete for a 10-yard TD pass for a 12-6 lead. After Blanche Ely conceded a safety, the Cobras had one last chance, however, the Tigers picked off Cobras in the final minute to escape with the 12-8 win.

The Tigers opened the season with losses to Stranahan and Plantation.

By Gary Curreri

Pompano Beach’s Caroline Israels said her memories from college were “really good.”

“My teammates were absolutely awesome!” Israels said. “I had a lot of memories with them. I loved my experience with them and what we were able to accomplish together.”

Israels, 22, closed out her final year at San Diego State University by being named the Golden Coast Conference Player of the Year for the second time. She shared the award when she was a sophomore in 2015.

She was surprised at being named the Player of the Year.

“There were a lot of good players that came in from Pacific,” said Israels, who also landed on the all-league first team for the third straight season, led SDSU in goals (60), assists (37), steals (82), multi-goal games (19), hat tricks (8), multi-assist games (11) and multi-steal games (20). “They did an amazing job as well as my own teammates as well as some from other schools. It was a great honor to get that award again.”

“I haven’t really focused on the individual award,” she continued. “It obviously meant something to me, but not as much as a championship would have. Being able to go 26-0 in the conference over the course of four years in the regular season was absolutely amazing. Not a lot of people have been able to do that in their careers and I really appreciate that and getting another 7-0 regular season more than the individual accolades.”

Israels said she went out west to “make a name for herself.” She majored in business administration with an emphasis in human resources and is now in San Antonio working at Aerotek staffing agency where she is a recruiter.

It wasn’t all easy, however, as she nearly didn’t go back to school after her freshman season. After graduating from Westminster Academy in 2013 where she was an All-County Player of the Year for both daily newspapers, she battled some homesickness but gutted it out.

Her mother, Denise, a former swimmer at Oklahoma University and the girls’ water polo coach at Fort Lauderdale’s Westminster Academy, had a stroke that nearly killed her and Caroline was out in San Diego.

“She had her stroke and of course she has always been there for everything,” Israels said. “She, of course, wanted to come to every tournament, every weekend, everything she could possibly be at and traveling is now obviously harder so having to tell her no and that it wasn’t doable for certain weekends was very hard. So we were trying to motivate her through everything she was going through was and still is very difficult.

“I mean she is doing an absolutely amazing job and we couldn’t be more proud of where she is and how far she has come,” Israels continued. “She is still around the pool every single day and she refuses to give that up no matter how many times we have told her. She should probably stop, but the kids keep her going and coming out to meets kept her going. We hope she continues to succeed. She is doing absolutely great and we are really happy about it.”

Looking back over her career, she said “breathtaking” would sum up her time there.

“It was kind of a surreal experience,” she said. “I am happy I stayed and made the friendships I made and write our names in history at San Diego State.”

Aztecs coach Carin Crawford gushed about her former player and called her a “once-in-a-generation talent,” and felt privileged to have the opportunity to coach her. Crawford said Israels was a big reason why they won five championships in four seasons during her time at SDSU. Crawford said that Israels’ senior year was her best because she became more of an all-around player.

“Caroline is one of the most physically gifted athletes I’ve ever coached,” said Crawford, who just began her 19th year at the helm. “She is smooth and efficient, she was the fastest player on our team and makes it look effortless.

“Caroline had a great career at SDSU because she had an opportunity to make a difference here, and I think she really thrives on that,” Crawford added. “She wanted the ball in her hand to take the potential game-winning shot. She has that mentality of embracing the pressure of performing and she was able to do it for four years—game winners, buzzer beaters, half court shots etc. She was our go-to scorer for four years. That’s an incredible legacy.”

By Gary Curreri

Deerfield Beach Little League President Kathleen Williams was pleased with her program’s postseason results in the District 10 All-Star competition as the 50/70, Junior and Senior Division squads all finished as runner-up in the District 10 All-Star competition.

“The Deerfield Beach Little League is in their 60th year and still going strong,” Williams said. “This is the first time in 10 years that our 9/10s have gone more than two games in the district playoffs, so that shows growth.”

Deerfield Beach 9/10 manager Warren Fronte knew from the start that his group had a chance to reach the title game against North Springs; and, despite the defeat, he said the team battled during postseason play.

“Listen, they haven’t won anything in 13 years so to bring this to five wins and second place, we are more than happy,” Fronte said. “We are more than ecstatic. These kids are all champions in my book.”

“From Day 1, right from the get go, these kids put their hearts out and dominated our first team 25-8 and it was totally amazing,” Fronte said. “It was like, wow, we got a team.”

Selections of the 8-9-10 and 9-10-11 Deerfield Beach Little League All-Star teams came from eight teams in the league to pick from.

“It was a little tough with what we had to play with, but we got us some winners,” Fronte said.

“There will be lasting memories for the group,” Fronte noted.

“Hopefully, they learned to be a professional player as far as their age league goes,” Fronte said. “Hopefully, their parents see it the same. These are players. They are not just little kids playing little league. They are athletes.

“You could tell right off the bat which children pushed themselves to the max and a lot of them have,” he concluded. “They have their teammates backing them up and pushing them the rest of the way.”

The Deerfield Beach Little League fielded 25 teams during the regular season this year and 270 players.

“We limited the teams to 11 players so everybody got more playing time,” Williams said. “Next year, we are discussing going back to the Major Division, instead of just the 50/70 Division.”

In the in-house divisions, the River Bandits won the Farm Division; the White Caps won the Minor Division; Cubs won the 50/70 Division and Mets won the Junior Division.

Brown wins PBMGA Tourney

Chuck Brown carded a 65 and won a match of cards to take the Class A Division title in the Pompano Beach Men’s Golf Association tournament on the Pines Course at Pompano Beach Golf Course on July 12.

Brown was closest to the pin on the 15th hole when his tee shot wound up 12 ft., 11 in. from the hole.

Jim DeCicco, who also shot a net 65, was second in the Individual Class Play, while Tom Breur shot a 69 and won on a match of cards for that spot. In the Class B Division, Joe Patchen won with a 66, while Scott Feinman shot a 70 for second place and George Torres carded a 72 for third.

Richard Bell edged Dave Dowling by one shot in winning the Class C Division with a 68, while Bob Bridgman had a 71 for third. 

By Gary Curreri

Blanche Ely High School quarterback Noel Wilson said events like the recent Miami Dolphins 7-on-7 tournament are crucial to the Tigers’ success in the fall.

“It is really important because we are out here getting the experience,” said the 15-year-old who lives in Pompano Beach, who will be a sophomore in the fall. “I love the experience of playing football. This will showcase my talent.”

Wilson was on the junior varsity last year and hopes to make the varsity team this season. Events like the 7-on7s will get him that experience by getting the repetitions with the skill position players. Playing against some of the top teams in the Tri-County area, Blanche Ely reached the quarterfinals of the tournament.

“Our main (team) goal is to win the state championship,” Wilson said. “These events are also important because you always want to be the best. These tournaments will show you the things you need to work on.”

Blanche Ely’s Nick Ricks, who coaches the linebackers on the varsity team, said the Tigers have a mix of older and younger players so they put two teams in the tournament.

“Sometimes, when you go to 7-on-7s, the young guys don’t get a chance to play,” Ricks said. “The older guys want to play because they have already put in the work. I think it was a good idea by (new head coach Calvin) Davis to enter two teams so the young guys can get some experience. Obviously, it paid off.

“These events build confidence and camaraderie,” Ricks added. “We take most of the skill guys. Since it is the summer, some guys are away, but we bring the guys who are committed. We even have some kids who are going into the ninth grade and haven’t experienced anything like this and they didn’t even look shell-shocked. Those are the kind of things we were looking for.”

For the 10th consecutive year, the Miami Dolphins hosted the three-day event, which also consisted of a life skills symposium at Hard Rock Stadium that preceded the tourney. The symposium focused on character development, practical life lessons and specific skill training.

The event was followed by two days of 7-on-7 action on the gridiron at Plantation’s Central Park. There were 44 high school teams from the Tri-County area and an additional 23 teams that also competed in the youth tournament, which consisted of three age groups (10U, 12U and 14U).

Palmer released from hospital

Deerfield Beach High School cornerback Demetrius Palmer was back at practice this week after being released from Broward Health Medical Center last Wednesday.

Palmer, who will be a senior in the fall, was injured in a car accident on May 28 that killed teammate T.J. Bradley. He hasn’t participated in the offseason conditioning workouts and said he is a few weeks way from returning to the field.

He has a doctor’s appointment coming up to determine if his dislocated shoulder from the accident needs surgery. He also had injuries to his left arm, his face and head were scraped up when he slid 65 ft. into a pole.

Bradley’s mother had rented a red 2017 Corvette for an after-prom party and the 19-year-old teen reportedly lost control under wet conditions on State Road 7 north of Sunrise Boulevard. The car hit a curb and flipped several times and ejected both teens. Palmer was in a coma for eight days after the accident, according to Bucks coach Jevon Glenn.

Christmas Services

Cathedral Church of God

365 S. Dixie Hwy., Deerfield Beach, FL 33441

• Christmas Day – 9:30 a.m.

For more information, call 954-427-0302.

Christian Love Fellowship

801 SE 10 St., Suite 4

Deerfield Beach, FL 33441

• Christmas Day – 10 a.m.

For more information, call 954-428-8990

Community Presbyterian Church

1920 SE 5 St.

Deerfield Beach, FL 33441

• Christmas Eve – 7 p.m. (candlelight service)

• Christmas Day – 10 a.m.

For more information, call 954-427-0222

Cross Community Church

841 SE 2 Court

Deerfield Beach, FL 33441

• Christmas Day – 2 p.m.

For more information, call 954-427-3045

St. Peter’s Anglican Church

1416 SE 2 Terr.

Deerfield Beach, FL 33441

• Christmas Eve – 10:30 p.m., Midnight Mass

• Lessons and Carols, Holy Communion, refreshments

• All are welcome.

• Christmas Day – 10 a.m.

For more information, call 954-695-0336.

First Baptist Church

701 NE 2 St.

Deerfield Beach, FL 33441

• Christmas Eve – 6 p.m. (candlelight service)

• Christmas Day – 10:30 a.m.

For more information, call 954-427-1216

Grace Baptist Church

501 NE 48 St.

Pompano Beach, FL 33064

• Christmas Eve – 6 p.m. (candlelight service)

For more information, call 954-421-0190

St. Ambrose Church

380 S. Federal Hwy.

Deerfield Beach, FL 33441

• Christmas Eve – 4 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 8 p.m. & Midnight

• Christmas Day – 7:30 a.m., 9 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 12 noon & 6 p.m.

For more information, call 954-427-2225

Zion Lutheran Church

959 SE 6 Ave.

Deerfield Beach, FL 33441

• Christmas Eve – 7 p.m. & 10 p.m.

• Christmas Day – 10 a.m.

For more information, call 954-421-3146

Chanukah Services

Chanukah at the Beach

Sunday, Dec. 25, 4 p.m.

S. Ocean Way, between SE 1 St. and SE 2 St.

Deerfield Beach, FL 33441

Latkes, jelly doughnuts, dreidels, arts andc rafts for kids and music. Presented by Chabad of North Broward Beaches. For more information, visit www.jewishlhp.com.

Chanukah event

Tuesday, Dec. 27, 4:45 p.m.

Chabad of Deerfield Beach

1874 W. Hillsboro Blvd.

Deerfield Beach, FL 33442

Live music, doughnuts, latkes, driedels, chocolate gelt, grand menorah lighting and more. $5. For more info, visit www.chabaddeerfield.com.

Grand Menorah Lighting

Wednesday, Dec. 28, 5 p.m.

Pompano Beach Citi Centre

1955 N. Federal Hwy.

Pompano Beach, FL 33062

In the courtyard, near the carousel. Join Mayor Lamar Fisher with music, hot latkes, doughnuts, dreidels, crafts for the kids. Presented by Chabad of North Broward Beaches. For more information, visit www.jewishlhp.com.

Chanukah New Year’s Party

Saturday, Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m.

Hooper Home

2370 NE 26 St.

Lighthouse Point, FL 33064

For the community… Kosher buffet, open bar and more. Presented by Chabad of North Broward Beaches. For more information, visit www.jewishlhp.com.