The Bucks announced their presence as a team to watch in 2008 by beating eventual 5A state champion St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale) in the regular season and taking No. 2 nationally ranked Miami Northwestern down to the wire before losing, 19-14, in the 6A semifinals. Six starters return on each side of the ball, including all-state quarterback Denard Robinson. The 5-11, 180-pound senior has run a laser-timed 40-yard dash time of 4.4 seconds. He passed for nearly 2,000 yards and ran for 500 yards last season and already has 15 Division I scholarship offers, according to coach Art Taylor. Lining up at halfback will be Cassius McDowell (5-9, 165), who ran for 900 yards and 15 touchdowns as a sophomore. The top returning player on defense is senior Adrian Witty, another player with 4.4 speed. Taylor says Witty has lock-down cover skills and also great hands as a receiver. 2007: 11-3, unranked Top returning players: QB Denard Robinson (5-11, 180, 4.4, 15 Division I offers); DB/WR Adrian Witty (5-11, 185, 4.4, can play CB, SS or WR); RB Cassius McDowell (5-9, 165, Jr., 4.5, 900 yards, 15 TDs). Key losses: DB Jerral Stewart (Florida A&M), RB Rodney Harrel (Florida Atlantic), RB Matt Whitfield (Florida Atlantic), WR Joshua Philpart (Jacksonville) All systems go: Speed and explosiveness at QB, WR, RB, DB and DL positions Questions must be answered: Inexperience at DE and WR positions Toughest games: @St. Thomas Aquinas (Oct. 17), @Dillard (Sept. 20), vs. Ely (Sept. 13), vs. Boyd Anderson (Nov. 1).
PrepNation.com continues to look ahead to the 2008 high school football season. We're still a couple months away from the start of our expanded preseason national rankings release, but it's not too soon to whet your appetite with mini-previews of teams that are likely to figure very prominently on the national scene this season.
Deerfield Beach (Fla.)
Coach: Art Taylor (19-6, 3 years at Deerfield Beach; 28-18, 5 years overall)
Sun-Sentinel Video: Deerfield Beach vs. St. Thomas Aquinas Highlights
Friday, May 16, 2008
2008 Team to Watch: Deerfield Beach
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1 comment:
Great article. Indeed, Deerfield Beach is an outstanding team (and I say that as an Aquinas fan). I look forward to your articles on other Florida teams.
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