Saturday, August 25, 2007

Booker T. Washington Dominates on ESPN


Booker T. Washington WR/DB Brandon Harris


They're not considered the best high school football team in Miami. Some consider them only the third best team in Dade/Broward behind Northwestern and St. Thomas Aquinas. But Booker T. Washington High is the king of the state today. The Tornadoes made a huge statement crushing Summerville High School (South Carolina) 36-3 on the road in front of a national television audience on ESPN.

How big was this win? Consider this, Summerville was the 8th ranked team in the nation. Summerville's tradition is one of the most impressive in the South. Head Coach John McCissick is the winningest football coach at any level. That's right, more wins than Don Shula, Eddie Robinson, Bobby Bowden or Joe Paterno.

But none of that mattered. The boys from Overtown made quick work of the slower-footed home team in South Caroina. If you're a Canes fan, you should have paid very close attention to this game. Two of Booker T's starting receivers (Davon Johnson & and Thearon Collier) have verbally committed to attending UM. Johnson had two long touchdown catches.

The best prospect on the team is the do-everything and all-everything Brandon Harris. Harris plays wide receiver, cornerback and sometimes fills in at quarterback. He's the son of head coach Tim "Ice" Harris and one of the best high school athletes in the state. He has a long laundry list of schools begging for his services including: Miami, Florida, FSU, Ohio State, LSU and many more. Brandon has yet to decide which wchool he will attend. But whatever school signs him is getting a tremendous talent.

This game proved what a lof South Floridians have known for a long time. The best football talent comes from down here. FSU head coach Bobby Bowden has said the most fertile area of football talent is in Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties. Former Canes coach Howard Schnellenberger's blueprint to make UM into a national power was to recruit "The State of Miami". If you look at the rosters of the Canes 5 national championship teams, it won't take you long to notice a huge portion come from South Florida.

Current Canes coach Randy Shannon has so far done a tremendous job landing verbal commitments from many of Dade and Browards top players. Those committments include Northwestern High stars Aldarius Johnson, Jacory Harris, Marcus Forston, Sean Spence and Brandon Washington. He also has a committment from Broward County's best prospect Patrick Johnson, a cornerback from Ely High. If Shannon can hold on to those committments and ride the wave of momentum he's built in the early recruiting period, the Canes will be back as a power again.

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