OCTOBER 2013 ACC on the Rise Orange Bowl Youth Football
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OCTOBER 2013 ACC On The Rise By Mike Liotta We are halfway through the 2013 college football regular season and the Atlantic Coast Conference has gotten off to an incredibly hot start, making some serious waves in the national spotlight. For the first time in its history, the ACC can City of Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado & Police Chief boast about having four unbeaten Manuel Orosa helped the OBYFA celebrate a new year. teams through the first four games Orange Bowl Youth Football of the season in Clemson, Florida State, Miami and Maryland. The Alliance Kicks Off Its 15th Associated Press ranked all four in its Top 25 after Week Five, the first Season time since November 20, 2011 that By Kallan Louis four ACC teams made the cut for Football season has returned! When examining the AP Poll. The ACC also has a Clemson defenders swarm Georgia running back Todd Gurley as the Tigers upset many NFL teams, it’s not surprising to see a new look this year with Pittsburgh the Bulldogs in the season’s opening week (Photo credit: Rex Brown) South Florida product somewhere on the roster. joining the Coastal Division and But long before these athletes were making Syracuse joining the Atlantic, expanding the league to 14 teams and adding better competition to an already big plays in professional stadiums in front of powerful conference. hundreds of thousands of screaming fans on Sundays, many of them started in youth leagues at local parks, playing in front of their family The Atlantic Coast Conference, the only conference that had three undefeated teams at the regular season’s and friends on Saturdays. In August, the Orange halfway point in Clemson, Florida State and Miami, is proving that it is not going to take a back seat to any Bowl Youth Football Alliance (OBYFA) presented power conferences this year, including the Southeastern Conference (SEC) which has won the last seven by Sports Authority kicked off its 15th season. national championships. More than 16,000 football players and cheerleaders have participated in one of Two ACC teams had monumental wins over top-10 powerhouses (both from the SEC) in the first two OBYFA’s 10 leagues across eight Florida weeks of the season. Clemson started it off by taking down then-No. 5 Georgia in the opening week, led by counties. OBYFA supports six recreational Heisman candidate Tajh Boyd and his 270 passing yards and three touchdowns. Boyd added 42 yards on the leagues and four competitive leagues under ground and two rushing touchdowns to help the Tigers upset Georgia 38-35, moving them into the top five its umbrella. The recreational leagues allow all kids to have an opportunity to play and learn of the Coaches Poll. Clemson became the first non-SEC team to win back-to-back games against two top-10 football fundamentals, within a specific town or SEC opponents; the Tigers defeated LSU in last year’s Chick-Fil-A Bowl 25-24 on a last-second field goal. geographic area. The competitive groups hold tryouts for their roster spots on traveling teams. Week Two saw another ACC team take down a top-10 SEC heavyweight as Miami upset then-No. 9 Florida Throughout the 2013 season, the OBYFA’s Park at home, setting a Sun Life Stadium attendance record for a Hurricanes home game in the process. Miami’s of the Week program recognizes select youth defense came up big, holding Florida to just 2.8 yards per carry and forcing five turnovers in its 21-16 win football parks across South Florida over the Gators, its biggest victory in the Al Golden era. It was the first time the two in-state rivals each Saturday. Orange Bowl staff, See faced each other since 2008 and may very well be the last time they see each other for a while as the See volunteers, Page 5 SEC looks to move to a nine-game conference schedule. Page 11 OCT 2013 INSIDE THE ORANGE BOWL | PAGE 2 OCT 2013 INSIDE THE ORANGE BOWL | PAGE 3 ACC Quarterbacks Among Collge Football’s Elite By Mike Liotta as a starter in 2011, when the Tigers started 8-0, Boyd threw for 3,828 yards and 33 touchdowns while rushing for 218 yards and five scores. Boyd only got better in his junior season, throwing for 3,896 yards and 36 touchdowns and doubling his performance on the ground, rushing for 514 yards and 10 scores, leading Clemson to a Chick-Fil-A Bowl victory over LSU. The Tigers and Boyd passed their first test of the 2013 season by taking down then-No. 5 Georgia in the opening week, but more challenges lie ahead. A four year starter at Boston College, Chase Rettig had a career season in 2012. He threw for 3,060 yards and 17 touchdowns in 12 starts, becoming the Eagles’ fourth 3,000-yard passer in program Clemson’s senior quarterback Tajh Boyd (Photo credit: Joel Auerbach ) history and nearly matching his passing total from his first two Clemson’s Tajh Boyd may very well be one of the most experienced and seasons combined. In three years talented quarterbacks in the country as he chases the Heisman Trophy, with Boston College, Rettig but don’t forget about the rest of the ACC. The conference is filled with threw for 6,258 yards and 35 experienced passers, many of whom definitely possess the potential to play touchdowns and entered 2013 in the NFL someday. That should not be a surprise since the ACC had the with a new head coach in Steve most starting NFL quarterbacks of any conference in college football at the Addazio, hoping to lead the Eagles beginning of the season: Matt Ryan (Boston College; Falcons), Christian to their third Atlantic Division Ponder (Florida State; Vikings), EJ Manuel (Florida State; Bills), Phillip title since joining the conference Boston College’s Chase Rettig Rivers (NC State; Chargers), Russell Wilson (NC State; Seahawks), Matt (Photo credit: Boston College/John Quakenbos) in 2005. Schaub (Virginia; Texans) and Michael Vick (Virginia Tech; Eagles). See Page 6 Eight out of the league’s 14 teams have a senior play-caller under center, six of whom entered the 2013 season having at least two years of starting experience under their belts. Only five of the ACC’s teams have a first-year starter at quarterback: Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, 2013-14 Orange Bowl Event Schedule Syracuse and Virginia. Boston College’s Chase Nov. 17 Orange Bowl Cheer & Dance Championships BankUnited Center Rettig and Wake Forest’s Tanner Price are the ACC’s most experienced field generals and are the Dec. 8-15 Dunlop Orange Bowl International Tennis Championships Frank Veltri Tennis Center two lone ACC senior quarterbacks that entered Dec. 11 Orange Bowl Festival Kickoff Party Seminole Hard Rock 2013 having started since their freshman seasons. Hotel Dec. 14-15 Orange Bowl Youth Football Alliance Championships FIU Stadium Let’s take a look at the ACC’s veteran Dec. 21 MetroPCS Orange Bowl Basketball Classic BB&T Center quarterbacks. Dec. 26-30 Orange Bowl International Youth Regatta Coral Reef Yacht Club ACC’s reigning Player of the Year and Heisman Dec. 1 Junior Orange Bowl Festival Parade Coral Gables hopeful Tajh Boyd turned down a chance to Jan. 3 2014 Discover Orange Bowl Sun Life Stadium enter the NFL and returned to Death Valley Jan. 3 10th Annual Orange Bowl Swim Classic Jacobs Aquatics Center for his final year of eligibility. Midway through Jan. 12 Orange Bowl Paddle Championships Bayside Marketplace the season, he’s led the Clemson Tigers to an TBD Orange Bowl Lacrosse Classic Sun Life Stadium impressive top five ranking.” In his first season OCT 2013 INSIDE THE ORANGE BOWL | PAGE 4 OCT 2013 INSIDE THE ORANGE BOWL | PAGE 5 Player Safety in Youth Football OBYFA Kickoff By Kallan Louis Continued from Page 1 High School Head Football Coach Chris Merritt committee members and Obie, the Orange Bowl and USA Football trainers. USA Football’s Heads mascot, visit multiple parks and present each one Up TacklingSM gives a is a step-by-step break down with a commemorative plaque, financial contri- of proper tackling mechanics executed in a series butions and also distribute promotional items and discounts from official OBYFA sponsors. of drills. The program focuses on reducing helmet Besides OBYFA’s presenting sponsor – Sport contact which can result in head injuries. Authority, additional sponsors include American Airlines, Doctors Hospital, Florida Blue, FOX “The Orange Bowl Committee is excited to be Sports Florida / Sun Sports, Hampton Farms, involved with this initiative with Baptist Health MetroPCS, Nike, Sparkling ICE, Sun Life and the Miami Dolphins,” says Orange Bowl CEO Stadium & The Miami Dolphins, The Miami Eric Poms. “For the past 15 years, the Orange Herald, Toyota, and Wells Fargo. Bowl Youth Football Alliance presented by Sports The kick off for the 2013 Park of the Week sea- Authority has given thousands of youths across son included appearances from some high profile Baptist Health’s Richard Hamilton, PhD., spoke to youth South Florida the opportunity to participate in South Florida officials. The City of Miami Mayor football coaches about head injuries (Photo credit: Gort football. It’s important that coaches understand Tomás Regalado and Miami Police Chief Manuel Productions) how to recognize concussion symptoms and are Orosa came out to watch some games at Curtis able to teach proper tackling techniques to avoid Park. Football season gets underway in the Fall but con- them.” cerns over issues like player safety take place year- “We’re here to support the kids and to share with them the Orange Bowl experience,” says OBYFA round.