This year's Down & Dirty event also brought up seniors Kamal Daghistani and Colin Skalf from Ransom Everglades as well as coach Richard Stuart from Belen Jesuit, who had seniors Chris Dominguez, Alan Rich, Tyler Stanish and Nigel Dondo, who was injured and could not compete. The Wolverines had junior Nick Busse and sophomores Jesse Rodriguez and Ken Vierra.

''I can't even tell you the benefits of coming to this camp,'' Stuart said. ``What they learn from these college coaches help so much when they get back and start playing against teams in our area. Just the one or two new things they learn go a long way.''

A program will certainly gain from this exposure is Pine Crest. Having sent a handful of linemen to Deland over the past few years, this year, it was a caravan of 18 players -- which included seniors Joe Arduini, Jake Burns, Brett Buzzard (6-8, 285), Dylan Lesniak and Aaron Mondshine, who was making his third trip.

The Panthers also had juniors Ryan Bauder, Stephen Benson, Evan Bravender, John DeYoung, Matthew Gibstein, Andrew Krna, Zachary Mahfood, Chris Proctor, Chase Ullman and Tevin Westboork. Sophomores Chris McCue and Sam Wilson were joined by freshman Michael Diener.

Also making the trek from South Florida were Boyd Anderson, Piper, Calvary Chapel, Coral Springs Charter and Hollywood Hills, which brought rising junior standout Jared Maldanado for the third consecutive year. In addition the Spartans had senior Justin Bosley, and juniors Anthony Yerou, Mike Feld, Mike Bloom, Robert Garcia and Matthew Bloom.

''Every year I come back, I learn something new,'' said the 6-3, 280-pound Maldanado. ``This year, I had the chance to compete against some good players from schools like Lakeland, Lake Gibson and Tallahassee Lincoln.''

Boyd Anderson is another program that makes the annual trip. This year, seniors Anthony May and Sebastian Spencer, junior Sebastian Tuff and impressive sophomore Kamerin Davis came. So did senior Daniel Vera from Coral Springs Charter, who was also one of the top line prospects on hand.

Calvary Chapel Looking to gain an edge, had seniors R.J. Barnett and Matt Petrosky, and sophomore Grant Sorrentino. Piper senior defensive lineman Jeremy Esperant was also impressive.

TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS 7-7

The 7-on-7 tour continues for high school football teams around Florida on Saturday, July 11, when the Tournament of Champions will host the 3rd annual Nike 7 ON 7 Football Challenge at Miramar Regional Park (16801 Miramar Parkway).

Highlighting the 16 team event are the Central Rockets, who will be joined by Edison, Norland, Jackson, Miramar, Ely, Stranahan, Ft Lauderdale, Woods Haven Prep (formerly Westlake Prep), Christopher Columbus, Miami Springs, North Miami and a Boyd Anderson squad that has finished second in two (Miami Dolphins Academy and Heath Evans) prestigious 7-on-7 tournaments this summer.

Action gets started at 8:30 a.m.

Don't forget that we are always looking to help expose our area recruits for the current Class of 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013. All you have to do is send a DVD and information about the athlete to: Larry Blustein, P.O. Box 3181, Hallandale Beach, Fl. 33009.

Larry Blustein is co-host of the Miami Dolphins Gridiron Show every Thursday evening from 7-8 on WQAM (560 AM). Have a comment? E-mail lblustein@MiamiHerald.com.

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