Recruiting Radar: Commit Recap from HSFB Week 7

Another week into the HSFB season, and things are heating up around the country.

With 19 players in the 2017 recruiting class at this moment, Miami has one of the largest group of commits in America. Some of that group was unable to showcase their talents this week due to weather impacting games. Here’s your full recap:

QB N’Kosi Perry and Ocala (FL) Vanguard had a bye week this week. At 5-0 and outscoring their opponents 228-50 along the way, the Knights are one of several State Championship contenders in Florida’s 6A classification.

Vanguard looks to keep their undefeated season alive next week as they host Gainesville (FL) HS in another District 5-6A game next Friday night.

QB Cade Weldon and Tampa (FL) Jefferson dropped a tough one to Tampa (FL) Hillsborough, losing 35-28 in a non-district game next Friday night.

The Dragons had 17 (!!!!) penalties on the night, the last of which kept them from getting the ball back after a stop on 4th down late in the 4th quarter. For his part, Weldon got his team to 4 touchdowns, including a 70 yard pass to WR Tyrese Spain. While other stats were hard to find, high praise for Weldon’s play was not.

"[Jefferson] is that good," Hillsborough coach Earl Garcia told TampaBay.com "Cade Weldon is not going to Miami for no reason."

Now 2-3 on the year, Weldon and the Dragons look to even their record as they travel to Tampa (FL) Newsome on Friday.

RB Robert Burns and the Miami (FL) Gulliver Prep Raiders’ game at St. Petersburg (FL) Admiral Farragut was canceled due to Hurricane Matthew.

The Raiders continue with their 2nd bye week this week, 3rd if you count last week’s cancellation.

WR Kevaughn Dingle and the Carol City (FL) Chiefs kept the magic going, destroying Southwest Miami (FL) 70-3 in a non-District game on Saturday afternoon.

Now 4-2 on the year, and riding a 4 game winning streak, Carol City has put their early struggles behind them, and have the look of a State Championship contender. I couldn’t find stats on the game, but this was a scrimmage for Carol City, at best. If Dingle got the ball, I’m sure he scored against a severely outclassed Southwest team.

Carol City’s season marches on as they return to District play, facing Miami (FL) Norland on Thursday night at Traz Powell Stadium.

WR Evidence Njoku and Wayne Hills (NJ) rolled to a 42-14 win at Hillsdale (NJ) Pascack Valley on Friday Night in a non-District game.

Njoku made his presence felt early on in this game. Both of his catches (totalling 21 yards) went for TDs, and propelled Wayne Hills to an early 14-7 lead. The Patriots built on that lead, extending the score to a 4 TD margin with a diverse and effective running game.

Now 5-1 on the year, Wayne Hills has a bye this week before resuming their schedule on October 21st.

TE Brian Polendey and Denton (TX) Guyer continued to build their playoff resume with a dominating 42-7 win over McKinney (TX) last Friday night.

Guyer went back to their power running offense, rolling up 497 yards of total offense, including 422 yards rushing. All of the 5 completions and 55 yards passing went to a Receiver that wasn’t Polendey, but that’s been par for the course this year for Guyer. They’ve only had a couple games with more than 100 yards passing, relying instead on a physical and dominating run game to move their record to 5-1.

Guyer faces their biggest test of the year next week: a trip to play a key district game against the 6-0 Allen (TX) Eagles. Allen is a national powerhouse and the #1 ranked team in Texas according to several polls. No lower than 4th in Texas by any poll, Allen is a top 20 nationally ranked team and a force to be reckoned with.

OL Navaughn Donaldson and Miami (FL) Central rebounded from their loss to Miami (FL) Carol City by routing Miami (FL) Jackson — a team that defeated powerhouse Booker T. Washington earlier this year — 48-6 in a non-District game on Saturday afternoon. Donaldson anchored the OL, helping Central roll up nearly 400 yards of total offense.

The 4-time defending 6A State Champions, Miami Central’s season is on the line this week vs neighborhood rival Miami (FL) Northwestern on Friday night. A loss by Central would give them 2 district losses on the year, and eliminate the Rockets from playoff contention with 3 weeks left in the regular season. So, in essence, the playoffs start now.

OL Zach Dykstra and the Spirit Lake (IA) Indians got blasted by Storm Lake (IA) 41-3 Friday night. This was billed as a matchup of Titans with Storm Lake and Spirit Lake ranked 1 and 2 in the State of Iowa. It turned out to be a laugher, as Storm Lake dominated this game from start to finish. Behind an offense that rolled up 366 yards passing and more than 500 yards of total offense, Storm Lake is undefeated on the year, and 1 game away from advancing to the playoffs for the first time in program history.

Spirit Lake (5-2, 3-2 in District) has to win their remaining 2 games to make the playoffs. They face Sargent Bluff (IA) Sargent Bluff-Luton on Friday in a defacto elimination game.

OL Zalontae Hillery, ATH DeeJay Dallas and their Brunswick (GA) Glynn Academy Terrors had their game against Springfield (GA) Effingham County in a Region (district) canceled due to Hurricane Matthew.

Glynn Academy returns to the field this week as they face their cross-town rivals Brunswick (GA) on Friday night.

DT Jon Ford and the Ft. Lauderdale (FL) Dillard Panthers had their game against Coconut Creek (FL) Monarch canceled due to Hurricane Matthew, as well. While the storm missed South Florida, its impact was still felt, with several non-district games (like this one) getting canceled.

Dillard hosts Oakland Park (FL) Northeast in a key District game on Friday night.

DE Jonathan Garvin and the Lake Worth (FL) Trojans were yet ANOTHER team whose game was canceled due to Hurricane Matthew, this time their trip to Citra (FL) North Marion on Friday night.

Lake Worth will continue their season with a trip to Boca Raton (FL) for the first of 3 consecutive district games. For Lake Worth to make the playoffs, they must win all 3, so in effect, the playoffs start now for the Trojans.

DE D.J. Johnson and his Sacramento (CA) Luther Burbank Titans continued their run of strong play, beating Sacramento (CA) Valley 54-7 on Friday night. Johnson showed some of his many skills with a game opening touchdown...on offense. Check it out:

Burbank has beaten their last 3 opponents — all district foes — 177-20, so they’re definitely clicking on all cylinders. They look to run their win streak to 4 games as they host to Sacramento (CA) McClatchy on Friday night for another key district game.

LB Waynmon Steed helped Miami Central bounce back from the loss to Carol City and beat Miami (FL) Jackson 48-6 Saturday afternon.

I’ve spoken about this already, but Central has to win all their District games or face being eliminated from playoff contention soon. For the 4 time defending 6A State Champions, every game from here on out is a playoff game. Their “playoffs” start this week as they face Miami (FL) Norland in a must-win District game on Friday night.

LB Bradley Jennings Jr. and Jacksonville (FL) Sandalwood had their game against Jacksonville (FL) Lee on Friday night canceled due to Hurricane Matthew.

The undefeated Saints will look to keep their unblemished record going with a trip to Jacksonville (FL) Mandarin for a District game on Friday night.

DB Trajan Bandy and the Miami (FL) Columbus Explorers had their game against North Miami (FL) — stop me if you’ve heard this before — canceled due to Hurricane Matthew.

The Explorers travel to Miami Beach (FL) for a District game on Friday night.

DB Billy Gibson and Miami (FL) Southridge beat Miami (FL) Killian 28-0 on Monday night. This game was rescheduled from Friday due to Hurricane Matthew.

Southridge continues their 2 game week with a trip down South to exit 1 off the Turnpike to play Homestead (FL) in a district game on Friday night.

DB Brian Edwards and the Miramar (FL) Patriots are in the midst of another 2-game week. The Patriots defeated Weston (FL) Cypress Bay 43-0 on Monday night in a delayed Homecoming game.

Miramar, in a win-or-miss-the-playoffs situation like Miami Central, has a non-district game vs Hallandale (FL) on Friday night.

P Zach Feagles and the Ridgewood (NJ) Maroons opened a can of whoop ass on Passaic (NJ), winning 67-6 for another District game on Friday night. For his part, Feagles continued to be a solid run game option for the Maroons, ending the game with 4 carries for 35 yards and a TD. Oh, and Feagles had 7 punts for 221 yards on the day as well — a crazy amount of punts in a game with this scoreline.

This was a beatdown of epic proportions, and many players got in on the action. 11 Ridgewood players registered carries in this game, spreading around teir 126 yards of rushing offense. Ridgewood gave up 1 big play all night: a 60 yd TD run to Passaic. Even with that play, Ridgewood led 34-0 after 1Q, and 55-6 at the half, so this game was never in doubt.

Ridgewood looks to continue their undefeated season as they travel to face Hackensack (NJ) Bergen Tech on Friday night.

That’s it for this week.

Be sure to check back in next week to see how the current Canes commits are faring in their 2016 seasons.