MaxPreps Florida Team of the Week: University football

A perfect record is one thing. But what the University (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) football team is doing to opponents is downright scary.

The Suns have put out the lights of all seven of their opponents, by a cumulative score of 356-54, but it's what they've done the last three weeks that has been particularly noteworthy.

They've outscored Somerset Academy, Boyd Anderson and North Broward Prep by a combined score of 170-0, including a 63-0 win last week over North Broward.

For their near perfect play last week — and all year — University has been selected as the MaxPreps Florida Team of the Week, presented by the Florida National Guard.



"Our seasonal goal is to remain undefeated, win another state championship, and end the 2013 campaign with a national championship," said head coach Roger Harriott. "We’re fortunate to be in a position where our schedule and classification have numerous nationally-ranked teams. In order to accomplish this mission, our daily objective is to execute with precision and produce a state championship effort in all three phases of the game every play."

According to the Miami Herald, highly-touted quarterback Sean White completed 13 of 15 passes for 172 yards and two scores, Jordan Scarlett ran for 89 yards and two touchdowns and Lajuan Hunt added a first-quarter touchdown run to make it 21-0.

White was at his all-time best in a 50-0 win over Boyd Anderson the week before. He completed 21 of 29 for 437 yards and six touchdowns, two each to seniors Chris Taylor and Hunt, and two more to sophomore Sam Bruce. Taylor finished with five catches for 190 yards against Boyd Anderson.

Heading into the North Broward game, White had completed 64 percent of his passes (80 of 126) for 1,302 yards and 21 touchdowns.

Bruce had 28 catches for 427 yards, Taylor 20 for 428 and Hunt 11 catches for 191 yards heading into last Friday's game.

Scarlett, a junior, had a team-best 488 yards rushing and eight touchdowns.

The leaders on defense have been Andrew Korakakos (9.5 tackles per game), Brandon Russell (7.8) and Brandon Boyce (7.7).



Harriott was quick to deflect praise to his coaching staff.

"Chad Wilson, defensive coordinator, and his positional coaches (DL coach Joseph Firmin, LB coach Jerry Johnson and DB coach Henry Colombi) do a great job of placing a heavy emphasis on running to the football with purpose and a sense of urgency during practice each day," he said. "Our objective is to establish the point of attack, early and often, between the whistle of play — we encourage our players to practice like they intend to play on game day.

"As a result, this has become our defensive identity and expectation with the goal being to produce shutouts, which ultimately solidifies victory."

Under Harriott, University is coming off a 13-0 record and state championship. The Suns have won a remarkable 46 of their last 48 games and boast a record of 71-11 since 2007 with Harriott as coach.

"As a coaching staff, we’re committed to educating our players on the ethical and intrinsic aspects of life through football," said Harriott. "Subsequently, we have successfully cultivated a healthy relationship with our players that holds them accountable to exemplify humility and integrity on and off the field."

"In addition, we have a tradition called the CAP award — which is an acronym for character, attitude, and performance — that supports this charge to inspire our players to be habitual, positive role models. This philosophic coaching approach validates our pursuit to ensure that all team members — players and coaches — take full advantage of this privileged experience, which contributes to their appreciative and interdependent attitudes; hence, eliminating potential signs of compliancy and ungrateful behavior."