Recruiting Radar: Commit Recap from HSFB Week 4

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

With 20 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 is an elite prospect. There’s no two ways about that fact. And, on Friday, he added to his impressive resume in a 55-17 blowout win over Lakewood.

During the game that saw Perry go 12/17 passing with 187 yards and 4 TDs, Perry broke the all-time passing TDs record at Vanguard HS, breaking the mark previously set by 1996 Florida Mr. Football, UCF and NFL star Daunte Culpepper. And, according to an article on InsideTheU, Culpepper called Perry at halftime to congratulate him on the record.

Perry’s 2nd TD of the day, a 30 yard strike to Javious Brightmon, broke the record and extended Vanguard’s lead to 32-9 just before the half. Florida’s reigning 6A player of the year, Perry now sets his sights on the county TD record, currently held by Ocala (FL) Trinity Catholic alum and former UF Gator (booooooo) John Brantley IV.

Perry and Vanguard go on the road to Gainesville (FL) Buchholz next week. They look to avenge a 33-32 loss from 2015 that saw Vanguard blow a double digit lead in the 2nd half.

QB Cade Weldon returned to the field this week following his week 3 suspension, but he was unable to lead his team to victory. Jefferson lost to Jesuit 44-23 in one of the biggest Tampa area games of the week.

Weldon had a decent game, finishing 20/32 passing for 248 yards, 1 TD, and 95 yards rushing and a TD in the first half. But, Weldon was sacked 4 times and intercepted twice. After a first half that saw the teams locked in a 23-23 tie game, Jesuit went on a 21-0 run in the 2nd half, extending the lead to the final score margin.

Jesuit takes the driver’s seat in 5A District 10 with this win. Jefferson will likely need to win the rest of their remaining District games to make the playoffs.

Weldon and Jefferson begin the path to the playoffs with another 5A District 10 game at home against Riverview (FL) Spoto on Friday night.

RB Robert Burns and the Miami (FL) Gulliver Prep Raiders continued to struggle through a challenging season, falling to 1-4 after losing to Monsignor Pace 35-7. At this point, Gulliver should play for pride, and Burns should work on his individual skill development. As a player with injuries in his past, his health is the key thing. While his HS team may be struggling, Burns is still an elite level talent, even despite the statistics to match at this current juncture.

WR Kevaughn Dingle and the Carol City (FL) Chiefs had a bye week this week. They look to continue build on week 3’s huge win over Lakeland with a trip down South to face Miami (FL) Southridge on Friday night.

WR Evidence Njoku and Wayne Hills (NJ) defeated Succasunna (NJ) Roxbury 42-35 on Friday night. Wayne Hills’ QB threw for 301 yards and 5 TDs in the game...but hardly and yards and no TDs went Njoku’s way. Sometimes, other players have the hot hand, as was the case on Friday. The Hayek brothers, there appear to be 3 of them according to the box score, combined for all 5 receiving TDs for Wayne Hills.

Now 2-1 on the year, Wayne Hills host Old Tappan (NJ) NV - Old Tappan on Friday night.

TE Brian Polendey and Denton (TX) Guyer had a bye week in Week 3.

Guyer begins their district schedule with a trip to Plano (TX) on Friday night.

OL Navaughn Donaldson and Miami (FL) Central opened district play with a hard-fought 29-27 against Miami (FL) Norland on Friday night. Norland scored a late TD to make it 29-27, but Central recovered the ensuing onsides kick and took a knee to win the game.

If that game was a tough test, Central is in for arguably their toughest test of the year this week, as they face rival Booker T. Washington on Saturday night at the Mecca — Traz Powell Stadium. There will be upwards of 20,000 fans on hand for this neighborhood rivalry game. it’s going to be electric.

OL Zach Dykstra and the Spirit Lake (IA) Indians rebounded from last week’s loss to Le Mars with a 28-10 victory over Spencer (IA). Now 3-1 on the year, Spirit Lake travels to Algona (IA) in another District game this Friday.

OL Zalontae Hillery, ATH DeeJay Dallas and their Brunswick (GA) Glynn Academy Terrors ran their winning streak to 4 with a 34-14 win over Commerce (GA) East Jackson. Dallas was particularly pleased with his team’s resiliency after dropping the season opener.

While stats for the game weren’t available, the narrative recap stated that Dallas had a fumble (blindside hit on a strip/sack) returned for a TD, and the Glynn Academy running game dominated their offense. Dallas plays QB in HS, so he was obviously a big part of this win. And, any running game needs solid blocking, and I’m sure Hillery provided that for his team.

Glynn Academy has a bye this week. They resume their season on September 30th when they hose Springfield (GA) Effingham County.

DT Jon Ford and the Ft. Lauderdale (FL) Dillard Panthers beat the Parkland (FL) Marjory Stoneman Douglas Eagles 22-8 on Friday night. Dillard scored the last 22 points of the game, including 15 in the 4th quarter to secure the win. Ford was an integral part of the Panthers defense, which held Stoneman Douglas just a single score on the evening.

Dillard has a key district game against undefeated Ft. Lauderdale (FL) Boyd Anderson on Friday night.

DE Jonathan Garvin and the Lake Worth (FL) Trojans losing streak hit 2 games as they fell 40-8 to Lake Worth (FL) Park Vista on Friday night. While Park Vista improved to 4-0, Lake Worth fell to 1-3. Park Vista did pretty much anything they wanted, and capitalized on several Lake Worth turnovers (and 2 blocked punts) to run up the score. While stats weren’t available, Garvin probably had several tackles on the night.

Lake Worth travels to Boca Raton (FL) Spanish River for another District game on Friday night.

DE D.J. Johnson and his Sacramento (CA) Luther Burbank Titans had a bye this week. Luther Burbank look to finally win a game as they host Sacramento (CA) Johnson on Friday night.

LB Waynmon Steed was a playmaker on defense for the previously mentioned Miami (FL) Central Rockets in their 29-27 win over Miami (FL) Norland.

LB Bradley Jennings Jr. and Jacksonville (FL) Sandalwood defeated Port Orange (FL) Spruce Creek 17-14 on Friday Night. They look to continue their undefeated season with a trip to Palm Coast (FL) Flagler on Friday night for another district game.

DB Trajan Bandy and ATH Christopher Henderson and the Miami (FL) Columbus Explorers rebounded from back-to-back losses with a 31-0 win over Miami (FL) High. Now 2-2 on the year, Columbus looks to build momentum for a playoff run with a rivalry game against Miami (FL) Belen Jesuit.

DB Billy Gibson and Miami (FL) Southridge lost their first game of the 2016 season this week, falling 20-6 to Miami (FL) Booker T. Washington. Southridge played BTW tightly throughout the game, and will look to use that performance as fuel for the future, regardless of the result.

Southridge opens district play with a trip to Homestead (FL) South Dade on Friday night. Fi the Spartans are seriously going to make a run at the 8A State Championship — something many have said will happen this year — that starts with a win this week. No exceptions.

DB Brian Edwards and the Miramar (FL) Patriots opened District play with a 47-0 blowout win at Plantation (FL) on Friday night. Since losing to St. Thomas Aquinas 42-6 in week 2, Miramar has outscored their last 2 opponents 100-0. That’s pretty good. With back to back shutouts on the record, Edwards and the Patriots defense are rolling right now.

Miramar looks to continue the win and shutout streak on Friday night with a trip to Plantation (FL) South Plantation for another 8A District 12 game.

P Zach Feagles and the Ridgewood (NJ) Maroons beat Paramus (NJ) 24-7 on Friday. This was an ugly game through 3 quarters, filled with mistakes and tied at 7. Ridgewood went on to score the final 17 points of the game, all in the 4th quarter, to secure the win.

Feagles, who starts at FB for Ridgewood when he’s not punting, did his part to propel his team to victory. He scored the last 2 TDs of the night for Ridgewood, one on a 28 yard run to make the score 17-7 in the 4th quarter, and the last a 1 yard TD plunge. In all, Feagles totalled 18 carries for 117 yards and 2 TDs for the Maroons.

That’s it for this week. Mixed game results, but solid performances across the board for Miami commits. The ones who played, at least. We’ll be sure to check back in next week to see how the current Canes commits are faring in their 2016 seasons.