If you would have put money on the South Florida Express (SFE) winning the IMG 70n7 tournament in Pembroke Pines Saturday, you would have doubled up. SFE “Pro” upset SFE “Elite in the championship round to finish first and second in the 12 team tournament and now both have automatic bids to the IMG National Championships held this summer.
“Elite” already qualified for the nationals by winning the bigger tournament held in Bradenton a month ago, but SFE founder and head coach Brett Goetz decided he wanted to do a little more. He entered two teams in the Pembroke Pines tournament and they went big time with “Pro” defeating “Elite” 21-20 to end the tournament.
“Pro” was led by 2014 quarterback Sean White. The 6-3, 185 pounder plays for Hollywood Chaminade Madonna and was extremely accurate throwing well into the double digits on touchdowns on a day when his “Pro” team went undefeated. White won co-MVP for the tournament.
White’s top targets on offense were D.J. Woods of Parkland (FL) Douglas and Chaminade Madonna’s Demarco Haynes.
The tournament favorite coming in was SFE “Elite” and they are led by two-headed quarterback tandem Akeem Jones (2013) of Miami Carol City and Troy Cook (2013) of Miami Palmetto. They have a trio of swift and athletic receivers Jesus Wilson (2013) of Miami Columbus, Emmanuel Soto (2014) of Archbishop McCarthy, and super 2014 receiver Tyre Brady of Miami South Dade. A fourth player Wendell Dunn (2013) of Miami Palmetto was great on the day and a linebacker by trade, he used his 6-4 frame to get over and hs speed to get by defenders on the day.
The other MVP of the tournament was SFE “Elite” defensive back Rashard Robinson (2013)of pompano Beach Ely. The 6-1, 170 pound speedster has a knack for getting to the ball and had three interceptions on the day to go along with several pass break ups. He is quick and is being recruited as a cornerback with elite size.
Brett Goetz is the mastermind behind the South Florida Express and his vision has changed in the five years running the program. Past winners of national championship tournaments, Goet has brought in former professional players to mentor and coach up the players and offers them an experience that they learn from and an opportunity to get noticed by colleges through the folks that cover recruiting and write about them.
The South Florida Express coaches include former NFLer’s Pat Surtain, Sam Madison, Samari Rolle, Daryl Porter, and Kevin Beard along with former Miami Hurricane Chad Wilson along with local high school heroes Ricardo Dixon and Geno Smith.