inside: Carolyn Lamour ... - Floridawise Magazine
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Community Sports & Recreation “Happenings”<br />
Community Profile By Rob Chiavetta<br />
Johny Sturgeon, Acreage Athletic<br />
League Tackle Football<br />
It’s late in the game. The score is tied. Your offense<br />
has been struggling against a tough defense all day.<br />
You have very few opportunities left to score and<br />
the game is on the line. What do you do? You<br />
get the ball in the hands of “The Big-Guy!”<br />
The “big-guy” is Johny Sturgeon who plays tight end and<br />
linebacker. At 13 years old, Johny stands 5 feet 11 inches tall<br />
weighing 175 pounds. When you watch him play, he looks like a<br />
man among boys. The game situation above was for the 2005<br />
Acreage Tackle Football League Championship for 11- to 12-yearolds.<br />
The league uses college team nicknames for its league team<br />
names. Johny was captain of the Longhorns, and just like how the<br />
Texas Longhorns won college football’s National Championship<br />
so did the Longhorns of the Acreage Athletic League. Vince Young<br />
carried the Texas Longhorns to the championship and so did<br />
Johny for his Longhorns, literally. With less than 2-minutes<br />
remaining in the championship game with the score tied 7-7; the<br />
Longhorns had the ball at mid-field. The play sent in was just to<br />
get the ball in the hands of the big tight end. On a 3-step drop<br />
the quarterback fired the ball to Johny on a quick slant over the<br />
middle and Johny’s determination took over. He covered the ball<br />
and took off down the field like a bull, shedding off would-be<br />
tacklers along the way. The last potential tackler jumped on his<br />
back about the 20-yard line, and it wasn’t until after just crossing<br />
the goal line did Johny hit the ground. The Longhorns held on for<br />
the 14-7 victory!<br />
You often hear about college football recruiters wanting to<br />
recruit children as early as possible. Well, if NCAA rules did not<br />
prohibit such activities, they would already be calling on Johny.<br />
Johny is now just entering his third season of football and is<br />
presently playing in the Acreage Athletic League. However,<br />
originally slated to play high school football at Seminole Ridge,<br />
he has recently moved to western Lake Worth and will attend Park<br />
Vista High School next year where he will be a welcome addition<br />
to the Cobras. During his first season of organized football, Johny<br />
was placed on the offensive line because of his size and was<br />
instructed to just go out and push-around the guy in front of you. It<br />
wasn’t until the subsequent summer when he attended Zach<br />
Thomas’ intense football camp at Nova Southeastern University<br />
did his skills begin to truly develop. He learned to use his size to<br />
do more than just overpower the player in front of him. “The<br />
camp experience is what really propelled Johny into having the<br />
great season he had,” said Johny’s dad, Johny Sturgeon Sr. He<br />
Are you part of a team or program that you are proud of?<br />
We would like to profile or list your community program,<br />
league, team or individual sports announcements,<br />
accomplishments or results in upcoming issues. Please email<br />
to sports@floridawisemagazine.com or contact Rob Chiavetta<br />
at P: 561-714-8542.<br />
Longhorns’ captain Johny Sturgeon, 13, of the Acreage<br />
Athletic League Tackle Football<br />
has worked hard since to improve even more this season.<br />
Johny is an eighth grader attending Christa Mcauliffe Middle<br />
School in West Boynton. When not playing football, he enjoys<br />
fishing, playing paint ball and video games. His favorite video<br />
game is no surprise: “Definitely Madden ’07,” says Johny. ❂<br />
FloridaWise <strong>Magazine</strong> 29