North Broward Prep rides itself in its academic excellence— as it should. Its top
football players could end up in
the Ivy League as easily as with an
ACC program—and it is one of the
selling points of this stellar school.
In the past decade or so, this
football program has produced
players who have signed with
Georgia, Florida, Auburn, Pitt and
TCU. Last year, rangy wide receiver
C. J. Riley shredded the competition and then went on to sign with
N.C. State. Yet this isn’t a football
factory first.
It’s just a total, well-rounded
environment of around 900 upper-school students—with a unique
community behind it.
“The school has shown
tremendous support of our athletic
department,” head coach Rex Not-
tage said. “In fact we are currently
under construction for a brand
new athletic center, plus we have
a new turf field. Our community is
the best in the country. Traveling
to our games and witnessing the
support we receive from our com-
munity is a fantastic experience.”
That community is going to be
grinning when it gets to see this
group in action this fall. First of
all, yes, the loss of Riley hurts. Any
time you lose a playmaker who is
6-foot- 5 and averaged more than
26 yards per catch, it is painful.
His prep teammates will now have
to find solace in watching him on
TV on Saturdays ripping up Duke
or Wake Forest.
While Riley and QB David Voz-zala ( 2,392 yards passing, 27 TDs)
are gone, a ton of talent returns.
Starters return at 14 positions.
The Eagles play in the independent
Gold Coast Conference—and
having that kind of returning roster
experience could push a program
deep into the postseason.
One of the most electric threats
returning in talent-rich Broward
County is 6-foot- 3, 185-pound
junior wide receiver Kevin Austin—
who held 16 scholarship offers
coming out of spring ball. Those offers include Miami (Fla.), Michigan
State, Syracuse, Kentucky and you
guessed it … N.C. State.
Austin actually caught more
balls ( 43) than Riley and finished
with 713 yards receiving and
12 TDs—proving to be nearly as
effective a weapon as the N.C.
State signee. He will be counted
on heavily this fall, and Kenny
Henningsen and Bradley Cooper
will also help fill the receptions
void.
Leading rusher Dymitri
McKenzie also is back after
leading the team with 8 rushing
TDs and averaging nearly 10
yards per carry. The offensive
line is another strength with four
returning starters—led by Justin
Bentayou. He’ll join with fellow
returnees Kallen Jennings, Kurt
Bernard and Richard Bien-Aime to
anchor the line and set the table
for new QB Daniel Grusky (last
year’s backup to Vozzola). He’ll
have a top target, a top runner
behind him and four experienced
blockers up front. What more
could you ask for?
“We want to continue to aver-
age more than 30 points a game
(last year was 32. 4), and average
giving up less than 15 points a
game ( 26. 8 last year),” Nottage
said. “We want to have less than
five penalties a game and continue
to be in the plus column in the
turnover ratio.”
Keeping opponents under 15
points a game could happen as
five of the top six tacklers return
to the lineup. There is talent and
there is depth. Jennings, who
along with playing on the O-line
also plays LB, is the leading
returning tackler ( 66), while Sr./
LB Kirby Burns ( 57), McKenzie
( 45), Austin ( 34) and Jr./DB Logan
Shooster ( 29 tackles, 3 INTs) are
right behind him. Anthony Gomez
is another do-everything player
who could provide a spark on both
sides of the ball.
It’ll be an entertaining team
to watch, and don’t be surprised
by a substantial improvement
over last year’s 6-4 mark—and
the schedule is filled with natural
small school rivalries that could
make for some electric Friday
nights. This might be the best
group since the team went 8-3
under Nottage in 2011.
“Watching the Eagles coming
out of the tunnel … with smoke,
while the fans are cheering us
on … on our beautiful campus …
” Nottage said. “ … it’s almost
like watching a small college
atmosphere.”
EXTENDED TEAM FEATURE
North Broward Prep Eagles
NBPS.ORG
2016 Schedule
AUG. 26: VS. PINES CHARTER
SEP. 2: AT CORAL SPRINGS CHARTER
SEP. 9: AT INLET GROVE
SEP. 16: AT KEY WEST
SEP. 23: VS. POMPANO
OCT. 7: AT WESTMINSTER ACAD.
OCT. 14: VS. ARCHBISHOPMCCARTHY
OCT. 21: AT CORAL GLADES
OCT. 28: VS. CALVARY CHRISTIAN
NOV. 4: VS. JOHN CARROLL
CATHOLIC
KEY PLAYERS: Kevin Austin (Jr., WR); Dymitri
McKenzie (Sr., ATH); Kenny Henningsen (Sr., DL );
Kallen Jennings (Sr., LB); Logan Shooster ( Jr., DB);
Anthony Gomez (Sr., ATH); Kirby Burns (Jr., LB); Daniel
Grusky (Sr., QB); Justin Bentayou (Sr., OL); Bradley
Cooper (Jr., WR).
2016 Roster
Quick Facts
COCONUT CREEK, FL
INDEPENDENT
6-4
7 OFFENSE, 7 DEFENSE
REX NOTTAGE
DERRICK MAYS,
AKEEM CEDENO, JOE REDMOND, GABRIEL
COLON, DON SIEGLE, BENTON HENRIQUEZ,
JAMAAL HUNTE, DAVID SMITH, NICK
BERNAL, VINCENZO GRECCO, STACY
DAVIS, ERIN DEMIGLIO
Kevin Austin Anthony Gomez Dymitri Mc Kenzie Kirby Burns Kenny Henningsen
Daniel Grusky
Kallen Jennings
Justin Bentayou
Logan Shooster
Bradley Cooper
2 Kevin Austin Jr.
3 Kenny Henningsen Sr.
6 Anthony Gomez Sr.
7 Dymitri McKenzie Sr.
8 Justin Doles So.
9 Logan Shooster Jr.
10 Hunter Guinta So.
11 Daniel Grusky Sr.
13 Christian Paillet So.
17 Bradley Cooper Jr.
19 BryceLeffler So.
21 Lucca Michels Sr.
22 James Bentayou So.
23 O’Khari Hughes So.
25 Harrison Lessne So.
31 Cole Cavaline Jr.
33 Max Fain So.
34 Logan Clyatt So.
44 Jasen Vest So.
47 Trey Handley So.
51 Anthony Cerasani So.
53 Caden McGhie Jr.
54 Kirby Burns Jr.
55 Kallen Jennings Sr.
56 Nick Rendon So.
57 Liam Randhawa Jr.
58 Ted Arthur Sr.
59 Justin Bentayou Sr.
63 Richard Bien-aime So.
65 Scott Dvorkin So.
71 Ivan Bronnikov Sr.
72 KurtBernard So.
75 Jared London So.
80 Tyler Struve So.
82 Winston Mcbean So.
Daniel Espinosa Jr.
Trent Kaplan So.
Jiahao Li So.
Lok Hey Wang So.
Jett Drucker Fr.
Patrick Scanlon Fr.
Richard Bien-Aime Ted Arthur Hunter Guinta Christian Paillet
FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL FLORIDA
RESERVE 2017 FULL-PAGE COVERAGE! CUSTOMCOVERPROJECT.COM 46 FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL FLORIDA 2016 FNF MAGAZINE @FNFMAG @FNFMAG
