By Gary Curreri, Correspondent

Former Deerfield Beach High and University of Michigan quarterback Denard “Shoelace” Robinson was all smiles as his No. 16 jersey was retired at halftime at the annual McDougle Bowl.

By then, current Deerfield Beach quarterback Derohn King had tossed touchdown passes on the first three series of the game as the Bucks seized a 32-0 halftime lead and coasted to a 46-0 win over neighborhood rival Blanche Ely on Saturday night.

“I am blessed to get my jersey retired,” said the 27-year-old Robinson, a 2009 Deerfield Beach grad who played collegiately at the University of Michigan and played from 2013-16 with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He became just the second Bucks player to have his jersey retired joining Stockar McDougle in the exclusive club. McDougle had his jersey retired in 2005.

“This is my community and I always come back and give back and they always show me love,” he added. “They ain’t going to wait until I am dead.they showed me love now and I appreciate it.”

King, a junior who transferred from Piper, threw scoring passes of 57 yards to Donte Banton, 23 yards to Deajaun McDougle and 68 yards to Bryce Gowdy. Vgor Fiuza connected on a 35-yard field goal and Jaylan Knighton added a 1-yard run for a 32-0 lead with 1:51 left in the half for the state’s top-ranked Class 8A team by Associated Press and the nation’s 24th ranked team by MaxPreps. King has tossed seven TD passes in the past two weeks.

Knighton added a 43-yard scoring run on the first series of the third quarter to up the lead to 38-0 and force a running clock. Miles Dickens recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown with 2:50 remaining for the final margin. Knighton also had a strong game with 16 carries for 148-yards.

Deerfield Beach (4-0) leads the series against Blanche Ely 22-16, winning the last seven times after Ely (1-3) was able to win three consecutive games from 2009-11. The Bucks, who won last year’s contest 55-8, have outscored the Tigers 240-41 during that span.

“In certain points in games like this, we need to play against ourselves,” Deerfield coach Jevon Glenn said. “This was a game of importance because it’s a neighborhood rivalry.”

Deerfield Beach wasted little time in taking a 7-0 lead as King found senior wide receiver Banton on a 57-yard scoring toss on the game’s third play with 10:50 left in the first quarter. It was the only score the Bucks needed.

Retired NFL players and brothers Stockar and Jerome McDougle have hosted the McDougle Bowl for seven years. Stockar McDougle (1996 Deerfield Beach grad) and Jerome McDougle (1997 Blanche Ely grad) are also heavily involved in the community.

They typically handed out $1,000 scholarships to the MVPs from each team for the game; however, this year, they decided to donate the money to Blanche Ely sophomore Wilbens Morissaint, who is making progress in rehab after suffering a severe neck and back injury in a high school football game in August.

The Bucks finished 8-3 last season and was an upset loser to Western in the first round of the Class 8A playoffs.

Denard “Shoelace” Robinson gives back to his community

By Rachel Galvin

Two hundred and thirty kids from age 5 to 18 came out on the field at Deerfield Beach High School (DBHS) last Saturday, July 9, to be a part of the Lace Up Football Camp, put together by the Shoelace Foundation.

The kids all ran drills, did ladders and other circuit training in their T-shirts provided by the organization. They split up into age categories and ran races to see who was the fastest. They battled the hot sun, but they were all smiles.

This was the second year for the event created by Jacksonville Jaguars football player Denard “Shoelace” Robinson, a running back and wide receiver. Robinson knows this school. He knows this community. He grew up here, and started school at Park Ridge Elementary and eventually graduated from Deerfield High. For him, this event is all about giving back.

“I love my community,” he said. “I want to be the change I want to see.”

Shoelace Foundation board member Jerry Jasmin added, “Denard always wants to give back. He is in a unique situation in that he plays in the same state he is from. He wants to empower underprivileged children to become better citizens.”

Besides local kids, children and teens from other cities, like Lauderhill came out to participate. Coach T. Anderson coaches youth football in the 7U category there. Two of his grandchildren, age 7 and 8, participated in the camp and he sat with other parents on the sidelines beneath tents in the shade.

“I love it,” he said of the event. This is a great thing for our youth … to have a positive role model. We need more of this all the time.”

DBHS student 16-year-old Joell hopes to play football in college. He is a linebacker right now for the school. He loved doing the drills.

“[My favorite part is] we had to run inside the box [ladder] and outside of it and do burpies,” he said as he described some of the drills.

Nine-year-old Mickeelah, who was one of the few girls in the group, came out because Denard is her cousin. She normally gets to see him only on holidays so this day was special.

“Racing is my favorite part. I did some drills. Some of them were hard for me,” she said, adding, “[For lunch], we had a hot dog, Pringles, a granola [bar] and some juice [among other items available].”

Volunteer Bruny Colquhour felt the event went well.

“Everything is very organized. The kids look forward to it every year. Shoelace is doing great for the community. It inspires the kids to dream big,” she said.

Besides Denard, there were other well-known players who attended either the event this day or the 1st annual basketball event that happened the night before. They included Robinson’s teammates from the Jaguars, including wide receivers Tony Washington and Rashad Lawrence; J.T. Thomas from the New York Giants; Rashard Robinson from the San Francisco 49ers, Adrian Witty from the Cincinnati Bearcats and rapper Ace Hood.

Denard not only helped kids to improve their skills, but taught them the importance of education.

He explained to one student who did not like to read, “In order for you to play football, you have to have your education first. You have to use school to get you there. If I could do all this work in football, I can do it in school.”

Besides doing football drills and having lunch, students got to enjoy themselves jumping in bounce houses.

He didn’t let students leave without delivering one last powerful message, saying, “Always have a role model. My role model was my dad. I want to be that person [for you all]. If I see somebody I look up to, I always want to be better than them. You all can do whatever you want. You can be president; you can be an astronaut; you can be a football player … It is here for the taking. Never do it for the haters. Every time I step on the field, I do it for love. I do it for people who support me. Do it for the people who support you.”

For more on the Shoelace Foundation, visit www.theshoelacefoundation.org.