All-area football, large schools offense: Palm Beach Gardens' Roshard Burney handles running duties with gusto

Friday, December 23, 2011

LARGE SCHOOLS FOOTBALL OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

By JEFF GREER

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

All season long, Palm Beach Gardens running backs Roshard Burney and Alex Clark were attached at the hip - on the football field, in the newspaper, etc.

The dynamic duo was unstoppable, taking full advantage of Gardens' brawny offensive line and coach Chris Davis' hurry-up running offense tailored after Auburn's national championship team in 2010.

But late in the season, a high ankle sprain slowed Clark, and Gardens' offense became the Burney Show. The Gators never missed a beat.

Burney (6-foot, 210 pounds) took on his heightened responsibilities with gusto, running 118 times for 769 yards and seven touchdowns in the four games that Clark was hurt.

Those numbers only bolstered his final 2011 statistics: A large-schools-leading 2,000 yards rushing to go with 19 touchdowns. And when Clark came back, giving Gardens a shot of his own speed and power, Burney became that much more difficult to slow down.

He helped his team make its deepest postseason run in five years. Gardens made the Class 8A region final, losing to national powerhouse Miramar.

But that loss didn't define the season that Burney or Gardens had. In a season-defining playoff drive against Seminole Ridge, it was Burney who gashed the middle of Ridge's defense on critical downs.

As his coach Chris Davis put it, Burney ran with a swag and attitude that made him virtually impossible to stop at times. The senior back can punish tacklers or shake them, and it's that ability to create that helped Burney commit to West Virginia.

LARGE SCHOOLS FIRST-TEAM OFFENSE

Evan Moore

Lake Worth

Senior, QB

Seventh-leading rusher and sixth-leading passer among large schools; accounted for 2,369 yards of total offense and 25 touchdowns.

Gary Holmes

Seminole Ridge

Senior, RB

Soft-spoken leader finished third among large schools rushers with 1,481 yards and led large-schools runners with 24 touchdowns.

Tremane McCullough

Royal Palm Beach

Senior, RB

Nicknamed 'ESPN,' ran for 1,700 yards and 23 touchdowns for resurgent Royal Palm Beach, which finished 7-4 after a 1-9 season in 2010.

Reggie Love

Spanish River

Senior, WR

Wisconsin commit posted the most regular-season yards (824) and catches (38) among large-schools receivers in his first year as football player.

Angelo Jean-Louis

Palm Beach Central

Senior, WR

Miami commit caught 23 passes for 462 yards and eight touchdowns and played shutdown cornerback.

Frank Brown

Palm Beach Gardens

Junior, WR

Speedster averaged 19.8 yards a catch and scored 12 touchdowns, second among large-schools receivers.

Avery Young

Palm Beach Gardens

Senior, OL

Monstrous tackle led massive offensive line that helped Gardens produce 3,556 rushing yards and 425 points in 13 games.

KC McDermott

Palm Beach Central

Sophomore, OL

Only a 10th grader, gained countywide recognition as the best young tackle in the area. Plays like a senior.

Edens Sineace

Palm Beach Central

Senior, OL

Bullish big fella helped Central post 277 yards of total offense in 11 games and reach the playoffs for the first time school history.

Shane O'Shea

Park Vista

Senior, OL

The anchor of yet another big Park Vista line that helped the Cobras' young offensive weapons adjust to their new spread offense.

Patrick Miller

Dwyer

Senior, OL

At 6-7, LSU commit steadily improved over the season as his team's offense and its rushing attack jelled.

Faton Bauta

Dwyer

Senior, QB

Overcame a slow start to become a gritty dual threat who passed for 17 touchdowns and ran for six.

LARGE SCHOOLS SECOND-TEAM OFFENSE

QB - Tyler Cameron, Jupiter, Sr.

RB - Alex Clark, Palm Beach Gardens, Sr.

RB - Ray Wilson, Palm Beach Central, Jr.

WR - Darian Williams, Seminole Ridge, Sr.

WR - Adly Enoicy, Atlantic, So.

TE - Alex Santacroce, Seminole Ridge, Sr.

OL - Craig Smith, Royal Palm Beach, Jr.

OL - Nick Hoffman, Palm Beach Gardens, Jr.

OL - Nathan Kengle, Park Vista, Sr.

OL - Scott Bellinger, Seminole Ridge, Jr.

OL - Ostone Medeus, Atlantic, Sr.

ATH - Qwad Martin, Park Vista, So.

LARGE SCHOOLS SPECIAL TEAMERS

FIRST TEAM SPECIAL TEAMS

K/ Bobby Puyol, Dwyer, Sr.

SECOND-TEAM SPECIAL TEAMS

K/ Alec Fear, Park Vista, Jr.

LARGE SCHOOLS HONORABLE MENTION

QUARTERBACKS

Kevin Anderson, Boca Raton; Brock Bukowski, Palm Beach Central; JP Caruso, Palm Beach Gardens; Adam Johnson, John I. Leonard; AJ Puente, Atlantic; Taylor Schnaars, Spanish River; Antwan Washington, Seminole Ridge.

RUNNING BACKS

LeKraig Bens, Park Vista; Eugene Bethea, West Boca Raton; Keith Byars II, Boca Raton; Adrian Cerrato, Park Vista; Fredlet Dort, Santaluces; Neljya Floyd, Park Vista; Alex Hook, Lake Worth; Cortney Lowery, Dwyer; Grant Smallridge, Wellington; Tevin Spells, Atlantic.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Bernard Davis, Lake Worth; Johnnie Dixon, Dwyer; Charlie Giles, Jupiter; Brian Jenkins, Forest Hill; Jerry Jones, John I. Leonard; Shaborn Marshall, Forest Hill; Nesley Ovincy, John I. Leonard; EJ Sardinha, Palm Beach Central; Clint Stephens, Dwyer; Chad Ward, Atlantic; JoJo Williams, Royal Palm Beach.

ATHLETES

Mikey Bullard, Forest Hill; Tard McCoy, Boca Raton; Ant McGrew, Royal Palm Beach; JoJo Sweeney, Boca Raton; Fred Taylor, Palm Beach Lakes.

OFFENSIVE LINEMEN

James Cruise, Palm Beach Gardens; Kevin Kenton, Palm Beach Lakes; Dallas Leland, Seminole Ridge; Chas Prakas, Boca Raton; Jake Romano, Wellington; Onterio Rouse, Dwyer; Josh Wilson, Royal Palm Beach; Antonyo Woods, Seminole Ridge.

KICKERS/PUNTERS

Stephen Olson, Palm Beach Gardens.

LARGE SCHOOLS COACH OF THE YEAR

Willie Bueno

Royal Palm Beach

In his first year, Bueno turned Royal Palm into a playoff team, one season removed from a 1-9 finish.