The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

AMERICAN football heads into post-season play for high schools across the United States and several Bahamian players will figure prominently in the playoff plans for their respective schools.

Florida State bound tight end for the class of 2014, Mavin Saunders ended the regular season as one of the best at his position for the Kinkaid Falcons in the high school football hotbed state of Texas.

Saunders helped lead the Kinkaid Falcons to a 9-0 record and an unbeaten Southwest Preparatory Conference (SPC) South Zone championship.

Saunders is second on the team and leads all tight ends in touchdown receptions with eight. He has totalled 30 receptions for 393 yards for an average of 13 yards per catch, to go along with his eight scores.

In Friday’s regular season finale, a 35-15 win over arch rival St John’s, Saunders caught five passes for 71 yards and a touchdown. The 6’6” 245-pound tight end has caught at least one score in six of the nine games for the Falcons and has also posted two multiple score games.

His best outing of the season came in a 55-14 blow-out of Fort Worth County Day, September 20, where he totalled eight catches for 87 yards and three touchdowns.

Saunders’ only two catches in a 20-10 win over Episcopal went for 97 yards and two touchdowns.

Kinkaid has appeared in four consecutive SPC championship games and have claimed two titles.

After taking up the game just a year ago, Saunders, a former basketball standout, made such an impression in his junior season that he was heavily recruited by a number of elite NCAA programmes.

In June, Saunders committed to the FSU Seminoles for the class of 2014.

He chose Florida State over Arkansas, Houston, Illinois, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Texas Tech and Utah.

In an interview with Brendan Sonnone of the Orlando Sentinel, Saunders looked ahead to his collegiate career where he will be paired with redshirt freshman sensation Jameis Winston.

“It’s fun to watch Jameis, for sure,” said Saunders, “It’s really exciting to get an opportunity to play with him. It’s fun to see how good he is now and with coaching, the staff they have, he’ll get better as the year gets on.

In the Carolinas Athletic Association, Gerrio Rahming and Michael Bullard continue to star for the Rabun Gap -Nacoochee Eagles in Rabun County Georgia.

In a 44-6 win over KIPP Collegiate this weekend, Rahming finished with 15 carries for 169 yards and three touchdowns, while Bullard finished with nine tackles and one interception.

Rahming was named the Overall Player of the Game, while Bullard was named the Defensive Player of the Game by Max Preps.

The Eagles improved to 6-4 on the season with one regular season game left on the schedule, on the road against Camden Military Academy, Saturday November 2.

Rahming scored on runs of 23, 13 in the first half, the second of which gave the Eagles an 18-0 lead.

He opened the second half with a 38 yard score in the route.

Bullard even switched to the offensive side of the ball in the lopsided affair and finished the scoring for Rabun Gap with a one-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter.

Rahming has rushed for 1,671 yards on 171 carries along with a school record 20 touchdowns.