Local talent question for Liberty City El, gogeta, et al

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With the number of powerhouse public and private school football programs in Dade + Broward + Palm Beach and the FHSAA's increasing relaxed enrollment and transfer rules, it seems obvious many players pick and choose their high schools with little regard to where they actually reside.

My hypothetical question is this: If private schools weren't a factor and all public schools could only enroll students in their attendance zones, which local high school teams — assuming coaching was essentially equal — would be dominant?

Could we just identify the most consistently successful youth programs that typically feed certain high schools and go from there?

Year-in and year-out, which talent hotbeds are the best in the tri-county area?
 
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I'm gonna say something here...and most of you are probably gonna think I'm trippin'...but hear me out.



Western High School.

NFL players that went to WHS or were zoned for WHS...
Jake Rudock
Giovanni Bernard
James White
Brandon Linder
Jon Feliciano
Fabian Moreau
Brandon Doughty

That's just off the top of my head. There's probably more.

Notable players that are zoned for WHS... (college and high school)
Buckshot Calvert (Liberty)
Elijah Moore (The Opening)
Kevin Austin (The Opening)
Keshaun Clark (top rusher in Broward)
Tyler Carmona (Air Force)
Adrienne Talan (Nebraska)
Russell Haughton-James (West Virginia)
Wade Freebeck (Vanderbilt)
Gavin Ricketts (Western Illinois)
Harrison Story (one of the top QB's in Broward)


I'm sure there's some that I'm missing but you get the point.

QB and OL talent is all over Davie. Two QB's from Davie got drafted last year.
The Western OL that Jon Feliciano played on was supposed to have Brandon Linder (Jacksonville Jags) and Russell Haughton-James (West Virginia). That's 3 Division-1 Offensive Linemen on one unit, 2 of which are now in the NFL. Running behind them would've been James White or Giovanni Bernard.

Even if you look at who WHS is supposed to have right now you can see how good they might be. They're supposed to have both Elijah Moore and Kevin Austin at WR. That's 2 kids who were at The Opening. They have the leading rusher in Broward County and one of the top QB's in Broward as well. They likely go undefeated last year if they still have Moore and Austin.


They're by far the most raped high school in Broward.
 
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Pretty much a lot of the teams that are already successful in their region (even though many of them have benefitted from transfers as well).

Carol City, MNW, BTW & Central, would all still be powerhouse programs.

Teams like Norland, Jackson, probably Killian & some Homestead/ South Dade area squads would probably benefit as well.

Dillard, Coco Creek, Blanche Ely, Boyd, Deerfield & other Broward schools like that would be drastically different if those type of transfer rules were implemented & they got to keep more of their homegrown kids.

It would definitely affect a school like Oxbridge, in terms of the top level talent they have every year.
Pahokee, PB Lakes, Gardens etc, would benefit both positively & negatively.

Southridge & Colombus probably wouldn't have as much talent as they do either.
 
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Western? Interesting. I remember when it was first built. Redneckville! There was no 575, no Sawgrass, no mall. And the biggest bugs I had ever seen in my life. Western was also the ONLY football team we could beat. Oh, them and maybe Cardinal Gibbons.

Western had the only rubberized track in the whole county and the county track meet would be held there. A certain playmaking wide receiver from St. Thomas would run 51.xx for the 440 and throw 51' in the shot put there (and he had to sit out a year for transferring; otherwise, he would have been at Piper with the Blades. The same neighborhood fed: Dillard, Ft. Lauderdale, BA, Piper, Northeast and Stranahan).

Things sure have changed.
 
Dade
Carol City - youth programs (all the teams in Miami Gardens, ravens, chiefs, Vikings & bulldogs) American & Norland would land some kids as well.
The West (gwen cherry, pretty much direct feeder & liberty city)
Booker T (overtown)
Central
Coral Gables (grove)
Jackson (liberty city, Miami youth)
 
I'm gonna say something here...and most of you are probably gonna think I'm trippin'...but hear me out.



Western High School.

NFL players that went to WHS or were zoned for WHS...
Jake Rudock
Giovanni Bernard
James White
Brandon Linder
Jon Feliciano
Fabian Moreau
Brandon Doughty

That's just off the top of my head. There's probably more.

Notable players that are zoned for WHS... (college and high school)
Buckshot Calvert (Liberty)
Elijah Moore (The Opening)
Kevin Austin (The Opening)
Keshaun Clark (top rusher in Broward)
Tyler Carmona (Air Force)
Adrienne Talan (Nebraska)
Russell Haughton-James (West Virginia)
Wade Freebeck (Vanderbilt)
Gavin Ricketts (Western Illinois)
Harrison Story (one of the top QB's in Broward)


I'm sure there's some that I'm missing but you get the point.

QB and OL talent is all over Davie. Two QB's from Davie got drafted last year.
The Western OL that Jon Feliciano played on was supposed to have Brandon Linder (Jacksonville Jags) and Russell Haughton-James (West Virginia). That's 3 Division-1 Offensive Linemen on one unit, 2 of which are now in the NFL. Running behind them would've been James White or Giovanni Bernard.

Even if you look at who WHS is supposed to have right now you can see how good they might be. They're supposed to have both Elijah Moore and Kevin Austin at WR. That's 2 kids who were at The Opening. They have the leading rusher in Broward County and one of the top QB's in Broward as well. They likely go undefeated last year if they still have Moore and Austin.


They're by far the most raped high school in Broward.

Yep a lot of people don't realize that about western because usually the private schools come and snatch them up. I went to western

Before Feliciano the only Western player to play for UM was Joe Fentigrassi who was backup OL and long snapper his last 2 years. Played from 99-02
 
Pretty much a lot of the teams that are already successful in their region (even though many of them have benefitted from transfers as well).

Carol City, MNW, BTW & Central, would all still be powerhouse programs.

Teams like Norland, Jackson, probably Killian & some Homestead/ South Dade area squads would probably benefit as well.

Dillard, Coco Creek, Blanche Ely, Boyd, Deerfield & other Broward schools like that would be drastically different if those type of transfer rules were implemented & they got to keep more of their homegrown kids.

It would definitely affect a school like Oxbridge, in terms of the top level talent they have every year.
Pahokee, PB Lakes, Gardens etc, would benefit both positively & negatively.

Southridge & Colombus probably wouldn't have as much talent as they do either.

I'm gonna say a school and some people are gonna think I'm crazy when I mention it. Springs, yes, Miami Springs. Of course Springs has benefited from re-zoning that relieved overcrowding at Jackson & the West since back in the late 70's(when my mom started school). The majority of its athletes come from the small western section of Brown Sub/Liberty City(Gladeview) and Seminola. I'm talkin MLK park, the Tree Bar, 46 Graveyard, Turf Motel, the Boxing Gym... Main problem they've always had is keeping the guys that are zoned there(myself included, I only attended for a week, never played for them). The one time I remember everyone staying was back in '94. They had the best defense in the state, arguably the country. They went 12-1, losing 14-6 in the State Semis to Southridge who won it all. Held the Davis Bros. to 120 yards combined. That Ridge team used to have 21 on the board during pre-game stretching. Southridge went on to score a still-standing title game record of 69 points. For example, I grew up with & attended Springs Middle with four dudes that made it to the NFL(3 of them are Canes as well),Willis, Nuke Jenkins, Javon Nanton and Zack Ville. Out of the 4, Javon Nanton was the only one who stayed at Springs all 4 years. Willis was gone by his junior year, Nuke left the same week I did, and Big Zack went straight to the West. From back in the days with Lomas Brown, Freddie Miles, and T.Y. Hilton's pops to now, that school has had some major talent come through there. El, I know you remember Ben Jones from the MNW 8. He came from Springs. Tommy Streeter & Brandon Harris are also guys from the area.
 
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Pretty much a lot of the teams that are already successful in their region (even though many of them have benefitted from transfers as well).

Carol City, MNW, BTW & Central, would all still be powerhouse programs.

Teams like Norland, Jackson, probably Killian & some Homestead/ South Dade area squads would probably benefit as well.

Dillard, Coco Creek, Blanche Ely, Boyd, Deerfield & other Broward schools like that would be drastically different if those type of transfer rules were implemented & they got to keep more of their homegrown kids.

It would definitely affect a school like Oxbridge, in terms of the top level talent they have every year.
Pahokee, PB Lakes, Gardens etc, would benefit both positively & negatively.

Southridge & Colombus probably wouldn't have as much talent as they do either.

I'm gonna say a school and some people are gonna think I'm crazy when I mention it. Springs, yes, Miami Springs. Of course Springs has benefited from re-zoning that relieved overcrowding at Jackson & the West since back in the late 70's(when my mom started school). The majority of its athletes come from the small western section of Brown Sub/Liberty City(Gladeview) and Seminola. I'm talkin MLK park, the Tree Bar, 46 Graveyard, Turf Motel, the Boxing Gym... Main problem they've always had is keeping the guys that are zoned there(myself included, I only attended for a week, never played for them). The one time I remember everyone staying was back in '94. They had the best defense in the state, arguably the country. They went 12-1, losing 14-6 in the State Semis to Southridge who won it all. Held the Davis Bros. to 120 yards combined. That Ridge team used to have 21 on the board during pre-game stretching. Southridge went on to score a still-standing title game record of 69 points. For example, I grew up with & attended Springs Middle with four dudes that made it to the NFL(3 of them are Canes as well),Willis, Nuke Jenkins, Javon Nanton and Zack Ville. Out of the 4, Javon Nanton was the only one who stayed at Springs all 4 years. Willis was gone by his junior year, Nuke left the same week I did, and Big Zack went straight to the West. From back in the days with Lomas Brown, Freddie Miles, and T.Y. Hilton's pops to now, that school has had some major talent come through there. El, I know you remember Ben Jones from the MNW 8. He came from Springs. Tommy Streeter & Brandon Harris are also guys from the area.
Yeah you right about Springs big bro, a lot talent came from round there. My 2nd oldest brother actually went to Springs middle for 7th grade after he kept getting in trouble at Drew lol. (We had family over there)

I def remember Big Ben anchoring on that line with Brandon Washington, they were part the reason why Antwain Easterling had that legendary season.

Tacolcy Park had some good players over the years as well.
 
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I'm gonna say something here...and most of you are probably gonna think I'm trippin'...but hear me out.



Western High School.

NFL players that went to WHS or were zoned for WHS...
Jake Rudock
Giovanni Bernard
James White
Brandon Linder
Jon Feliciano
Fabian Moreau
Brandon Doughty

That's just off the top of my head. There's probably more.

Notable players that are zoned for WHS... (college and high school)
Buckshot Calvert (Liberty)
Elijah Moore (The Opening)
Kevin Austin (The Opening)
Keshaun Clark (top rusher in Broward)
Tyler Carmona (Air Force)
Adrienne Talan (Nebraska)
Russell Haughton-James (West Virginia)
Wade Freebeck (Vanderbilt)
Gavin Ricketts (Western Illinois)
Harrison Story (one of the top QB's in Broward)


I'm sure there's some that I'm missing but you get the point.

QB and OL talent is all over Davie. Two QB's from Davie got drafted last year.
The Western OL that Jon Feliciano played on was supposed to have Brandon Linder (Jacksonville Jags) and Russell Haughton-James (West Virginia). That's 3 Division-1 Offensive Linemen on one unit, 2 of which are now in the NFL. Running behind them would've been James White or Giovanni Bernard.

Even if you look at who WHS is supposed to have right now you can see how good they might be. They're supposed to have both Elijah Moore and Kevin Austin at WR. That's 2 kids who were at The Opening. They have the leading rusher in Broward County and one of the top QB's in Broward as well. They likely go undefeated last year if they still have Moore and Austin.


They're by far the most raped high school in Broward.

****
 
Pretty much a lot of the teams that are already successful in their region (even though many of them have benefitted from transfers as well).

Carol City, MNW, BTW & Central, would all still be powerhouse programs.

Teams like Norland, Jackson, probably Killian & some Homestead/ South Dade area squads would probably benefit as well.

Dillard, Coco Creek, Blanche Ely, Boyd, Deerfield & other Broward schools like that would be drastically different if those type of transfer rules were implemented & they got to keep more of their homegrown kids.

It would definitely affect a school like Oxbridge, in terms of the top level talent they have every year.
Pahokee, PB Lakes, Gardens etc, would benefit both positively & negatively.

Southridge & Colombus probably wouldn't have as much talent as they do either.

I'm gonna say a school and some people are gonna think I'm crazy when I mention it. Springs, yes, Miami Springs. Of course Springs has benefited from re-zoning that relieved overcrowding at Jackson & the West since back in the late 70's(when my mom started school). The majority of its athletes come from the small western section of Brown Sub/Liberty City(Gladeview) and Seminola. I'm talkin MLK park, the Tree Bar, 46 Graveyard, Turf Motel, the Boxing Gym... Main problem they've always had is keeping the guys that are zoned there(myself included, I only attended for a week, never played for them). The one time I remember everyone staying was back in '94. They had the best defense in the state, arguably the country. They went 12-1, losing 14-6 in the State Semis to Southridge who won it all. Held the Davis Bros. to 120 yards combined. That Ridge team used to have 21 on the board during pre-game stretching. Southridge went on to score a still-standing title game record of 69 points. For example, I grew up with & attended Springs Middle with four dudes that made it to the NFL(3 of them are Canes as well),Willis, Nuke Jenkins, Javon Nanton and Zack Ville. Out of the 4, Javon Nanton was the only one who stayed at Springs all 4 years. Willis was gone by his junior year, Nuke left the same week I did, and Big Zack went straight to the West. From back in the days with Lomas Brown, Freddie Miles, and T.Y. Hilton's pops to now, that school has had some major talent come through there. El, I know you remember Ben Jones from the MNW 8. He came from Springs. Tommy Streeter & Brandon Harris are also guys from the area.

Don't forget Rakeem Cato and Tommy Shuler
 
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Great stuff. Thanks for all the input.

I didn't know that about Western or Miami Springs.

I was thinking maybe Homestead, Southridge (back rolling again), Gables and Killian — because some of the top players down south always seem to end up at the private schools in that area.

What about North Miami and North Miami Beach?

Is there much talent in that area?
 
Pretty much a lot of the teams that are already successful in their region (even though many of them have benefitted from transfers as well).

Carol City, MNW, BTW & Central, would all still be powerhouse programs.

Teams like Norland, Jackson, probably Killian & some Homestead/ South Dade area squads would probably benefit as well.

Dillard, Coco Creek, Blanche Ely, Boyd, Deerfield & other Broward schools like that would be drastically different if those type of transfer rules were implemented & they got to keep more of their homegrown kids.

It would definitely affect a school like Oxbridge, in terms of the top level talent they have every year.
Pahokee, PB Lakes, Gardens etc, would benefit both positively & negatively.

Southridge & Colombus probably wouldn't have as much talent as they do either.

I'm gonna say a school and some people are gonna think I'm crazy when I mention it. Springs, yes, Miami Springs. Of course Springs has benefited from re-zoning that relieved overcrowding at Jackson & the West since back in the late 70's(when my mom started school). The majority of its athletes come from the small western section of Brown Sub/Liberty City(Gladeview) and Seminola. I'm talkin MLK park, the Tree Bar, 46 Graveyard, Turf Motel, the Boxing Gym... Main problem they've always had is keeping the guys that are zoned there(myself included, I only attended for a week, never played for them). The one time I remember everyone staying was back in '94. They had the best defense in the state, arguably the country. They went 12-1, losing 14-6 in the State Semis to Southridge who won it all. Held the Davis Bros. to 120 yards combined. That Ridge team used to have 21 on the board during pre-game stretching. Southridge went on to score a still-standing title game record of 69 points. For example, I grew up with & attended Springs Middle with four dudes that made it to the NFL(3 of them are Canes as well),Willis, Nuke Jenkins, Javon Nanton and Zack Ville. Out of the 4, Javon Nanton was the only one who stayed at Springs all 4 years. Willis was gone by his junior year, Nuke left the same week I did, and Big Zack went straight to the West. From back in the days with Lomas Brown, Freddie Miles, and T.Y. Hilton's pops to now, that school has had some major talent come through there. El, I know you remember Ben Jones from the MNW 8. He came from Springs. Tommy Streeter & Brandon Harris are also guys from the area.

Don't forget Rakeem Cato and Tommy Shuler

I definitely didn't but I could write a novel of a post if I included all of the cats from around the way. Those two, Gartrell Johnson(Shavers), Chad Simpson, Big Cliff who played for the holes, etc. El, speaking of Easterling, that's another guy from the area. It's effin' ridiculous...
 
You'd still have to weigh coaching because a lot of the public schools (at least in Broward) have subpar coaching staffs. (It pays very little.) That said, schols like Dillard, Ely, Coconut Creek and Boyd Anderson would probably be the most talented.
 
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I had a question for LCE and others. I watched that documentary on the VICE channel a couple of months back about the Liberty City youth program and "The Boom Squad" and their rivals "Gwen Cherry Bulls". What high school territory is that officially? Also do they ever play against that young Canes team that traveled to Vegas etc. and beat up on all of those out of state teams?
 
STA has always been there but they really took it to another level when they started recruiting beyond Broward county lines. If you're cherrypicking the tri-county area for top-level talent, you should pummel 99% of America's high schools. Before then, they'd still have seasons with them being the best team in Broward but not consecutively and by such wide margins. There a **** of a lot more parity. Now Chaminade and especially AH are new on the scene. I can clearly remember when Chaminade was nothing. That all changed my 11th grade year when they hired Guandolo, who grew tired of the commute from Broward to the Ridge. Enter guys like Beason, Cook, etc. They fell off again when he went to Cypress Bay but they're back. AH used to be Pace's personal heavy bag until the boosters had enough. Call them STA Lite because they've definitely adopted the Aquinas model and ran with it. Drew's supposed to be at Carol City, Ty's home school is Everglades and the QB came from AH-Delray.
 
I graduated from Western and had an idea about some of those kids but I didn't know there were so many kids zoned for the school that didn't go there. Tevin Allen (cornerback at Illinois State) transferred from Western to STA for his senior year I believe.
 
I had a question for LCE and others. I watched that documentary on the VICE channel a couple of months back about the Liberty City youth program and "The Boom Squad" and their rivals "Gwen Cherry Bulls". What high school territory is that officially? Also do they ever play against that young Canes team that traveled to Vegas etc. and beat up on all of those out of state teams?

Gwen Cherry Park: Northwestern, Charles Hadley Park(LCO): Jackson/Northwestern. They're in Pop Warner, different league than FTL Canes.
 
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