Recruiting Radar: Commit Recap from HSFB Week 5

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 kept Ocala (FL) Vanguard on a roll, avenging a 2015 loss to a bitter rival, defeating Gaineville (FL) Buchholz 20-7. Normally, Vanguard wins with its overpowering offense. This week, however, the defense stepped up, holding Buchholz to 87 yards total offense through 3 quarters, and finishing with 6 sacks.

While not the eye popping stats from previous weeks, Perry was still very good on Friday, finishing 11/16 passing for 191 yards and 3 TDs.

Buchholz’s coach Mark Whittemore summed up his team’s loss to Vanguard thusly:

“You can't give N'Kosi as many possessions as we did tonight. He's like Usain Bolt back there running around. It's a matter of time before he does something”

N’Kosi Perry is like Usain Bolt. Yeah, that’ll work.

Perry and Vanguard travel to Leesburg (FL) for a District game this Friday.

QB Cade Weldon and Tampa (FL) Jefferson had a bye week. They have a 5A District 10 game at home against Riverview (FL) Spoto on Friday night.

RB Robert Burns and the Miami (FL) Gulliver Prep Raiders moved their record up to 2-3 on the year with a 34-28 win over Miami (FL) Everglades Prep Academy.

Gulliver Prep has a bye this week. They will return to game action with a trip to St. Petersburg (FL) Admiral Farragut on October 7th.

WR Kevaughn Dingle and the Carol City (FL) Chiefs continued their resurgence with an 18-0 win over Miami (FL) Southridge on Friday night. Dingle had 3 catches for 33 yards in the victory.

The road gets tougher this week, however, as Carol City faces undefeated and Nationally Ranked Miami (FL) Central on Friday night in a key District 16-6A game.

WR Evidence Njoku and Wayne Hills (NJ) defeated Old Tappan (NJ) NV - Old Tappan 34-27 on Friday night. This was clearly a tightly contested game, but Njoku had minimal impact on the stat sheet. He ended the game with 1 catch for 4 yards. I know the stats are sparse for him, but his best football is ahead of him.

Now 3-1 on the year, Wayne Hills hosts Millburn (NJ) on Saturday afternoon.

TE Brian Polendey and Denton (TX) Guyer went on the road to Plano (TX) for a district game and emerged victorious 34-24 on Friday night.

Guyer is a run-heavy team and passed for only 38 yards on the night, none of them going to Polendey. His impact was made in blocking for the run game which rolled up 353 yards and 5 TDs.

Polendey was also the target of a dirty play by Plano. Unable to stop the Guyer run game, a Plano defender cheap-shotted Polendey, engaging in an apparently intentional chop block diving straight through the TE’s right leg as he was engaged with another defender.

This write up of the malicious play by USA Today High School Sports includes several quotes from Polendey and the Plano coach. Cited in the USA Today article is this link from the Dallas Morning News which includes video of an apparently similar play from 2014, where a Plano player appears to try to intentionally harm an opponent.

Luckily for Polendey, he did not sustain an injury on the play. He and Guyer return home to face Plano (TX) East on Friday night.

OL Navaughn Donaldson and Miami (FL) Central earned a huge victory on Saturday night, defeating rival Miami (FL) Booker T. Washington 35-14. While the scoreline is big, this was a tight game into the second half. Central proved to have too much juice for BTW, and pulled away in the 4th quarter.

Central continues the guantlet with a key District 16-6A game vs Carol City on Friday night.

OL Zach Dykstra and the Spirit Lake (IA) Indians dominated Algona (IA)55-14 to move to 4-1 on the year. The Indians host Humboldt (IA) in yet another District game this Friday.

OL Zalontae Hillery, ATH DeeJay Dallas and their Brunswick (GA) Glynn Academy Terrors had a bye this week. They resume their season on September 30th when they host Springfield (GA) Effingham County.

DT Jon Ford and the Ft. Lauderdale (FL) Dillard Panthers had a bye this week. Dillard returns to action with a key district game against undefeated Ft. Lauderdale (FL) Boyd Anderson on Friday night.

DE Jonathan Garvin and the Lake Worth (FL) Trojans traveled to Boca Raton (FL) Spanish River and came away with a 20-6 win. Garvin was instrumental to the victory, ending the game with 10 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 1 sack, and a fumble recovery returned for a touchdown. Yeah, that’s a dominant game by any measure.

Lake Worth continues their road trip and looks to get a huge district win as they travel to Lantana (FL) Santaluces — Zach McCloud’s alma mater — on Friday night.

DE D.J. Johnson and his Sacramento (CA) Luther Burbank Titans came off last week’s bye and got on the board with their first win of the year, defeating Sacramento (CA) Johnson 62-6 on Friday night. Johnson continued his dominant play with 10 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, and a sack.

Burbank tries to keep the mojo going as they host Elk Grove (CA) Laguna Creek on Friday night.

LB Waynmon Steed was a playmaker on defense for the previously mentioned Miami (FL) Central Rockets in their 35-14 win over Miami (FL) Booker T. Washington. Steed missed his junior year with a shoulder injury, but has come back like gangbusters as a senior. Steed only had 1 tackle and 2 sacks vs Booker T., but he’s an integral cog in the Rockets’ stifling defense.

Miami Central faves Miami (FL) Carol City in a key District 16-6A game on Friday night.

LB Bradley Jennings Jr. and Jacksonville (FL) Sandalwood defeated Jacksonville (FL) Parker 60-6 on Friday night. Jennings Jr. did his part with 5 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and 2 sacks.

DB Trajan Bandy and ATH Christopher Henderson and the Miami (FL) Columbus Explorers won their rivalry game against Miami (FL) Belen Jesuit by a score of 24-10. Henderson had 2 catches for 20 yards, and Bandy didn’t record a stat, but was one of the lockdown players on the Explorers defense.

Columbus looks to go to 2-0 in District 14-8A as they play a road game against Miami (FL) Coral Park on Friday night.

DB Billy Gibson and Miami (FL) Southridge lost another game, falling 18-0 to Carol City and WR Kevaughn Dingle. One of the most talented teams in the State, Southridge needs to get their act together very quickly or continue a recent pattern of vast underachievement.

Southridge begins a streak of 5 consecutive District 16-8A games as host Homestead (FL) South Dade on Friday. If Southridge is going to prove their worth, it starts with a win on Friday night.

DB Brian Edwards and the Miramar (FL) Patriots had their game against Plantation (FL) South Plantation suspended by lightning. The Patriots will return to South Plant tonight to conclude this game at 6pm. Miramar leads 14-13 in the 3rd Quarter when play resumes.

P Zach Feagles and the Ridgewood (NJ) Maroons beat Clifton (NJ) 30-0 on Friday night. Feagles, the star FB, continued his strong season with 20 carries for 148 yards and 2 TDs for the winning Maroons. The local recap of the game had effusive praise for Feagles’ play, leading his team to victory.

Ridgewood plays Old Tappan (NJ) NV - Old Tappan 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.