Gator Country

Andre Debose scores on a 92-yard reception during the Under Armour All-America high school football game on Sunday at the Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium in Orlando / Gator Country photo by Tim Casey

ORLANDO – First, Andre Debose gave his friends and fans from Seminole High School one final Citrus Bowl moment to remember Sunday evening in the Under Armour All-America Game.

Then Debose, who combined with Black team quarterback Russell Shepard on a breathtaking 92-yard touchdown play, gave fans of the Florida Gators something they’ve wanted to hear ever since Seminole captured the Class 6A state football championship here three weeks ago – that he will be signing a National Letter of Intent on Feb. 4 to continue his football career under Urban Meyer.
 
Debose’s touchdown and Florida commitment were just two of several moments that left a crowd of about 5,000 and those watching on ESPN with their jaws dropped in awe. Unfortunately for Debose and his Seminole teammates Ray Ray Armstrong and Dyron Dye, who announced for Miami, the Black team ended up on the losing side of the scoreboard.
 
Future USC quarterback Matt Barkley threw a pair of first-half touchdowns, one a 71-yarder to Marlon Brown on his team’s first play from scrimmage, and the White team finally gave former Buffalo Bills head coach Marv Levy a victory in a final game in Florida. Levy, who took the Bills to four straight Super Bowls but failed to win, saw his squad capture a 27-16 victory over the Black team coached by former Illinois and California head coach Mike White.
 
Shepard, who is headed to Louisiana State, also scored on a 15-yard run for the Black team in the third quarter, finishing with 24 yards on six carries to lead all rushers. But his touchdown pass was his only completion in five attempts, although he managed to get the pass off before being hit hard in the end zone. Shepard was sacked two times for losses totaling 14 yards. One of the sacks was by White defensive end Sam Montgomery, who caused a fumble that future Oklahoma Sooner Ronnell Lewis returned 24 yards for a touchdown and a 21-6 White lead.
 
Barkley, a 6-3, 220-pounder from Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, Calif., and the No. 2 player in the ESPNU 150 recruits list, was easily the most impressive of the six quarterbacks who saw action. He completed 11 of 22 passes for 237 yards for the White team and won offensive most valuable player honors. His other touchdown pass was a 35-yar der to Jamal Reid of Lafayette High School in Mayo, who is headed to Miami to play for Randy Shannon’s Hurricanes.
 
That touchdown made it 14-0 White team early in the second quarter. Debose and Shepard then combined for their touchdown but Dustin Hopkins’ PAT was blocked. Following Lewis’ fumble return for a touchdown, Hopkins, a soccer-stylist from Clear Lake H.S. in Houston who is headed to Florida State, booted a 46-yard field goal to end the first half for the Black team, which trailed 21-9.
 
Shepard’s 15-yard touchdown run followed a 33-yard interception return by Black cornerback Greg Reid, who intercepted Richard Brehaut (3 of 10, 22 yards) twice and won the defensive player of the game honors. Shepard’s score made it 21-16 but the White team got a pair of 31-yard field goals from Anthony Fera, who will be kicking at Penn State next fall.
 
Reid, a 5-9, 175-pound athlete from Lowndes High School in Valdosta, Ga., earlier this week de-commited to Florida but still has the Gators among his finalists along with Georgia, Clemson and Florida State.
 
Garrett Gilbert, a future Texas Longhorn quarterback, completed 11 of 22 passes for 161 yards for the White team with one int erception.
 
Florida’s other two verbally committed players – White team defensive tackle Gary Brown of West Gadsden High School and Black team wide receiver Nu’Keese Richardson of Pahokee – both had their moments in the game. Brown was in on several tackles, while Richardson caught one pass for 10 yards.

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