Last week’s National Signing Day was a special day for top high school football players, their parents and coaches, and everyone else associated with these talented young men who signed national letters of intent to have their college financed for the next four years.
It was also a special day for Martise Scott, who coaches youth football at the Matthew-Dickey Boys Club. Last Wednesday was somewhat of a class reunion for Scott as he saw several of his former players sign on the dotted line after enjoying standout prep careers on the football field.
“Signing day was very special,” Scott said. “It was an end to a new beginning. Seeing these young men get their education paid for was very exciting, especially in these economic times.”
From 1998-2004, Scott’s Matthew-Dickey JFL team, “The Bulldogs” was annually one of the best youth football squads in the country in their age group. The Bulldogs were national champions in 2002 and 2004 after winning the JFL’s version of the Super Bowl in Florida. Scott had this special group from when they were seven years old all the way up until they entered high school before the 2004-05 season. On a coaching staff that included Ron Eberhardt, Antwon McKay, Lamont Williams and Alonzo Chappelle, the Bulldogs were winners on the football field and in the classroom.
“We were the youngest group to run the spread offense at Mathews-Dickey,” Scott said. “It was a special group. We always told them that when you get your touches, you better make the most of them because you may not see the ball again for awhile.”
For the next four years, these former Bulldogs made their mark at schools around the metropolitan area. On Feb. 4, Scott and his fellow coaches got a chance to sit back and watch as his former players sat down at press conference around the St. Louis area to take the first step towards the next level. And he did it with pride.
Scott’s most well-known pupil was SLUH star tailback Ronnie Wingo, who signed with Arkansas. At DeSmet, there are four former Bulldogs who are headed to college. Ray Agnew and E.J. Clark signed with Southern Illinois, Terrance Lockett signed with Missouri S&T and Anthony Brown signed with Benedictine. Another former Bulldog was Lutheran North standout Ivan James, who signed with Truman State.
Myron McGee, a starting cornerback on Hazelwood East’s state-championship team is slated to walk-on at Northwest Missouri State while Quintero Bell (DeSmet), Stephon Watson (Lutheran North), Anthony Davenport (Parkway North), and Allen Eberhardt (Kirkwood) are still mulling over offers and should decide soon.
The quarterback of the Bulldogs team was Lonnie Boga, who enjoyed an excellent football career at McCluer and had his share of Division I offers. However, Boga is also a talented basketball player, who signed early to play basketball at Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the fall.
“It was truly a joy to watch all these young men sign,” Scott said. “It was like a father with a newborn.”
And there are more Bulldogs on the way as juniors Marcus Golden of Affton, Arthur Penny of Normandy, Rashid Wiley of Parkway North and Chavez Jordan of Lutheran North are also college prospects in the Class of 2010.
What I am most impressed about these young brothers moving on is that they are also excellent students as well as top football players.
Congratulations to all of you on a job well done.
Sheldon snubs Miami
I must give special kudos to Gateway Tech two-way, standout Sheldon Richardson, who stuck to his guns and signed with Missouri after the Miami Hurricanes came on strong with a late, recruiting push.
I’ve been told that “The U.” pulled out all the stops for Richardson’s last visit in an effort to change his mind about his Mizzou commitment. Miami reportedly brought out the big guns such as former stars Michael Irvin, Ray Lewis, Warren Sapp and even former rap star Luther Campbell, a.k.a. “Luke Skywalker,” a long-time Miama supporter.
I give Sheldon and his family credit for being grounded enough to make an informed decision on what they thought would be the best situation for Sheldon and not just go for all the bells and whistles. One of the saddest things I see in recruiting is when the kid gets caught up in the school’s big name and makes a hasty decision and finds himself in a situation when he never gets to play a minute. The last top defensive lineman from the Show-Me State to stay home was former Jefferson City star Justin Smith, who ended up being the No. 6 pick in the NFL Draft after three impact years at Mizzou.
ESL signings
Signing day was also good to the IHSA Class 7A state champion East St. Louis Flyers, who had five players ink letters of intent. Player of the Year Terry Hawthorne and defensive back Tommie Hopkins signed with Illinois; wide receiver Kraig Appleton signed with Wisconsin, defensive lineman Ty Phillips signed with Missouri and offensive lineman Terrance Isaiah signed with Southern Illinois.
Head shot from last week’s diving pics – or run as separate item with pic we didn’t use last week
Taylar to state
Follow Up: In last week’s American, we featured Taylar Merriweather, a talented diver from Hazelwood West High. Congratulations to Merriweather, who recently qualified to compete for the upcoming Missouri State High School Athletic Association Diving Championships at the St. Peters Rec-Plex. Merriweather earned the qualifying score last week at a dual meet at her school. Good luck at state.
