Brandon Walker T-Birds Cruise by the Warhawks As the pre-game clock dwindles, the nervous energy slowly turns

to eager intensity. Coaches Cody Gelwick and Scott Vandeveer round up their Pinellas Park Thunderbird Varsity Flyweights for the pre-game tradition. Under the shade of the goal posts the 19 boys gather. They separate into two groups, staring directly at one another from about 10 feet away. Yall boys ready to hit? Coach Frank Colston asks. He blows the whistle; each player takes two steps, slamming face-first into their teammate in front of them. From the bleachers in the distance a father yells, come on Colton hit somebody! That was the coachs cue to send Colton to the middle, put on of em on the ground Yates! The boys form a circle around #5, who is not one of the biggest, but surely one of the more fierce competitors on the squad. There goes the whistle, the first man steps up, Yates hits him with a forearm to the middle to the chest, down one goes, then the next one, then one more. There you go! Get you some! coach Colston exclaims. As Ozzy Osbournes Crazy Train flows through the PA system, the Thunderbirds take the field. The T-Birds took a respectable 1-1 record into Saturdays game, coming off a tough 7-0 loss to the league champions of last year, the Lakewood Spartans. It was clear early that the Seminole Warhawks were going to have their hands full with the Thunderbirds. The Warhawks had an outstanding chance to snag the momentum on their opening drive when their quarterback found a streaking wide receiver on a play action pass on 3rd down and 17, but after an excellent attempt at a one-handed circus catch, the

ball fell harmlessly to the muddy grass. The Warhawks went for it on 4th down and were stopped well shy, which turned out to be the story of the Warhawk offense Saturday afternoon. The Thunderbirds started the route early, coming out in their shotgun offense with quarterback Kamron Gelwick flanked by running backs Colton Yates and Zavion McCluster. #5 Colton Yates ripped off a dazzling 44-yard touchdown run on his first carry of the game, sprung by an excellent block by #32 Zavion McCluster. On the Warhawks next possession, T-birds cornerback Ricky Shaw jumped a slant route and showcased some excellent open-field moves on his way to the end zone. The Thunderbirds were up 12-0 after one quarter of play. Does that McCluster name ring a bell? In case it does not, Dexter McCluster was a superstar running back for Largo High School. As a senior in 2005 he rushed for 2,490 yards and 39 touchdowns leading the Largo Packers to the 2005 District Championship. Dexter went on to attend Ole Miss University and now plays running back and wide receiver for the Kansas City Chiefs. The Thunderbirds are fortunate to have two McClusters on their varsity flyweight roster, #32, Zavion and his little brother #22, Marcos. The talent of these two young men was a spectacle to be seen, especially Zavion who at 9 years old is already 55 and usually has to cut a pound or two to make the 91lb limit for the flyweight division. A week after rushing for three touchdowns and 155 yards on just three carries against East Lake, he was stymied by Lakewood. It was clear early that was not going to be the case against the Warhawks. After taking his first carry of the game for a modest 5-yard gain,

Zavion broke off the next one for 18, shedding 4 tackles and showcasing his short, sweet stiff arm that he modestly explained as, I just stick my arm out, man. Zavions stiff arm inspired his teammate Colton Yates so much that he decided to use it himself to spring to the outside on a 43-yard touchdown run. At halftime the Thunderbirds had a commanding 18-0 lead. The Thunderbirds opened the 2nd half in a new formation; with #32 Zavion McCluster alone in the backfield and two flanking wide outs. Zavion takes the first hand off out of the new formation to the end zone for a 26-yard touchdown run, following his tackle #64, Kevin Terry through an enormous hole. That run acted as the dagger as the lead expanded to 24-0 and the game clock would now run non-stop, according to Suncoast Youth Football rules due to the T-Birds being up by upwards of 20 points. The big lead gave an opportunity to players who usually dont carry the ball to get some touches. #10 Ricky Shaw made the best of his opportunity taking his first carry directly over the right guard and into eternal daylight, untouched to the end zone for 50 yards, extending the lead to 33-0, where it would finish. Coach Cody Gelwick shared after the game, Kamron (qb) actually changed the play there, it was supposed to be 26 power to Zavion, but he switched it to 32 dive to Ricky Shaw. The audible turned out to be an excellent call, Cody was very proud of his son for reading the defense and making such a decision on his own, most 8-year-olds would never dare to do such a thing. With six seconds left to play the T-Birds snap the ball and give it to you-knowwho, Zavion McCluster. He hits a little razzle-dazzle to the outside before throwing one lowly tackler with a forearm shiver and another with a Heisman-esque jab to the chin, he broke five different tackles on that run and it took a kid wrapped around his ankles and

another one around his shoulders to finally bring him down after 23 yards. The kid might only be 9-years-old, but remember the name Zavion McCluster.