By Gary Curreri

While Deerfield Beach High School’s baseball team is still searching for its first win of the season, it already scored a victory of sorts during the offseason.

Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Mike Fiers, a 2003 graduate of Deerfield Beach High, spent a few weeks at his alma mater helping coach the players before he left for spring training. The Pompano native worked with both the pitcher and position players on the varsity and junior varsity programs.

Fiers said he came back to help players reach the next level. He is good friends with Bucks assistant coach Mike Dobre and asked to come out and help.

“I wanted to help them out with everything whether it is baseball or life in general,” said Fiers, who is 10-14 for his major league career. “I came out every day before I left for spring training and I loved being out there.”

After graduating from Deerfield Beach, Fiers went on to Broward College, spent a year at the University of the Cumberlands in Kentucky for one year and finished as an All-American at Nova Southeastern University. He was drafted in 2009 in the 22nd round by Milwaukee and reached the big leagues in 2011.

Fiers said he always had a dream to pitch in the major leagues. He played with another major leaguer in Mickey Storey, who is a pitcher with the Toronto Blue Jays, for three years at Deerfield.

“It’s definitely a tough game and takes a lot of hard work,” said Fiers, 28, of Pompano Beach. “I pride myself on that. I always had that dream and I wanted it. I’ve had setbacks. I’ve had success. It was a long journey. I had the mindset of knowing I was going to make it and staying positive.”

Fiers said he was impressed by the work ethic the players displayed at DBHS. He worked on the fundamentals of baseball with many of the players. In his senior year at Deerfield Beach, they lost in the regional final to Hialeah High.

It was his second visit to Deerfield Beach High since he graduated. Fiers went while he was at Broward College and also volunteered at nearby Zion Lutheran when Dobre was a coach there.

“I like coaching and helping out kids,” Fiers said. “They have to take it as a game, because it is a game. You want to go out and have fun and that makes it easier. Some guys maybe take it as a job, but it is not a job yet. You want to get good grades and that will help you out.”

“I graduated 10 years ago and it feels the same,” Fiers continued. “It is good to come back and help them get where they want to go. I just want them to compete and, hopefully, their mindset is to want to win. I just wanted to try and make the game as simple as possible.”

Deerfield Beach High School junior Kyle Miller said it was a bonus to have Fiers around.

“It was great to have coach Fiers around,” Miller said. “He’s been through this program before and he knows the ins and outs of baseball. He is somebody you can listen to because he is at the top level of baseball right now.

“He is not just some guy that puts on a hat and calls himself a coach,” Miller added. “He lives it every day. It was good to have him around teaching us.”

Miller said among the things that Fiers helped him with was his approach to pitching.

“He is a right-handed pitcher who doesn’t throw 98 (mph), but he knows how to pitch and get outs,” Miller said. “He relies on good off speed pitches and good location. You really learn good pitching from a guy like Mike Fiers. It’s cool that he volunteered to give back to the program, a program that gave him so much as a kid.”

“This definitely gives you hope to see a guy who came out of Deerfield and has had great success playing the sport,” Miller said. “It shows a lot of kids that if you work hard every day and you want it bad enough, even if you don’t throw a 106-mph fastball, you can still have success.”

“Mike was like the Pied Piper with the players following him and picking his brain,” said first year Bucks coach Angelo Latrento. “He’s a homegrown kid who gave the kids hope and motivation.”

By Gary Curreri

And just like that, Blanche Ely’s hopes for a boys’ basketball three-peat were squashed by a team that had its number all season. The Blanche Ely boys’ basketball team dropped a 61-54 decision in the Class 7A regional semifinal to host Boyd Anderson on Tuesday night, and, with it, vanished a spot in history.

Blanche Ely (21-5), which last season became the first boys’ basketball team to win back-to-back titles as it joined Dillard (2000-03) and Pine Crest (2008-09). They came up short in their bid to become the 12th in state history to win three consecutive titles.

Cobras’ guard Pitchon Pierre sank eight free throws in the fourth quarter as host Boyd Anderson (24-5) held off a late charge by the two-time defending Class 7A state champion to pull out the win. Pierre finished with 12 points, 5 assists, 3 steals and 3 rebounds.

Blanche Ely (21-5), which had won 11 consecutive playoff games, closed to within two points at 45-43 with 6:24 left in the game, but struggled at the line and fell for the fourth consecutive time in five meetings against Boyd Anderson this season. The Cobras were 19 of 24 from the line, while Ely converted just 14 of 24 from the charity stripe.

“It was a well-fought game, and what killed us was we lost it at the free throw line,” said Tigers coach Melvin Randall. “We missed double digits at the line.

“You have to get to the line and knock them down and we didn’t. That was an important factor in the game. We have been shooting like that off and on the entire season. We had a couple of games this season where we shot 70-plus percent, but we made it hard in games this year by missing what we did at the line.”

Boyd Anderson’s Rodney Simeon had 17 points, while Nick Eubanks added 14 points and eight rebounds. Lance Tejada led Blanche Ely with 18 points, while Therell Gosier and Javon Heastie each had 11.

Boyd Anderson jumped out to a 12-8 lead in the first quarter as Simeon scored seven of his team-high 17 points and Dondre Duffus hit a 3-pointer with 2:05 remaining in the period.

Blanche Ely battled back to take a 15-14 lead as it scored the first four points of the second quarter on two free throws by Javon Heastie and a basket off a steal by Gosier.

The host Cobras then went on an 8-0 run to take the lead for good at 22-15 on two free throws by Diondre Wilson. Boyd Anderson led 27-21 at halftime and extended the advantage to 29-21 on a rebound and layup by Nick Eubanks. Tejada then got hot as he made a free throw and a short jumper and found Gosier cutting to the basket for a layup to trim the lead to 26-29 with six minutes left in the third quarter.

The Tigers were also dealt a blow in the third quarter when Gosier was whistled for two fouls in a 38-second span and had to sit with four fouls and Boyd Anderson leading 30- 28. Gosier had scored eight points, pulled down nine rebounds and blocked three shots until then and didn’t re-enter the game until there was 3:02 remaining and the Cobras leading 51-46.

The game seesawed back and forth; however, the Tigers, which had won 11 consecutive playoff games, could get no closer than two points at 45-43 with 6:24 left.

“I am disappointed, but I am not upset or mad that we lost,” said Tigers coach Melvin Randall. “It would be selfish for me to bicker. Of course, I wanted to win; but, in looking back, I have been there six times and won five.”

By Gary Curreri

The Highlands Christian Academy and Deerfield Beach high school boys’ soccer teams reached the postseason this season with high expectations.

Highlands Christian (13-6) won the district title and made it to the regional semifinals for the first time since 2006 when it fell to Palmer Trinity, 3-1. The Knights were ousted in the regional quarters in the five appearances since then.

Unfortunately for the Knights, Sagemont (18-7-1) advanced to the regional finals with a 4-0 victory over host Highlands Christian on Tuesday night.

Sophomore Carlos Pan gave the Lions a 1-0 halftime lead when he scored on a header in the 21st minute. Freshman Karl Ackermann scored the first of three second half goals for Sagemont off a cross by junior Marco Wehrhahn in the 53rd minute. Sagemont added its own goal and a final tally by freshman Braedon Villano to end Highlands’ season. Ryan Theimer recorded 13 saves in his sixth shutout of the year.

Highlands Christian Academy coach Darryl Mauro said he was pleased with his team’s performance, especially considering his team had just three full time soccer players. He was also happy to coach with his son Daniel, an HCA graduate, who won national titles while at Clearwater Christian College.

“We had two players, Lucas Almeida and Caleb Bien- Aime finish with 17 goals and double figures with assists and our goalkeeper, Zach Mueller finished with nine clean sheets (shutouts),” Mauro said. “Sophomores Elijah Kerr, Evan Henderson, and Vitor Lima both improved on both sides of the ball and newcomers Brandly Martina, Ayrton Barbolinea, Ray Melfor all played a big role in our postseason run.”

Deerfield Beach made its fourth appearance in the playoffs in school history under Coach Frantz Edouard – 2009, 2012, 2013 were the others – and fell to Boca Raton last Thursday night in the regional quarterfinals thanks to a topflight performance by the Bobcats’ Sebastian Elney, who spent last year with the U.S. Soccer Under-17 residency program in Bradenton.

Elney had three goals in the contest to lead host Boca Raton (21-1-2) to a 3-0 victory over Deerfield Beach in the Class 5A boys’ soccer regional quarterfinal. Boca Raton advanced to this Friday’s regional final after defeating Douglas, 3-0 on Tuesday night.

Deerfield Beach (18-3-4) had the better play in the early going with nothing to show for it. Boca Raton goalkeeper Collin Foody made three saves for his 11th shutout of the season.

The Bucks’ best chance to score came in the 68th minute when Matheus Pereira took a free kick that Foody got a hand on. The ball deflected to Romilaire Ambrose, whose shot was headed off the goal line by defender Aaron Kleinert.

“We are disappointed,” said Deerfield Beach soccer coach Frantz Edouard. “The first goal hurt, but the second one broke our back. We had a great season. The number 23 (Elney) was the difference maker for them.”

Edouard’s team had the harder road in the playoffs as it finished runner-up in the district to Douglas.

“It didn’t work out,” Edouard said. “Obviously, we had a good season, not a great season, because we wanted to advance far in the playoffs. We have been here before, but we haven’t been able to get over the hump. It’s a bit of a disappointing season for us.”

Edouard, who is in his eighth year at the school, believes his team will be in the postseason again and expects his team to go far.

“We graduate about four or five players, but honestly the core of the team will be back again next year,” Edouard said. “Hopefully, we will be back … and be victorious.”

By Gary Curreri

If Blanche Ely’s boys’ basketball team is to win its third consecutive Class 7A state championship, the road may lead through Lauderdale Lakes and District 14-7A rival Boyd Anderson.

Blanche Ely (18-2), the state’s third-ranked team in the latest Florida Association of Basketball Coaches (FABC)-Source Hoops state rankings, has dropped just two games all season – both to the Cobras (17-3), who are ranked second in the state. Apopka’s Wekiva High School (19-3) holds down the top state ranking in Class 7A.

Blanche Ely opened the season with 13 consecutive wins including the prestigious Chick-Fil-A Classic in Columbia, South Carolina. Junior Therrell Gosier led his team to the Chick-Fil-A Classic II Championship with 24 points, 18 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks. The Tigers won 81-75 in overtime over South Pointe (Rock Hill, SC).

Less than a week later, Blanche Ely dropped its first contest of the year to Boyd Anderson in overtime at the D-Hop Classic at Palm Beach Lakes High School. The Cobras rallied from a 63-59 deficit with 49 seconds left to tie the game and force overtime. That loss ended a Blanche Ely streak of 46 wins in a row against Broward County opponents and 52 wins in a row against Florida teams.

“There were some great teams in the D-Hop with Boyd Anderson, and Palm Beach Lakes in our region,” said Blanche Ely coach Melvin Randall. “I think there are some pretty good teams in Central Florida, but the best teams reside down here in South Florida.”

The state rankings bear that out with Palm Beach Lakes (16-5) fifth in the poll and Dwyer (18-5) sixth in the FABC-Source Hoops state rankings.

Just three weeks later, Boyd Anderson handed the Tigers its second loss of the season as it battled back from a ninepoint deficit in the third quarter to pull out a 65-57 victory.

Randall said he expects his team to improve for the stretch run and credited the leadership of seniors Lance Tejada II and Joshua Floyd, in addition to Gozier.

“Their leadership is helping raise these young ones to William Nightingale get to where we need to be,” said Randall, whose team defeated Boyd Anderson, 78- 75, in overtime on Nov. 30. “I think they are doing a tremendous job.”

Floyd was at Westminster Academy last year, while Javon Heastie transferred in from Dillard. Boyd Anderson has two transfers of its own in Rodney Simeon from Miami Central and Dondre Duffus from Wellington High School.

Both teams were competing in the BCAA Big 8 tournament where Blanche Ely is the defending champion. Results of Wednesday night’s games were unavailable at press time. The District playoffs begin next week.

By Gary Curreri

If either Highlands Christian Academy or Zion Lutheran School is going to make a run at the postseason, both local schools will need to get past the top-seeded Westminster Academy in the District 13-1A tournament which began this week.

Highlands Christian Academy coach Darryl Mauro has returned to the sidelines after helping with the team last year. Mauro is in his sixth year at the school and has entered the year at 79-24-11 during that span.

“We are trying to get them to play good soccer,” said Mauro, who previously coached the team from 2004- 09. The Knights are 10-5 this season and in second place behind Westminster Academy in the district. “We only have two or three kids that play more than high school soccer, on travel teams. Our four losses have come against Westminster (one) and three against bigger schools.”

Mauro’s title hopes were bolstered by the return of senior forward Kirvin Moesquit from an early season knee injury. Moesquit, who has an offer to play baseball at the University of Miami, is one of the team’s top offensive threats. He plays shortstop for the school’s baseball team. Senior forward Lucas Almeida provided most of the punch with Moesquit out.

“We missed him,” Mauro said. “It was a major disappointment that he was out because he has a lot of speed. Our guys are starting to click. You have to have that magic dust and they have to show up to play.”

Sophomore defenders Evan Henderson and Elijah Kerr anchor the Knights’ defense and the team is also counting on sophomore midfielder Caleb Bien-Aime, senior goalkeeper Zach Muller and freshman forward Alex Felicetta.

Zion Lutheran coach Kelly Elrod has been at the school for nine years and returned two starters from last year’s team including German Curci (midfielder, sr.) and Noah Craven (defender, sr.). A third starter, the team’s junior goalkeeper, Don-Andrew Hanson broke three bones in his hand in the second to last football game of the season and has been out for the year.

Elrod said senior Frankel Alexis, a first-year soccer player, has filled in admirably for Hanson in goals for the Lions (2-5-4), which opened the tournament against the fifth-seeded South Florida Heat. Results of the tournament were unavailable at press time.

“What (Frankel) has done has been eye-opening,” said Elrod, whose team was 6-9-1 last year. “He has no fear and his communication with the defense is actually getting better. I wish I had him as a freshman. The last game we had against Highlands, he had 14 saves. He’s been a Godsend. He’s physically capable.”

The Lions added three Brazilians, all juniors, including Tiago Santos (central defender), Rodrigo DeOliveira (forward) and Thiago Silva (midfielder), along with freshman Malik Murphy (forward).

“Those guys have definitely helped elevate our game,” Elrod said. “I really want to make a strong, solid run into the playoffs.”

Elrod also singled out the play of defender Noah Craven, German Curci and Courtney Whiteaker, who, along with Noelle Gans, is one of two girls on the team. Whiteaker, a senior, is starting as an outside defender. She was on the girls’ team last year; however, the school wasn’t able to field a girls’ soccer team this year.

“Courtney has been really well accepted,” Elrod said. “Her positioning awareness is very, very good. She’s been solid. I told her I wasn’t going to treat her any differently. Now that she’s starting, nobody has said a peep about it. The guys acknowledge she’s an asset. She and the other girl, Noelle (sophomore), have done well. This is the first time in my nine years there that I have had a girl on the team. They both fit in pretty well.”

By Gary Curreri

Special Correspondent

Pompano Beach’s Rita Melville called her first “official” hole-in-one an early Christmas present.

Melville, 71, had two previous hole-in-ones at the American Golfers Club in Ft. Lauderdale in the mid-1980s, but didn’t know she had to tell anyone.

The 67.5-acre, 18-hole executive course, which ran along the western boundary of the Coral Ridge Country Club, opened in 1958, but had been closed since late 2005, when its irrigation system was damaged and landscaping destroyed by Hurricane Wilma. Residential homes, a four-acre park and a practice range now occupy that space.

“It was quite an event,” said Melville, who recorded her recent hole-in-one on the Par- 3, 114-yard 11th hole on the Palms Course at the Pompano Beach Municipal Golf Course two weeks before Christmas. She used a 5-wood. “It was a nice early Christmas present.”

“I was just trying to get it on the green,” said Melville, who was playing with Maureen Zolubos, Susana Rust and Nancy Kellermeyer in the Pompano Beach Women’s Golf Association’s weekly 9-hole league. “There is a bunker to the right and I usually go way left because of the bunker. This time, I decided to go for it because the pin position was better.”

Melville hit her shot and it landed short of the green and started straight for the hole.

“I sat there and watched it, not thinking for a minute that it was going to go in the hole,” Melville said. “It just rolled and rolled forever and finally it disappeared. The three girls I was playing with all started screaming and yelling and jumping up and down. I said it must have gone over the back of the green. I didn’t believe it until I looked and found it in the bottom of the hole.”

The Liverpool, England native retired in 2000 after enjoying a 31-year career in advertising. Melville played for about five years in the 1980s and gave it up. She just started playing again three years ago and now plays at least twice a week. She said her next goal is to get one on the other course so she can “prove it isn’t a fluke.”

“It is a lovely group of women,” said Melville, who is the vice president of the ladies league. “We play to have fun and enjoy the sport.

“I like that every hole is a new challenge,” Melville added. “You are competing against yourself and trying to be the best you can be. The thing about the ladies I play with is that they make it fun. We don’t take it too seriously. The social aspect is really nice as well as the game itself. Some of them have been playing all of their lives. We have women who are playing in the 80s and some in the 90s. They may not hit as long, but they hit it straight.”

By Gary Curreri

Approximately 130 cheer and dance squads recently competed in the Orange Bowl Youth Football Alliance (OBYFA) Cheer & Dance Championships at the University of Miami’s Bank- United Center.

The day consisted of competitive choreography performed by the nearly 2,000 participating 4- to 16-yearold girls from throughout South Florida. With squads traveling from OBYFA parks, ranging from as far north as Lake Okeechobee to as far south as Key West, girls competed for first, second or third place in their respective divisions, top winner in both the morning and afternoon sessions and grand champion with the highest overall score.

There were also trophies handed out to the team with the most spirit and the team with the best sportsmanship. The top scholar athlete from each park was recognized as well. The Sports Authority presented the competition.

Orange Bowl Committee member and Chair of the Orange Bowl YFA, Gerald Grant Jr., who has personal ties to the cheer and dance community, assisted in presenting the awards.

“My daughter was involved in middle school and it helped develop her character and leadership skills,” Grant said. “This is really what the Orange Bowl is all about, impacting the lives of young people.”

The Deerfield Beach Packer Rattlers program (National YFL) took first and third in the Jr. Prep Division- Small (Cadets, first; Pee Wees, third), was second in the Mini Division – Medium (Bandits), and placed third in the Prep Division – Medium.

The Pompano Steelers (Glades Tri-City YFL) also captured three awards as it won the Sportsmanship Award for the Mini Division – Small, the Semi-Pro Division – Medium, and took second in the Pee Wee Division Small.

Flegel wins gold

Lighthouse Point’s Noah Flegel won a gold medal recently for the United States in the 10th IWWF Wakeboard World Championships recently in Busan, Korea.

Flegel, who won the gold medal in the Boys’ division at the 2011 world championships, won the gold medal in Junior Men, scoring 80.56 points in the finals. Australia’s Cory Teunissen (57.67 points) earned the silver medal and the Netherlands’ Marc Kroon (55.78 points) earned the bronze medal.

The U.S. Wakeboard Team earned the silver medal, and Flegel was one of four U.S. team members to earn individual medals in the event that included athletes and teams from 28 countries. Australia won the gold medal, while Korea earned the bronze medal.

Divisions for competition at the 2013 IWWF Wakeboard World Championships were as follows (all ages taken as of Jan. 1, 2013): Boys/ Girls (14 and Under), Junior Men/Junior Women (18 and Under), Masters Men/Masters Women (30 Years and Over), Masters 2 Men (40 Years and Over) and Open Men/Open Women (Open).

The United States has won world team titles in 2004, 2005 and 2011. Australia has won team titles in 2000, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2009 and 2013. South Africa won the team title in 2001.

By Gary Curreri

Zion Lutheran School junior forward Keith Stone is certainly making up for lost time on the basketball court.

After a strong summer of playing with Nike Team Florida in the AAU Showcase and then playing in the AAU National Championship game on ESPN, Stone has had nearly three dozen NCAA Division I colleges come through to evaluate his talent on the basketball court. Not a bad accomplishment for someone who has been playing basketball for just four years.

“It’s going good,” said Stone, 16, of Deerfield Beach. “It’s slowly happening, but I am glad I am starting to see what my options are.”

Stone, a 6-foot, 7-inch, 225-pound junior forward from Zion Lutheran, scored 32 points to lead the Lions to a come-from-behind, 60-54 victory over Coolidge High of Washington D.C for third place in the Rock Challenge Bracket of the recently concluded Kreul Classic at the Coral Springs City Gymnasium. The Lions are 8-4 on the year.

“I really wasn’t that good before,” said Stone, who played goalkeeper in a recreational soccer league and in baseball before giving basketball a try when he enrolled at Zion Lutheran. “I spent a lot of time in the gym with (Zion Lutheran boys’ basketball coach John Guion) and the other coaches.

“I love everything about basketball, getting up and down the court, shooting, all of that,” added Stone, who also maintains a 3.2 grade point average in the classroom. “I do feel pressure to contribute, but I don’t let it affect my game. I just go out and try my hardest and try and prove everybody wrong.”

Stone said he’s surprised that he is starting to get the attention of colleges, but said he’s also glad his hard work has paid off.

“I couldn’t make a layup, or dribble when I first started,” Stone said. “I have improved my shooting a lot. I figure I’ll play the three (small forward) or the four (power forward) in college.”

Guion said the attention that Stone is getting is also opening the doors for his teammates like Vince Stubbs, a 6- foot, 3-inch junior forward who is also drawing interest at the next level.

“Keith has not missed a workout in three years,” said Guion, who is in his third year as basketball coach and is also the school’s assistant athletic director. “He is the first one to get in the gym and the last one to leave. He’s a doer. He very seldom questions anything that is asked of him. He is new to the game and he understands he has to be more assertive.

“I am not surprised in how well he is doing,” Guion added. “He had decent hands and he is big. His feet weren’t horrible. We started him in the post and he is now playing all five positions. Being able to play multiple positions keeps you on the court longer.”

Guion hopes his team will make a deep run into the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) playoffs this season. He said his team has the potential to do well; however, it needs to gel as a team.

“It’s December, and it’s a process,” Guion said. “I think we have steadily shown progress. The Lions returned all of its starters from last year and will return everyone next year as well.”

Guion said the last two weeks have challenged his team and in the end, they will have to get past Grandview Prep.

“That’s a great team,” Guion said. “They are a big roadblock. I am not concerned with how far we go. I just want everyone to play to their strengths and we’ll throw that in the bucket and be strong.”

The Lions finished last year 22-8 and enjoyed the best season in school history after it won the district championship and reached the Class 2A regional finals where it dropped a 71-48 decision to Westwood Christian. It had been a dozen years since Zion Lutheran had reached the state tournament.

By Gary Curreri

It’s been quite a winter for Deerfield Beach’s Megan Moroney in the pool.

The 16-year-old won two state titles for St. Andrew’s at the Class 1A state high school championships. She captured the 200-yard freestyle (1:46- .51) for the second consecutive year and the 100-yard butterfly (54.39) for her third consecutive win in the event at state. She was also a member of the silver medal winning 200 and 400-Freestyle relays.

At the recent Winter Championships in Plantation, she was on the winning girls 800-free, 200-free, 400-medley relay and 200-medley relays; won the 100-back and took second in the 1,000 free and 500 freestyle events, in addition to placing second in the 50-fly.

At the state high school meets, she has accumulated five individual golds, a silver and a bronze and captured three relay gold medals, four silvers and three bronze medals.

Moroney recently returned home from the AT&T Winter National Championships in Knoxville, TN at the University of Tennessee where she also turned in some solid performances against some of the top swimmers in the nation.

“I did pretty well. I went a few best times so it was good,” said Moroney, a junior at St. Andrew’s School in Boca Raton.”

Moroney bettered her previous best time by three seconds in the 500-freestyle event when she went 4:59.83 and placed 22nd. Her effort in the 200-free was a little off her best time. She swam 1:47.30 in the prelims and came back with a 1:48 at night (16th place). She also broke the 50-second barrier in her prelim with a 49.96 in the 100. She followed that up with a 50.30 in the evening and took 21st.

“I was happy with my 500 and 100 free because I finally broke the two barriers I’ve been aiming for,” Moroney said. “I can’t be upset with my 200 free because it’s really tough to bounce back from doing a best time at states, but I wish it would have gone better. My 100 back and 200 fly were best times technically speaking, but I know I can go much faster in both. I was definitely tired from everything that was going on before, so, with that in mind, I was very happy overall.”

Moroney has been on the high school team at St. Andrew’s since sixth grade, so this is her sixth year on the squad.

“I just remember in the sixth grade how excited I was just to make it to regionals and I was so thrilled that I made it to states,” Moroney said. “I made it by 10ths of a second, and there was no greater feeling for me back then. I never imagined that this was where I was going to be.”

Moroney also went to the U.S. Olympic trials and hopes to someday represent the United States.

“It could have gone better,” she said. “It was totally different from any meet I had been to before. I had the cut in the 100 back and time trialed in the 400 free and 100 fly. What I learned is that there are so many fast people out there, that it is not just the people in South Florida. I will work really hard to get there.”

Moroney was looking forward to exams at school this week and will take a short family vacation before hitting the pool for more hard training.

By Gary Curreri

Former NFL football player Tyrus McCloud wasn’t sure what to expect last spring when he took over the reins of the Zion Lutheran School football program.

McCloud, who played at Nova High School and went on to play two seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, started spring practices with just five athletes. As time passed, he convinced more players to come out and had a 17-player roster this fall, of which nearly half (seven) were middle schoolers. Only six players on the team had played tackle football previously.

McCloud said his first-ever head coaching stint was one of the toughest jobs he’s had, and also opened up to the team stressing his “failures” rather than his successes. Among the transgressions was a drinking problem. He recounted a story where he sat with former Ravens Pro Bowler and future NFL Hall of Famer Ray Lewis one day and Lewis told him he’d stopped drinking because he wanted to become a star player.

Zion Lutheran began the year with two straight losses to Berean Christian, 21-0, and Canterbury (St. Petersburg), 14- 6, before finishing the year on a five-game win streak.

The Lions defeated City of Life Christian Academy (20- 6), Northwest Christian (60-0), Scheck Hillel Community School (38-19), Faith Christian (70-28) and Palmer Trinity (48- 0) as it outscored the opposition, 242-88. It marked the first winning season since 2007 when it went 7-3.

McCloud, 39, of Coral Springs, played linebacker for the University of Louisville Cardinals, was drafted in the fourth round of the 1997 draft with the 22nd pick (118 overall) by Baltimore Ravens. He played in both the 1997-98 seasons with the Ravens and was briefly with the Miami Dolphins in 2001.

Among the other challenges McCloud faced was having two younger inexperienced coaches on staff. McCloud came on board last April for spring practice and called coaching this season was “very intriguing.”

“The biggest transition we had was trying to engage the athletes to get them to maximize the talent,” McCloud said. “We had to give the coaches a vision and then we had the support of the administration.”

McCloud has been the South Florida Field Director for Prison Fellowship Ministries for the past 12 years. The nonprofit organization aims to restore broken bonds between prisoners and their families while protecting their children from following in their footsteps. He had a conversation with Zion Lutheran Athletic Director Mitch Evron, who spoke of challenges with the athletes.

“He said there are some issues socially, economically, spiritually and mentally,” McCloud said. “He said he might have to scrap the program, and I saw it as an opportunity to give these kids a little bit of life and move it forward.”

McCloud also said the players had to overcome fear since they had never played before. McCloud said at one point in the spring, they had 23 players but seven quit because the game was too physical for them.

“That was the identity that was there and we had to put them in position to like the game, have fun and maximize talent,” McCloud said. “That was the hard part of putting the pieces together.”

McCloud said the biggest point he needed to make with his team was drawing on his own weakness. He said it was more than being a finalist for the Butkus Award in college or reaching the NFL.

“I didn’t talk about my strengths, I talked about my weaknesses,” McCloud said. “I spoke of the things I failed at, the things I could have done better at, as it relates to football. Ray Lewis and I were drinking one day as rookies, and Ray was saying how we need to stop. He said he wanted to be a legend and he decided to separate to be better and not keep drinking, and I didn’t do it. I spoke to them about the pain of my past in order for them to really draw into the passion of why we need to play and the focus to move on.”

“It was very humbling to open up like that to the kids, probably beyond humbling,” McCloud added. “A lot of the things I shared with those guys, I never shared with anybody in my life. The only person that knew about that story was me and Ray. I had to do some soul searching. I couldn’t watch them get beat up and defeated. It was therapy for me too because I had to open those scars up. I never even told my wife about it and we’ve been married for 16 years.”

McCloud was the defensive coordinator at Calvary Christian in the spring of 2012 and has been involved as a youth football coach in programs around Broward County. He said the core five kids (Don Andrew Hanson, Chris Judge, Rashad Witty, Ruben Monroe and Josh Forde) who came out last spring were “hoping and believing” that there would be a team and they stayed the course. The players recruited fellow classmates and they were able to field a team and defeated Palmer Trinity, 40-6, in the spring game.

“I think it says a lot.” McCloud said. “We wanted to make it exciting for the school and bring some life to the program,” McCloud said. “They have sent a message to everyone this year. I believe that with the talent in Northern Broward County that Zion can be an elite program in the future.”

“This is going to rank up there with the things I do,” McCloud said. “When I deal with the home school kids, inmates and doing camps … You see the smiles on the faces of the kids. You see the kids at Zion where coaches walked out on the kids in the middle of the season. This will rank in my Top 2.”