What Pennsylvania small-school power Clairton may lack in enrollment numbers, it more than makes up in athletic quality.
With players like Trent Coles and Tyler Boyd, perhaps Clairton's 3-0 performance Friday in the Red Bull 7-on-7 Game Breakers Finals should not come as a surprise.
Coles, a 6-2, 173-pound senior, has already committed to the University of Pittsburgh as wide receiver.
The 6-1, 172-pound Boyd is yet to commit, but has plenty of offers. He can play wide receiver or defensive back.
"We're the only team here from Pennsylvania," said Boyd. "We have to prove ourselves and show that these other states aren't the only ones with talent."
Coles, who uses 7-on-7 to sharpen his route-running, said the competition "is way better than we've seen."
Flying High to Finals
Adrian Campbell was one of several athletes that made their first airplane flights in traveling to Dallas for the Red Bull Game Breakers Finals.
"Take-off scared me for about 10 seconds," said the 5-7, 145-pound junior cornerback at Miami (Fla.) Columbus.
"Coming down was a little scary, too. In between, I was able to relax."
Columbus bowed with a 3-2 record after a 27-1 quarterfinal loss to Clairton.
NFL Stars Address Participants
Professional football stars Reggie Bush of the Saints and DeMarcus Ware of the Cowboys delivered an encouraging message to participants during a break between games.
"This is an opportunity of a lifetime to go against the best," Ware said. "I would have loved to have an event like this when I was in high school."
Bush said it wouldn't surprise him to see college coaches using Red Bull Game Breakers to access talent as a recruiting aid.
"There's a tremendous amount of talent out here today," Bush said.
Oklahoma Entrant a Little Rusty
Quarterback Andrew Hearon of Metro Christian (Tulsa, Okla.) said recent inactivity might have contributed to his team's 0-2 performance.
Still, Metro took semifinalist Arlington Martin to the wire before losing, 14-12.
"We didn't execute as well as usual, just little things," Hearon said. "When we played in the Oklahoma Qualifier in June, we were playing a lot. But overall, it was good experience and I had a good time."
Evangel Christian Represents Hopes for Louisiana Repeat
Wide receiver Hayden Jennings of Evangel Christian (Shreveport, La.) credits his team's Final Four accomplishment to practice.
"We had about a week to get ready for our New Orleans Qualifier in May," Jennings said. "We're a young team and we knew it was going to take some time. But we knew we had athletic ability."
Evangel Christian knocked off Houston Qualifier champion Pearland Dawson, 26-18, to reach Saturday's semifinals.
There's also a matter of state pride. Louisiana produced the first Red Bull Game Breakers champion a year ago. Jennings said he and his teammates would like to continue the trend.
"We're not a big state, but a great football state," Jennings said.
Houston Westside No Longer Under Radar
Houston Westside running back Ben Catalon, a TCU commit, said his team had a secret weapon for the Red Bull Game Breakers Finals.
Wide receiver Deante Gray, a Stanford commit, missed the Houston Qualifier last month because of a track and field conflict.
"All my teammates were telling me I should have been at the Qualifier because it was so much fun," said Gray. "I had to come to this."
Westside (3-0) stormed through its bracket Friday, gaining the Final Four with a win over New Orleans' O.P. Walker.
"We're kind of under the radar because of our record [2-8] last year," said Gray. "But this is our year."
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