For a split second at UCF’s second 7-on-7 tournament of the summer Monday night, Winter Park’s Cornelius Williams was the hero.
Read more Osceola paves way for Canoe Creek, Sunbridge road projects totaling $412M
But an interception in the end zone was knocked from his hands, and Eau Gallie’s Troy Silberzahn gathered the carom as he was falling to the ground to give the Commodores a 13-12 victory on the final play of the championship game.
Led by rotating quarterbacks Onrique Archie and Caden DePriest, Winter Park went 7-1 in the eight-game tournament, which was delayed an hour at the start due to rain and lightning. The Wildcats got big plays all night from an arsenal of receivers such as Johnny Slack, Jordan DeJesus, Ayden Riley, Trevan Dore and Brandon Paisley.
“That’s two tournaments in a row — we were at Florida last week and then here today — where we only lost by one point on the last play of the game,” said acting Winter Park head coach Alexander Cohen, who coaches quarterbacks for the Wildcats. “I think we really proved we can compete with every team in Central Florida and beyond, and its a good confidence builder going forward for the kids.
Santaluces knocks off Oviedo in UCF 7-on-7 championship game
“We were down a couple of our top guys on both sides of the ball … the kids competed every single game tonight and we’re proud of them. … they competed well.”
Eau Gallie had staved off a threat from Brevard County rival Merritt Island in the semifinals and squeaked into the championship game with a 19-13 victory. Winter Park won a battle of Orange County teams, holding off Evans 14-12 in a semifinal that saw Williams come up huge with a pass deflection and an interception on the final series of the game.
UCF offers Lamar Garrison
Speaking of circus catches, East Ridge standout receiver Lamar Garrison had one of his own in the pool play portion of the event. Sandwiched by a pair of Eau Gallie defenders, Garrison went up to make a catch of a pass from Koran Palmer and had the ball knocked away by one defender and then deflected by another defender. But as Garrison was falling to the ground, he kept his eye on the ball and grabbed the pass for a touchdown, landing in a heap of all three players.
East Ridge defeated Eau Gallie 13-6 in that game, the only loss for the champions in the tournament. Garrison’s game-winning touchdown catch was set up by an interception by East Ridge’s Javaris Love.
Shortly after that game, UCF coaches approached Garrison and offered him a scholarship on the spot. It’s been a big offseason for the dynamic receiver, a shifty route runner who’s not the biggest guy, at 6-foot and165 pounds, but his ball skills are elite. He was also offered during a camp at Georgia last week and the junior, who is the No. 4 player in the Sentinel’s 2028 Central Florida Super60, now has 19 FBS offers.
“It feels great. I feel like everything is coming in one-by-one, piece by piece,” said Garrison, who also said he had been waiting on the local Knights to offer. “I been waiting for a long time, and it finally came. They were like, ‘You finally got the offer.’ ”
Read more Nomikai by Sushi Saint to open late summer on I-Drive
With two years left of his high school career, Garrison is focused on building rapport with those coaches who are interested most.
“I’m showcasing my talent at an early age. I just wanna build relationships with the schools and see which school fits best,” he said. “It’s God’s plan.”
Other top Orlando-area performers
Nydrell Thigpen, Kissimmee Gateway’s big, junior running back, showed his athleticism in splitting out wide and showcasing his talents as a receiver. He showed great ball skills, and he’s a big reason Gateway has high expectations this season. The team was very young last year, led by Thigpen, receiver/defensive back Johnny Reyes, linebacker Dory Thimote and quarterback Aristotle Span Jr.
Evans quarterback Will Jackson was his usual self, and he found out he will be able to rely heavily on Caleb Cawanis Leonard, a short-but-shifty receiver with gifted hands. Evans also got solid receiver play from Demir WIlliams and Charles Jacobs, and defensive back Ronald Young had a great tournament, including an interception.
Timber Creek continued to show its improvement with new quarterback Alec Worden, a transfer from Orlando Christian Prep. The Wolves made it into the bracket portion before being knocked out by Winter Park.
South Lake made it to the bracket round for the second straight week, this time using the rotating quarterback tandem of senior Tre Kelly and freshman Walker Motley.
West Orange was knocked out by Evans in bracket play, but junior quarterback AJ Chung was stellar all night and so was his connection with rising senior star receiver Yuto Johnson, who made numerous big catches as UCF coaches looked on. Johnson is the cousin of former UCF defensive back and current UCF defensive analyst Drico Johnson. West Orange also got good receiver play from Sean Tulloch and running back Jayden Ammons, who showed his pass-catching abilities.
St. Cloud quarterback Jeremiah Lattier and receiver Michael Cuyler provided quite the hook-up for the Bulldogs, who made it into the bracket round despite missing three top players: tight end Owen Sullivan, receiver Stacy Taylor and defensive back Jaiden Taylor-Irons.
Seminole used rotating quarterbacks Isaiah Taylor and Daniel Proenza to emerge from pool play. Also looking good for Seminole were receivers Jackson Robbins and Kadin Flores, and always-steady defensive back RJ Hampton.
Read more Osceola sheriff: Mother and son injured, man dead in possible domestic shooting
Chris Hays can be found on X.com @OS_ChrisHays.