Miami Hurricanes signee Fletcher and Western’s Hurst among top honorees at Piccolo Awards
As the guest speaker at the 48th annual Brian Piccolo Awards dinner, University of Miami football coach Mario Cristobal spoke about the qualities of hard work, establishing a culture and being a leader.
One of the players he is about to coach at the University of Miami, Mark Fletcher, exhibited those qualities on his way to a successful high school career at American Heritage.
“It shows the importance of what you do off the field and I think it’s going to be important for future generations to see it’s important to do well on the field and off the field,” Fletcher said. “I’m all smiles right now and just feel blessed.”
Fletcher, who has a 4.2 weighted GPA, isn’t the only one Cristobal and the rest of the 385 people in attendance Wednesday night at the Signature Grand in Davie marveled at their success on the gridiron and in the classroom.
Fletcher, Davie Western’s Collin Hurst, Coconut Creek’s Juan Carlos Arocho and Monarch’s Brayden Slade were among the biggest winners at the annual National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame Inc. event, which awards scholarships to top Scholar Athletes in Broward County.
The four winners received $1,000 in scholarship money and were among 39 student-athletes that were recognized. The rest received $500 in scholarships each.
Hurst, who is headed to Presbyterian College in Clinton, South Carolina, finished his career with the second-most passing yards all-time in Broward County history and a 4.3 weighted GPA. Hurst was the first winner from Western selected since John Panchookian in 2019.
“It’s a great honor. Everybody we’ve met here are great players and I couldn’t be more grateful to be recognized like this,” Hurst said.
Fletcher, who ran for 1,934 yards and 23 touchdowns this past season while leading Heritage to the Class 2M state final, said he couldn’t wait to begin playing for the Hurricanes and Cristobal. Fletcher gave Heritage a winner of this award for two consecutive years.
“It just shows that all this was supposed to happen having him here and I’m just excited,” Fletcher said. “Been at a few practices this spring and I wish I could go in there and start working, seeing all the energy those guys are showing out there.”
Arocho played center for the Cougars for four years and also participated in track and field. He also holds a 4.3 weighted GPA and was a BCAA All-Star with an impressive 660 community service hours. Arocho was the first-ever recipient of the award from Coconut Creek.
Slayde, a strong safety at Monarch earned first team All-State honors, has a 5.2 weighted GPA and is also an outfielder on the Knights’ baseball team. Originally, Slayde had received an offer to play for Stetson University, but is headed to the University of Florida as a preferred walk-on.
Slayde is also the first ever student athlete from Monarch to be selected among the overall winners.
In addition to those honorees, Cypress Bay offensive lineman Matthew Prigmore was named the Neal Bidwell Family Offensive Player of the Year. Cardinal Gibbons linebacker Greg Otten was named the BSN Sports Defensive Player of the Year. South Plantation’s Michael Kinghorn was named the Dr. Edward Storey Special Teams Player of the Year.
Archbishop McCarthy athletic director Byron Walker, a longtime football coach who won three state titles at Belle Glade Glades Day and later coached at American Heritage and McCarthy, winning 314 games in his career, was honored for his contributions to amateur athletics. Kenneth Green was honored with the annual Distinguished American award.
Cristobal was the latest in a long line of UM football coaches to speak at the event, which includes Howard Schnellenberger, Lou Saban, Dennis Erickson, Randy Shannon, Larry Coker, Al Golden and Manny Diaz.
SCHOLAR ATHLETE HONOREES
American Heritage: Mark Fletcher; Archbishop McCarthy: Dominic Caroscio, Blanche Ely: Cedric Ward; Boyd Anderson: Alek Brunache; Calvary Christian: Cooper Aurilia; Cardinal Gibbons: Gregory Otten; Chaminade-Madonna: Giovani Marks; Coconut Creek: Juan Carlos Arocho; Cooper City: Dylan Scarberry; Coral Glades: Kervens Saint Juste; Coral Springs: Kalani Israel; Coral Springs Charter: Collin Teschky; Cypress Bay: Matthew Prigmore; Deerfield Beach: Ezekiel Ruiz; Dillard: David Law-Mortimer; Everglades: Jonathan Green; Flanagan: Jordan Garbutt; Fort Lauderdale: Patrick Boyd Jr.; Hallandale: Dechon Lee; Hollywood Hills: John Mortimer IV; McArthur: Roosevelt Hadley; Miramar: Nathaniel Henry Jr.; Monarch: Brayden Slade; North Broward Prep: Alexander Wigginton; Northeast: Myco Belony; Nova: Nicholas Evans; Pembroke Pines Charter: Malachi Clarke; Pine Crest: Jacob Pion; Piper: Joseph Aquino; Plantation: Matthew Fregly; Pompano Beach: Zachary Cappellucci, South Broward: Christian Cramer; South Plantation: Michael Kinghorn; St. Thomas Aquinas: Broden Sobolewski; Stoneman Douglas: Brock Moskowitz; Stranahan: Sincere Rodriguez; Taravella: Jayden Franklin; West Broward: Jude Roman; Western: Collin Hurst.
This story was originally published April 13, 2023 at 9:30 AM.
