Miami runner inspires team after accident

Football is the king of high school sports in south Florida, so naturally it dominates this space most weeks. But an inspiring story from the sport of cross country running deserves the lead headline this week.

Alessandra Valdes was looking forward to her senior year at Lourdes Academy (Miami), but her final season with the school's girls cross-country team became jeopardized when she sustained a severe groin injury in a personal watercraft accident in June. Valdes underwent three surgeries and was told by her doctors that she likely would need at least three months to recover.

"It was scary and I was really down because I thought I was done (running)," Valdes recently told The Miami Herald.

But Valdes, a three-time All-Dade County first-team selection, resumed training in August after a six-week hiatus in which she was basically unable to leave her house for about the first month following the accident. She pushed herself to return to competitive running, and six weeks into the cross country season, Valdes clocked a time of 19 minutes, 10 seconds — only 25 seconds shy of her personal-record 18 minutes, 45 seconds — at the recent FLRunners.com Invitational to help Lourdes place third at the meet's Race of Champions competition.

"Her recovery has really inspired the team," Lourdes coach Rebecca Rodriguez-Michalak told the Herald. "They've been focused in a way we haven't seen in a while, and it has shown by the performances the team has had."

Lourdes won four consecutive state titles at the beginning of the decade, but is aiming to win its first since 2004, especially if Valdes continues to improve.

"Everyone's been amazing the way they've been there for me and kept this team going," Valdes said. "I think we've defined what a team should be."

2. Coach believes O’Leary is leaning toward FSU: Dwyer (Palm Beach Gardens) multi-purpose standout Nick O'Leary, rated the top tight end prospect in the nation and a grandson of golfing legend Jack Nicklaus, has not made any announcement and has not spoken much about the recruiting process since the season started. But his coach said recently that he believes O'Leary might be leaning toward Florida State. "I think he's going to go to Florida State, honestly," Dwyer coach Jack Daniels told The Palm Beach Post. "I'm just guessing. If he's leaning somewhere, I'd say he's leaning Florida State."

3. Central wins thriller in Miami: Charles Gaines knocked down a last-second pass in the end zone to secure a 25-22 win for Central (Miami) against Northwestern (Miami) last Friday night in a marquee matchup of the top-ranked teams in Miami-Dade County. Devonta Freeman rushed for 226 yards on 29 carries and scored two touchdowns, including the game-winning score with 1:17 remaining, for Central, which improved to 5-1 overall and 3-0 in District 13-Class 6A play. Northwestern standout quarterback Teddy Bridgewater completed 22 of 40 passes for 261 yards and a touchdown and also rushed for two touchdowns in the game, which had four lead changes in the fourth quarter after defenses dominated the first three quarters.

4. Champs rebound: The first month of the season was a tough one for defending Class 6A state champion Miramar, which lost two of its first four games, including a stunning two-point loss to Hallandale two weeks ago. The Patriots looked like a championship team last Friday night when they scored the game's first three touchdowns en route to a 49-13 rout of South Plantation that improves Miramar to 3-2 overall and 2-0 in District 10-Class 6A play. Shaquille Kearse had 223 yards rushing on just eight carries for Miramar. The Patriots can't afford to bask in the victory, however. Up next is a matchup against nationally ranked St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale), the No. 4 team in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 presented by the Army National Guard.

5. Uncharted waters: Seminole Ridge’s football program is only six years old, but the Hawks have made the playoffs twice as a district runner-up. Entering the second half of the season, Seminole Ridge (Loxahatchee) is 5-0 for the first time in the program’s history. Hawks coach Matt Dickmann, a veteran assistant at Jupiter for 18 years before being named the first head coach at the western Palm Beach County school, is doing his best to keep his players grounded as they head into a crucial stretch of games that includes two key District 8-Class 6A games over the next three weeks. Should the Hawks beat Atlantic (Delray Beach) and Park Vista (Boynton Beach), they will clinch their first district title and home-field advantage for at least the first game of the state playoffs next month. "If we're still undefeated three weeks from now, I'll be the most ecstatic coach around," Dickmann said.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
* Marlin Joseph of Leonard (Lake Worth) rushed for 219 yards and two touchdowns in the Lancers' 35-32 upset win against Santaluces (Lantana).

* Lake Worth quarterback Evan Moore passed for 207 yards and touchdown and rushed for 141 yards and four scores in the Trojans' 42-13 win against Royal Palm Beach.

* Kelvin Taylor of Glades Day (Belle Glade) rushed for 265 yards and three touchdowns on only 10 carries and also returned a kickoff 80 yards for a score in the Gators' 41-7 rout of Summit Christian (West Palm Beach). Taylor, a sophomore, is the son of NFL running back Fred Taylor.

* Quarterback Jacoby Brissett of nationally ranked Dwyer (No. 14 in MaxPreps Xcellent 25) completed 13 of 16 passes for 267 yards and three touchdowns in the Panthers' 62-6 rout of district rival Palm Beach Lakes.

* Jamarious Rowley of unbeaten state power Glades Central (Belle Glade) passed for 234 yards and three touchdowns in the Raiders' 40-7 win against Boca Raton.

THIS WEEK'S TOP FOOTBALL MATCHUPS
* Nationally ranked St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale) puts its unbeaten record on the line Friday night when the Raiders visit defending Class 6A state champion Miramar.

* Northwestern, No. 3 in The Miami Herald's South Florida rankings, will try to rebound from its first loss of the season when the Bulls clash with No. 5-ranked Columbus (Miami) at Traz Powell Stadium. The game is one of Maxpreps' Top 10 Games of the Week.

* Park Vista (Lake Worth) will try to rebound from a 20-14 upset loss to district rival Atlantic (Delray Beach) when the Cobras visit nationally ranked Dwyer (Palm Beach Gardens) in a game that will feature several Division I prospects.

RECRUITING NEWS
Dwyer's O'Leary and teammates quarterback Jacoby Brissett and defensive end/linebacker Curt Maggitt, all highly rated prospects, have a visit planned to Wisconsin and the Badgers' game against No. 1-ranked Ohio State this weekend. Dwyer coach Jack Daniels also said all three have scheduled a visit to LSU when the Tigers play Alabama. O'Leary and Maggitt visited Alabama two weekends ago when the then No. 1-ranked Crimson Tide defeated Florida.

DORSEY'S DIGS
Two schools located in Palm Beach County that use "Gators" as their team mascot have received letters from the University of Florida issued through a licensing company asking Palm Beach Gardens and Glades Day (Belle Glade) high schools to remove all of the Gators logos from their campus facilities and team uniforms. Something about trademark infringement and legalities.

Give me a break! Those schools have been using the Gators mascot and logos for decades, so why do this now?

I would suggest that UF and other universities doing the same thing — Florida State is battling Southeast High in Bradenton for its use of the Seminoles’ logos — police things going on from within more closely and concentate on cleaning their own houses of improprieties instead of worrying about high schools’ logos that bring no revenue whatsoever to those schools.

Steve Dorsey, who covers the South Florida region for MaxPreps.com, is a freelance writer based in West Palm Beach. He has covered the South Florida high school sports scene for the past 29 years. He also is a contributing writer for American Football Monthly and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.