High School

Venice, Palmetto talent shines at Rise Top 100 Showcase

Venice’s Elliot Washington II, Palmetto’s Zymarion Lang highlight group of athletes on hand Saturday at Cardinal Mooney High School

Andy Villamarzo

Venice, Palmetto talent shines at Rise Top 100 Showcase
Venice, Palmetto talent shines at Rise Top 100 Showcase /

SARASOTA, FLORIDA – The Rise Top 100 Showcase for Manatee, Sarasota and Charlotte counties took place on Saturday morning at Cardinal Mooney High School after being rescheduled from its previous July 23rd evening date.

Through a steamy day on the turf field, the showcase featured around 60 athletes on hand with some of the big names from the aforementioned counties on hand. Plenty of big names from around the area were on hand to perform, like Venice safety Elliot Washington II (Penn State commit), Palmetto wide receiver Zymarion Lang and sophomore quarterback Zander Smith.

Some of the names missing on the day were Venice quarterback Brooks Bentley (visiting Florida International), defensive end Damon Wilson, wide receiver Ryan Matulevich (attending the University of Florida’s Friday Night Lights) and Sarasota Riverview’s Charles Lester III (visiting the University of Georgia).

Event organizer Adrian McPherson added in a couple of athletes from the Tampa Bay Area as well in Robinson sophomore quarterback EJ Archield Jr. and Clearwater junior signal caller Trey Whirley. Both Archield and Whirley work with McPherson during the off-season extensively and were elated to be able to get some extra work in.

“I appreciated the opportunity to compete with the best of the best in Sarasota County,” Whirley said. “It was a great showcase and the coaching was excellent. I wish there were more events like these in the future.”

The event started off with stretching before breaking off into stations for the specific skill sets. Coaches got the players into some competition drills followed up by 1-on-1’s and then team oriented plays. On the hot and humid day, water breaks were taken often throughout to keep the athletes hydrated.

Amongst the other athletes on hand that were impressive on the day was Charlotte wide receiver Brady Hall, Venice wide receiver Keyon Sears, offensive lineman Matthew Peavley and Cardinal Mooney defensive end Jack McKinnon.

Andy Villamarzo can be reached at andyvillamarzo@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @Andy_Villamarzo. 

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Andy Villamarzo
ANDY VILLAMARZO

Andy Villamarzo has been a sports writer in the Tampa Bay (FL) Area since 2007, writing for publications such as Tampa Bay Times, The Tampa Tribune, The Suncoast News, Tampa Beacon, Hernando Sun to name a few. Andy resides out of the Tarpon Springs, FL area and started as a writer with SB Live Sports in the summer of 2022 covering the Tampa Bay Area. He has quickly become one of Florida's foremost authorities on high school sports, appearing frequently on podcasts, radio programs and digital broadcasts as an expert on team rankings, recruiting and much more.

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