Which football player had the most profound impact on his team during the 2007 season?
Which students will win the prestigious Scholar Athlete awards?
Which coach made the biggest impact on his/her team during the 2007-08 school year?
Find out Thursday morning during the Miami Herald's Annual All-Broward Athletic Awards presented by BankUnited.
A crowd of approximately 1,200 is expected to converge at the Signature Grand in Davie for the annual gala, which originated in 1968 and is broken into two ceremonies -- one in Broward and one in Miami-Dade, which will take place Tuesday at Jungle Island.
Athletes and Coaches of the Year in each individual sport will be honored during the ceremony, which begins at 8:30 a.m.
Overall Athletes and Coaches of the Year also will be named.
The awards for the top athletic program also will be revealed.
St. Thomas Aquinas has won the All-Sports Award every year since the 1980-81 school year, with American Heritage winning the award in the small-school classification each of the past two years.
A Lifetime Achievement award also will be presented, as will the annual Courage Award.
Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at the door.
BIG HONOR
The American Football Coaches Association will honor St. Thomas Aquinas football coach George Smith as the 2008 Power of Influence Award winner during an AFCA dinner in Nashville in January.
THIS AND THAT
• Basketball: Marshall University has tapped into the Dillard boys' basketball pipeline for the second time this year.
The Thundering Herd have signed 6-10 center Nigel Spikes, who will join teammate Kore White, an All-State first-team selection, in West Virginia next season.
Spikes played a vital role in the Panthers' run to the Class 5A state title as a part-time starter.
He averaged 10 points, nine rebounds and three blocks to help form arguably the most intimidating frontline in Florida, alongside White (6-8) and 6-7 forward Bo Reliford, the 5A Final Four MVP.
Spikes gives the Thundering Herd an athletic big man who runs the court well and has a nice touch around the basket.
Missouri and Kansas State were among the other schools that recruited Spikes.
-- FABIAN LYON
• Heritage player hurt: American Heritage senior linebacker/running back Brent Singleton has not practiced this week and likely will miss the spring game at Belle Glade Central on Friday.Singleton, a starting outside linebacker, has a strained right hamstring.
''We're not going to risk his senior season at a spring game,'' Patriots coach Byron Walker said.
Singleton said he expects to be ready for the Patriots' summer workouts.
Singleton, a 5-10, 195-pound linebacker, also added he is looking to weigh above 200 pounds before the 2008 season begins.
Singleton is being recruited by South Carolina, Syracuse and Florida International.
• Aquinas' Bernard is out: St. Thomas Aquinas running back Giovanni Bernard also has been idled by a sore hamstring.
Bernard, arguably the top junior running back in Broward, aggravated his hamstring in an individual workout.
Bernard, who is 5-9, 195 pounds, is expected to be ready for the Raiders' summer workouts.
-- PETE PELEGRIN
• Honors: Palmer Trinity boys' lacrosse players Judd Smith and Nick Fitzgerald have been chosen to play for the Bermuda National team in the International Lacrosse Federation Under-19 World Lacrosse Championships this summer.Palmer coach Joshua Blumenthal will be on the team's coaching staff. The event will be held July 3-12 in Coquitlam, British Columbia.
• Honorable mentions: The following players made The Miami Herald's All-Dade honorable mention list: Killian's Julian Santos for baseball; Coral Gables' Michel Bertholemot, Marco Ziff, Nikita Zanko, Santiago Padilla and Mark Belkin for boys' tennis; Archbishop Curley's Katie Cabrisas, Jillian Husted, Allyson Porges and Marie Masseus for softball; and Husted, Laura Putlck, and Shani Mensing for tennis.
