Carol City’s Wright, Aquinas’ Battle earn player of year honors

Even though their high school football careers didn’t end quite the way they had hoped as a state championship eluded both, that nevertheless didn’t make Friday morning any less special for either Carol City running back Nay ‘Quan Wright and St. Thomas Aquinas defensive back Jordan Battle.

That’s because each was named High School Player of the Year for Miami-Dade and Broward County respectively when Warren Henry Auto Group (441 and County Line Road) once again hosted the 7th Annual Tournament of Champions South Florida High School Player of the Year awards presentation.

Wright and Battle were two of seven finalists for the award joining Central quarterback and Marshall commit Maurice Underwood and Palmetto safety and Syracuse commit Cornelius Nunn (Dade) along with other Broward nominees Cardinal Gibbons QB Nik Scalzo (Kentucky), Chaminade-Madonna running back Keontra Smith (Miami) and University School RB Kenny McIntosh (Georgia).

“Obviously this is a real honor and I want to thank God, my family and my coaches for the opportunity I’ve been given. Without them, I wouldnt’ be here today,” said Battle whose numbers weren’t gaudy this past season (just three interceptions) but probably because quarterbacks rarely threw in his direction. “We didn’t finish the season off they way I wanted to losing in the final but its still a great honor to receive this award.”

Battle spoke of Aquinas’ 33-20 loss to Lakeland in the 7A state title game but that didn’t slow down the list of colleges who wanted his services as he made headlines last week when he flipped on his long-time commit Ohio State (with Urban Meyer’s announcment to step down) and chose to go play for Nick Saban at Alabama.

“Having gone to St. Thomas, I know it’s all about hard work and learning to do things the right way,” said Battle. “Now going to Bama, I know it’ll be the same way so I feel like I’m prepared for that.”

Wright finished his senior season with 1,221 yards and 16 rushing touchdowns but he too suffered a painful postseason defeat when the Chiefs, considered the best team in the state all season long, fell to Central in a regional semifinal contest.

“It’s just a blessing but you have to give all the credit to the man above for blessing me with the talent and character to be recognized for this,” said Wright, who officially signed with the University of Florida on Wednesday. “Just to be able to leave Carol City won’t be easy but I’ll be taking some of that Carol City stuff up to Gainesville and just try and change the program, Coach Dan Muller is changing the culture of that program around and we’ll be competing for a national championship pretty soon.”

Friday morning’s event was the kickoff for a big weekend for Tournament of Champions president Wesley Frater as the TOC will host its annual Miami-Dade North/South All Star game Saturday at Curtis Park. Kickoff is at 6 p.m. and tickets are $12.

“All of the kids here today are winners and it wasn’t easy to pick just two but we certainly appreciate once again Warren Henry Auto stepping up to the plate and showing its support for the student athletes in Miami-Dade and Broward County,” said Frater. “This is a proud tradition that we certainly want to keep going every year.”

BOYS’ BASKETBALL

Gulliver Prep Holiday Classic

Orlando Jones 64, Miami Central 50: CEN – Davis 12, Rolle 8, Baker 8, Lubin 6, Bruce 4, Jeanty 4, Metayer 4. 3-pointers: Bruce; Rebounds: Felton 14. Steals: Blackshear 7. Half: OJ 34-21.

Archbishop McCarthy 75, Westland Hialeah 56: AM – Chee 15, Robertson 15, Alcime 12, Brun 6, Cucalon 6, Schmidt 6, Ennis 5, Mizrahi 5, Lindo 3, Mclean 3. WH – Gonzalez 14, Cruz 14, Morales 10, Rodrigues 7, Sieza 6, Romero 3, Manzo 2. 3-pointers: Chee 4, Gonzalez 4, Alcime 2, Rodrigues 2, Ennis, Mizrahi, Lindo, Morales, Romero. Rebounds: Alcime 10. Half: AM 39-28.

Coral Gables 72, Riviera Prep 52: CG – Walker 15, Dawkins 10, Becerril 10, Bryant 9, Fragoso 8, Felipe 7, Daniels 3, Hall 2, Gonzalez 2. RP – Lluberes 12, Alerte 11, Araujo 10, Gaye 5, Hoynack 4, Yepez 4, Ndour 3, Brenner 3. 3-pointers: Becerril 2, Gonzalez 2, Walker Brenner, Lluberes, Ndour. Rebounds: Becerril 7. Assists: Becerril 7. Steals: Araujo 3.

Coral Reef 80, Gulliver Prep 77: CR – Lipson 24, Lane 23, Clark 9, Cruz 7, Bowen 4, Frater-Headley 4, Polanco 4, Williams Jr. 3, Rivas 2. GP – Sanders 22, Idlett 16, Taylor 11, Lamonica 9, Aixala 8, McWhorter 5, Perry 4, Sazant 2. 3-pointers: Lipson 7, Idlett 3, Lane 2, Aixala 2, Cruz, Taylor, McWhorter, Sanders. Rebounds: Lamonica 15. Assists: Taylor 6. Steals: Taylor 5.

Killian 73, Carslisle (Va.) 53 in Greensboro, NC: KIL – Louis-Jacques 24, Nelson 19, Hernandez 13, Calatayud 8, Houston 6, Castillo 4, Boncamper 2, Davis 2

North Miami 70, Miami High 68: Hart 29, Meronne 12, Charles 11. Rebounds: Meronne 10. Assists: Hart 5. Steals: Meronne 3.

Jackson 59, Sunset 40: JAX – Romer 23, Prosper 13. SUN – Dastoriza 16.

Braddock 71, Pinecrest Prep 46: BRAD – Paz 13, Hernandez 12, Camejo 8, Castellanos 8, Campbell 7, Allen 6, Marante 6, C. Perez 6, E. Perez 5. PP – De la Rua 17, Oquendo 11, Silveria 6, Santiesteban 5, Negrin 4, Alvarez 3. 3-pointers: Hernandez 4, Paz, E. Perez. Steals: Paz 3. Rebounds: C. Perez 16.

GIRLS’ BASKETBALL

Miami Springs 38, Jackson 28: MS – Fernandez 11, Duarte 7, Gonzalez 6, Sholtz 2, Walker 2. JAX – Gross 17, Graham 11, Lyons 6, Williams 4.

BOYS’ SOCCER

Varela 4, Southridge 0: Alejandro Olivares, Juan Valiente, Cristian Viera and Anthony Almanzar 1 goal each. Jhansel Garcia, Jesse Duque, Valiente and Rui Lopez 1 assist each.

Ransom Everglades 9, Booker T. Washington 1: Nico Guerini 4 goals, Armando Angeli 2 goals, Andres Badia, Tim Sucher, Danny Mendoza 1 goal each. RE 9-3-2.

Ferguson 3 Palmetto 0: Martin Schooley 3 goals, Andy Melendez 2 assists. FER: 10-2-1

Miami Beach 8, Braddock 0: Julian Enriquez 2 goals, Jose Almanza 2 goals 1 assist, Franklin Rivero 1 goal, Kevin Giraldo 1 goal 1 assist, Pascal Gomez 1 goal, William Garzon 1 goal, Alfredo Astaburuaga 1 assist, Daniel Granda 1 assist, Camilo Suarez 1 assist, Aleksi Baguer 2nd Shutout.

Columbus 4, Coral Park 0: Diego Vega 2 goals, Santiago Beunza and Jordan Zojaji 1 goal each. Kevin Cassinera 2 assists, Diego Vega 1 assist.

Miami Country Day 2, SLAM Academy 1: Diego Oropeza scored both goals. MCD: 8-2-1.

Belen Jesuit 4, Westland Hialeah 0: Ethan Naos, Alejo Beteta, Jorge Lopez-Cabrera and Daniel Comas 1 goal each. Lucas Fernandez, Niko Molina and Gabriel Montero 1 assist each. BEL: 10-3.

GIRLS’ SOCCER

Miami Beach 6, Braddock 0: Julia Silva, 3 goals, 1 assist; Isabella Pirela 2 goals, Luisiana Morales 1 goal.

Southwest 2, Coral Gables 0: Madison Gonzalez 1 goal, 1 assist; Lindsey Woodrome-1 goal. GK Faith Avila third shutout.