BOCA RATON – As Benjamin Laurore gets himself and team ready to play this Friday afternoon (Nov. 20), let us recap what he did last week.
In what turned out to be yet another MVP performance from the sophomore athlete, he did the following on offense and defense in St. John Paul II’s 20-3 playoff win over Cardinal Newman on Nov. 13:
•2 catches for 25+ yards, one of which went for 20 yards
•1 interception
•2 pass breakups
•5 solo tackles
•50-yard chase down tackle
Numbers are not everything when it comes to how well a player performs. Rather, it is about the level of impact the said player has on a game of this magnitude.
Laurore turned out to be one of the primary keys to victory last week for
St. John Paul II (6-2).
“First I wanna thank God for allowing me to play the way I played Friday night,” said Laurore, who is now a two-time MVP winner this season (Week 2 and Week 10). “It’s a big honor winning MVP again for the second time.”
Laurore had more to say about his MVP of Week 10 honor.
“I wanna thank Coach [Kelcey] Brooks for allowing me to be put in this position to be great and play the game I love,” Laurore said. “I always wanna thank my teammates for having my back through that fight Friday night.”
Laurore credited his entire team for advancing to the Class 3A-Region 4 semifinal round after last week’s 17-point win over Cardinal Newman (4-4).
“It was a team effort,” Laurore said. “Coach Brooks preached to us about being locked in and mentally prepared, and that’s what we had to do. We went out there and executed every play and played as a team. Most importantly, we didn’t give up on each other.”
There were other standouts for St. John Paul II last week, including the likes of fellow sophomore Curtis Douglas (Breakthrough Player of Week 10) and senior quarterback A.J. Sheridan (Week 10 Honorable Mention – Offense).
Laurore commented on Douglas’s play.
“Curtis is an all-around player just like me,” Laurore said of Douglas, who scored the game-sealer late in the fourth quarter against Cardinal Newman. “Wherever you put him on the field, he will dominate. He is a hardworking player and is gonna do big things in the future. He’s a great athlete.”
Laurore lauded Sheridan’s level of play and leadership from last week and throughout the season.
“A.J. did very well,” Laurore said. “He made the right reads and helped the team on the victory. He may not be the fastest quarterback, but he will definitely get the ball to the wide receivers.”
With that said, Laurore and his team will be playing in their biggest game yet this afternoon (Nov. 20) against Edison (Miami) (3-1) at Traz Powell Stadium in Miami. The kickoff for today’s Class 3A-Region 4 semifinal game is set for 3:30 p.m.
“They are a very tough team,” Laurore said. “We will have to play as a team and play like it’s our last game on the field. Those boys are a good team.”
