Berin Boracic

Boracic is nearing the end of his senior year at Lees-McRae College in the tiny mountain town of Banner Elk, N.C, where he helped lead the Bobcats soccer program to the Division II title game a month ago at Tampa University Pepin Stadium.

The Bobcats lost that game, 1-0, in the final 12 minutes against Fort Lewis. Such a finish to an otherwise extraordinary season has proved to be a tough memory to shake off for Boracic, considering the way it ended. Despite working his way through the opposition throughout the match, seemingly at will, his final shot on goal clanged off the far post late in the game before time eventually expired.

“Just getting the opportunity to play (in college) and then to get to the championship game was a great experience,” said Boracic. “But of course everyone wants to win, so it was really tough losing.”

As tough as that was, it’s nothing compared to the kind of adversity he’s already had to face from such an early age. Not to mention the lofty goals he’s already set for himself once his final year of college is officially in the books.

Before landing on his feet in Orlando nearly a decade ago, Boracic was growing up in a world of violence and poverty, where tens of thousands of people were killed and his father was held prisoner during the Bosnian War in the mid-to-late 1990s.

Then as a young teen in 2002 his family was offered a new start abroad by the Bosnian government. That’s when along with his parents, younger brother and sister they were granted the opportunity to come to the United States and leave the smoldering post-war conflict behind them.

Berin Boracic

But while his mom and dad struggled to provide for the family, Boracic found the transition to be quite a challenge as a freshman at Oak Ridge High School.

“But everything kind of fell into place,” he remembers.

It’s not hard to imagine they eventually would. In Bosnia he was a victim of war after having suffered projectile wounds during the infighting back in those days. At Oak Ridge he built lasting relationships through athletics before graduating with a diploma in 2005.

And despite the shrapnel still lodged in his lower back and in each one of his legs, Boracic excelled in soccer and as a placekicker on the Pioneers football team.

It was through the relationships and camaraderie he forged in those days, with teammates and coaches such as Scott Fisher and Marc Jackson, which he says made the move that much easier as time went on while his parents continued to also get acclimated.

“Everybody really stuck together over there,” said Boracic of his time at Oak Ridge. “All the coaches and players, we were really close and would go support each other at different events.”

Many of those ties remain intact. He’s since followed the career of former football teammate Joe Joseph at the University of Miami and recently got the chance to play in front of both Fisher and Jackson when they made their way over to the Division II tournament in Tampa.

Berin Boracic

Boracic closed out his senior season as the Conference Carolinas Player of the Year (for the second time) after returning from an anterior cruciate ligament tear in his right knee, suffered while competing in the Premier Development League. The injury kept him on the sideline in 2008 after being named a collegiate All-American in 2007 and helping guide the Bobcats to the Elite Eight.

He returned to lead Lees-McRae to an 18-3-2 record in 2009 – the best overall season in school and conference history – with 15 goals (five game-winners) and nine assists for 39 points through 23 games. With a performance such as this, he reclaimed his All-American status among a number of other honors.

Now he’s scheduled to graduate with a degree in sports management and business, and is eyeing an opportunity to have his name entered into this year’s Major League Soccer draft before fulfilling his dream of playing professionally in Europe.

Not bad for a kid claiming to have been a bit of an underachiever in the classroom while at Oak Ridge.

“I wanted to fulfill my mom’s goals,” Boracic said. “She’s always been about academics.”

She’s also proof, along with his dad, that the American Dream is indeed possible should one decide to ever set sail for it.

Boone's Lucas Rawlings (Photo by Justin Kane)

Just 16 seconds remained when Rawlings withstood a ferocious rush from the West Seniors at the line of scrimmage and connected on the 32-yard game-winning field goal.

“It was very tense,” said Rawlings of lining up for the attempt. “I was just focused on getting my leg through it and getting the ball through the upright. That’s all I had on my mind.”

The tense part came when Rawlings was given a little extra time to think things over as he was held up by a timeout from the West sideline. Once the ball was snapped a fierce collision took place up front before the kick hit its mark with plenty room to spare, prompting the celebration to get underway.

“It was indescribable,” Rawlings said with a grin while reliving the moment. “I knew right there that it was the game winner.”

The field goal capped off a 13-play drive that began midway through the fourth quarter and drained the remaining five-plus minutes to virtually nothing. Oak Ridge quarterback Baylin Trujillo converted on fourth-and-two during the drive on a keeper up the middle while several others played key roles.

The East got big gains on the ground from Colonial’s Jermaine Broomfield and University’s Curtis Riley, along with a 23-yard pickup on a throw from Pine Castle’s Michael Slack to Orlando Lutheran tight end Faysal Shafaat down the stretch.

Boone's Lucas Rawlings (Photo by Justin Kane)

Slack finished 6-of-9 passing for 126 yards as he delivering precise passes that landed right on target while Broomfield tallied 52 yards on eight carries. Shafaat caught four balls for 66 yards, one of which he kept a hold of even after taking a jarring hit over the middle from an opposing player.

“He told me ‘Great throw. If you would of threw it any higher I would have gotten laid out even worse’,” said Slack of the good-natured encounter they shared in the huddle following the play.

It was Slack’s touchdown toss of 39 yards to Boone’s speedy Denard Lucas, while in stride with 3:27 remaining in the third quarter, that tied the game at 14-14 and breathed new life into an East squad that had little trouble moving the ball. If only they could have turned those yards into points by reaching the end zone earlier.

Lucas was eager to get the call though after already having told a teammate he was bound to score a touchdown. He did so two plays after hauling in a 42-yarder from Trujillo.

“The (defensive backs) were playing man (coverage) and they were trying to bump me, but it wasn’t happening,” said Lucas, who finished with three receptions for 94 yards in the win.

Boone's Lucas Rawlings (Photo by Justin Kane)

Those two scores in the second half by the East were set up by a stingy defensive effort, most notably from defensive lineman Jordan Little from Cypress Creek who was in on two sacks on third downs which resulted in punts the other way.

They came on drives where the West routinely found themselves working for room to run from deep in their own territory as they tried to hang on to a 14-7 lead after returning to the field from the halftime break.

Among the East defenders making it tough on the West were Joseph Jones and Andres Jurado of Cypress Creek, Ryan Moore and Sean Brown from Colonial, Conrad Walko and Josh Kerlin of Pine Castle, along with Timber Creek’s Jacob Wainwright and Winter Park’s Corey Gonslaves.

Those efforts proved to be beneficial after having watched Ocoee’s Chris DeVaughn jump on a Trujillo pass in the flats for an interception which he raced 72 yards along the sideline to paydirt less than three minutes into the night.

But the equalizer was set up when a fumble that Boone’s Tabarie Sullivan landed on in a pile of players was recovered following a muffed punt near midfield. Eleven plays later, which included a fourth-down conversation, the game was tied at 7-7 just a minute into the second period as Riley faked to a running back, swung around wide to the right, and sprinted his way into the end zone past defenders.

“When I took off towards the sideline I seen some people in front of me and I knew I had to put a move on them,” said Riley. He would finish with 53 yards on 10 carries and 29 yards passing nf 2-of-4 attempts.

The West Seniors promptly replied with their best drive of the game two series later. They took the lead with a minute left in the first half when Robbie Matay hooked up with Dr. Phillips teammate Greg Slones in the corner of the end zone from four yards out. Only the momentum wouldn’t carry over into the final two quarters.

In the loss, Dr. Phillips running back Matt Williams had five strong runs for 39 yards and Apopka’s Joe Dennis made big tackles on defense for the West. Other defensive standouts included Matt Hunt and Matt Lambert of Bishop Moore, Delroy Steele (Jones), Jarret Leppert (Apopka), Michael Lewis (Ocoee), Cornelious Sigler (West Orange) and Donnie Bartolomucci (Olympia).

Among the tournament standouts since its inception in 1976 have been Daytona Beach Mainland’s George McCloud, Mike Polite and Vince Carter, Bishop Moore’s Owen Busch, Tony Atkins of Jones, Damien Wilkens of Dr. Phillips, Darius Washington from Edgewater and Nick Calathes of Lake Howell, to name a few.

Austin Rivers (Photo by Jim Redman)

Add Austin Rivers of Winter Park to that list. Just be sure not to leave out his teammates in the process.

The Wildcats won the Tip-Off Classic for only the third time behind 20 points and five rebounds from the nationally sought after junior. Winter Park was convincing in its 59-32 win over Winter Springs.

After entering the halftime break up 22-18, the Wildcats raced past the Bears in the third quarter to put the game out of reach early in the second half. Rivers and senior Robert Lovaglio led the charge by combining for 11 points during the team’s 17-3 run in the period.

“In the first half they got a lot of second chance opportunities because they do such a great job at getting the offensive rebound,” said Winter Park Coach David Bailey. “In the third quarter we did a nice job at keeping them out of the lane and did a great job of boxing them out.”

And they turned those defensive efforts into buckets on the other end of the floor.

Lovaglio capitalized on being given the open look by finishing with 13 points and six rebounds in the championship game. He was among several other Winter Park players that came up big in the win. Junior Brett Comer scored six points and dished out four assists while senior Adam Jones recorded a triple-double with 10 points, 11 rebounds and 10 blocked shots.

“In the second half we just wanted to come out and focus mainly on defense because we knew our defense would help dictate our offense,” said Jones afterwards. “This is the best defense we’ve played so far this year.”

After watching his team score just once from the field in the third quarter, Winter Springs Coach Travis Jones could only agree.

“Their defense is deceptively good,” he said of the Wildcats. “They really don’t let you get into your offense very well. We struggled with that.”

Winter Springs got 15 points from Brian Holmes and eight points from Luis Jacabo.

The tournament loss marked the third-straight in the title game for the Bears. They finished as runners-up to Winter Park in 2007 (led by Kyle McClanahan) and Orlando Christian Prep in 2008 (led by Tyshawn Patterson). Both losses came by one point each.

Winter Park escaped a tough challenge by Oak Ridge in the semifinals one night earlier to advance to the Tip-Off Classic finals for the eighth time.

“It’s a testament to the young guys, to how hard they work and how much they value winning and representing their school,” said Bailey.

The Wildcats are courting a team of seven seniors and five juniors who were dismantled in the state semifinals last season by Olympia. They opened the new season with a close loss to East Ridge.

Winning the Rotary Tip-Off Classic, at home in such a dominant fashion, should help set the tone from here on out.

“We had to go in hard because everybody knows Winter Springs is our rival,” said Rivers. “Going in we knew if we didn’t play hard we were going to lose and that was our mindset going into the night.”

– More Rotary Tip-Off Classic –

Zack McCann at Orlando Sentinel

Finals recap at Orlando Sentinel

Photos at Orlando Sentinel

Kevin Fritz history lesson at Central Florida Lifestyle

– Oak Ridge Pioneers (4-1)

Despite a mountain of penalties the Pioneers had their way on Homecoming Night. Senior quarterback Baylin Trujillo may have taken too many sacks but he also threw three touchdown passes on 13 of 15 passing for 269 yards. Junior Ricky Harper turned a catch into a 63-yard score and repeatedly picked up big gains by spinning off defenders. He hauled in five passes for 142 yards in the win. Sophomores Rayshawn Jackson and Guito Ervilus were also on the receiving end of Trujillo scores. Jackson caught five passes for 80 yards and Ervilus scored on a 10-yard catch-and-run in the third quarter.

Oak Ridge has started the season with a 3-1 record heading into district play. (Photo by J.C. Carnahan)

Junior running back Mario Bargainer scored twice and racked up 99 yards on eight carries while sophomore Andre Scott zigzagged his way 82 yards downfield for a touchdown, before running in the 2-point conversion and later catching a 36-yard pass.

Defensively, while senior Lucktes Estiverne delivered the big hits, tackles-for-losses were made by the likes of junior Kurt Daniels, sophomore Daquell Lloyd, junior Quentin Willis and senior Stephen Hardricks. Daniels also recovered a fumble as did senior Jay Swift, who added two quarterback sacks to his credit.

– Colonial Grenadiers (0-5)

Senior quarterback Jose Castro finished the night 5 of 9 for 96 yards and two touchdown passes for Colonial. The first score came on a 56-yard completion to sophomore Derek Knott while the second came in the final seconds of the game as junior Chris Nazario pulled in his only catch from one yard out. Knott caught three passes for 79 yards, blocked an extra-point attempt and broke up a pass. Leading the way out of the backfield was senior Jermaine Broomfield with 18 carries for 84 yards, including bursts of 18 and 22 yards in the second half.

On defense junior Chad Tajadeen had big tackles and provided pressure on the quarterback. Also applying the pressure were senior Ryan Moore and junior Marquis Cousins. Recording sacks were Moore, with two of his own, senior Keenan Anderson and junior Alex Dominguez. Junior Ricky Jordan broke up a pass while sophomore Diante Harrison blocked an extra point, one of three in all for Colonial on the night.

– More Colonial at Oak Ridge coverage –

Video highlight at WFTV

New head coach Elijah Williams has Oak Ridge off to a 4-1 start just one season after the team went 3-7 overall and 0-4 in district play. But wins and losses aside, players are having fun again. They’re also learning the importance of family, both on and off the field. The approach seems to have revitalized a program that features veteran standout linebacker Lucktes Estiverne, newcomer Baylin Trujillo at quarterback, and loads of young talent around them.

Guito Ervilus (left) and Baylin Trujillo warm up before playing Colonial. (Photo by J.C. Carnahan)

“This whole year has been great,” said Trujillo, a transfer from Boone who served as a backup for the Braves. “Coach Williams has taught us how to be better people. He didn’t really care about all the winning and losing (in the beginning), he just wanted us to become a team.”

That much has been accomplished.

“By doing that we’ve been focusing on getting closer on the football field so that when we do go out there we have fun and pull through, like with this four-game win streak,” said Trujillo.

After dropping a game on the road to West Orange to start the season, the Pioneers have reeled off wins against Lake Nona, Evans, Freedom and Colonial. It’s not exactly a list of foes that would strike fear in the hearts of local prep football followers, but it’s helped make Trujillo’s adjustment to life as a starter that much easier considering the youthful group of skill players he’s surrounded by.

“We are confident right now,” said Trujillo. “We’ve been working hard since the summer for this and it’s paying off.”

Building those close bonds well before the season began has helped place Trujillo among the area leaders in passing yards per game and junior Ricky Harper among the area leaders in receiving yards per game. Such statistics are just one example of a team’s success being parlayed into the recognition of individual players, and vice-versa.

Williams knows a thing or two about teamwork, having been a part of successful seasons in Gainesville with the Florida Gators and later with the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League. He combines the lessons he’s been taught with the expectations he has for his kids when it comes to their preparation in all fazes of life.

“When we’re together we laugh and joke,” said Estiverne of the Pioneers. “But we also practice hard with intensity. We don’t take any team lightly. We keep going hard.”

That will be key once home dates with area favorites Dr. Phillips (Oct. 23) and Boone (Oct. 30) approach in what will ultimately decide the two Class 6A District 6 playoff qualifiers. This Friday the Pioneers (currently 1-0 in district play) are on the road at Cypress Creek. They will later be on the road at Gateway on Nov. 6 before finishing the regular season with a non-district game against Jones on Nov.13. What it all really means is that although a 4-1 start is nice, there is still plenty of work left ahead of them.

“Wins are just wins,” said Estiverne. “This team has to keep getting ready and focused and we’ve got to keep moving on in order to get to that next level.”

By the look of things, it’s clear that the Pioneers are at least headed in the right direction.

– More Oak Ridge football coverage:

Head coach Elijah Williams interview with WFTV

Linebacker Lucktes Estiverne interview with WFTV

Brentley Romine interview with Williams at Orlando Sentinel

Led by second-year head coach Chip Petree, West Orange takes its 3-0 mark into a home matchup with District 5 opponent Ocoee on Friday night. The last time they were able to get past the Knights was in 2005, which was also the last time the school had won four games in a season.

Coaches say it’s the rigorous off-season the team went through over the summer that has them feeling conditioned well enough for the duration of the schedule. And after handling Oak Ridge and Cypress Creek to start the year, a 49-14 road win over Colonial (0-3) on Friday night has lifted the spirits of those in Winter Garden.

In that particular game big plays were made out of the backfield by senior Keaton Postell, who scored twice on 17 carries for 97 yards in the win. Senior quarterback Brandon Brown went 10 of 20 for 164 yards and three touchdowns. Two of those touchdown strikes went to junior Diego Quintanar (3 catches for 80 yards) while another found the hands of sophomore running back Kesanic Hardy (2 catches for 27 yards). Sophomore Erik McCree caught four passes for 44 yards.

Quintanar also scored a touchdown after scooping up a fumble while senior Michael McCastler returned a blocked punt for a score. Doing most of the dirty work defensively was senior Damon Adkinson, who led the charge with 8.5 tackles at the linebacker position.

– More about West Orange Warriors:

Official site for Warriors Football

Video coverage of West Orange vs. Colonial at WFTV 9

No. 20 Miami dominated No. 14 Georgia Tech, 33-17, in front of their home crowd.

Joe Joseph

Former Oak Ridge four-year starter Joe Joseph (Class of 2005) helped Miami’s defensive unit hold the Yellow Jackets’ rushing attack to just 95 yards on 39 attempts. Feeling the effects of that effort while lined up on the other side of the ball was former Dr. Phillips all-purpose running back Embry Peeples (Class of 2008).

Joseph is an experienced redshirt senior tackle and one of several defensive linemen who are rotated in and out for the Hurricanes. His massive size (6-3, 304 pounds) has been used to plug up the middle over the past three seasons, where as a sophomore and junior he compiled 42 tackles (13 for loss) and was in on four quarterback sacks. A career high of nine total tackles came at Florida State in 2007 while four solo tackles were recorded twice so far in his college career (against FSU and at Georgia Tech in 2008).

Peeples is a sophomore A-back (slot player in an option attack used to carry the ball, run-block or go out for a passes) who is considered an “extremely fast player and an elusive back” that may one day be returning kicks for the Yellow Jackets. Born in Miami, the 5-10, 173-pounder earned the first start of his collegiate career against Jacksonville State during the opening weekend of the 2009 season after playing in eight games as a freshman (and missing five with an ankle injury.) His best statistical outing came on Sept. 20, 2008 against Mississippi State when he took six carries for 56 yards and scored his only touchdown. For the season he averaged 6.9 yards per carry on 14 attempts.

More on Joseph –

Coached by current Timber Creek Defensive Coordinator Marc Jackson, Joseph made 68 total tackles (nine for loss) as a senior at Oak Ridge, which helped him rank as the No. 32 defensive tackle in the nation by Rivals.com. On Thursday night he meet Georgia Tech running back Jonathan Dwyer at the line of scrimmage in the second quarter for his only tackle of the night. He later celebrated in front of ESPN cameras on the sideline near the end of the fourth quarter. Joseph also had one tackle in Miami’s Week 1 win over No. 18 Florida State.

Embry Peeples

More on Peeples –

Coached by current DeLand Head Coach Kevin Pettis and current Olympia Head Coach Bob Head, Peeples fought through injuries his senior year at Dr. Phillips to average over six yards a carry after running for eight consecutive games of 100 yards or more as a junior. Ranked as the No. 38 all-purpose back in the nation by Rivals.com, he ended his freshman year at Georgia Tech with two carries against LSU in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. On Thursday night his lone carry of three yards, in the second quarter, ended with a helmet-removing hit by a defender. Later that quarter a pass sent in his direction hit the ground before reaching its target.