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Florida high school football: 5 takeaways from Gibbs-Sarasota-Sunlake jamboree

We bring you five takeaways from Friday night's spring scrimmage between the Gladiators, Sailors and Seahawks

Andy Villamarzo

Gibbs 6-foot-10 tight end/defensive end Mike Broxton
Gibbs 6-foot-10 tight end/defensive end Mike Broxton / Andy Villamarzo

ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA- Three teams from three different counties met on Friday night for a high school football jamboree, but there was a contingent on hand to see 6-foot-10 tight end/wide receiver Mike Broxton make his debut on the gridiron.

Gibbs was originally supposed to face Sarasota in a straight up game, that was until Pasco backed out of its game with Sunlake and the Seahawks were left looking for a spring contest themselves.

The Gladiators obliged and welcomed the Seahawks to be apart of a 3-team jamboree down in south St. Petersburg, along with the Sailors.

Gibbs High School Jamboree results

Sunlake 14, Sarasota 0

Gibbs 13, Sunlake 3

Gibbs 20, Sarasota 0

High School On SI Florida was on hand for the scrimmage and provide five takeaways from Friday evening:

1. Mike Broxton proved he's not just a basketball player

If you thought the 6-foot-10 hooper-turned-football player was just some stunt by the Gibbs Gladiators, well, think again. Broxton proved himself of being a player to watch on the gridiron this upcoming 2025 season as the tight end played on both sides of the ball, including defensive end. Whether he was running to the flats, across the middle or catching a short pass and taking it up the sideline, Broxton displayed his overall speed along with catching abilities. Though it was just a sample size of what he might be capable of, Broxton had himself a nice debut.

2. Oh, can't forget about Gibbs' other skill guys

Now lets not forget the slew of other skill players besides Broxton because there was plenty of them on display. Gibbs' offense looks like a basketball team when you look at the heights at the positions, with quarterback Calvin Jordan standing 6-foot-5 and Javier Thomas at 6-foot-5 playing receiver. Mario McCants was impressive coming out of the backfield for the Gladiators and will figure in being one of the better all-around backs in Pinellas County. Though Broxton was the attraction, Jorda, Thomas and McCants all showed out as well.

3. Sunlake impresses without Nathan Merriman

When you don't have your leading rusher on the field for the spring, it definitely makes for a tough time offensively. That's what Sunlake head coach Jay Fulmer was faced with on Friday evening, but powered through regardless. That meant players like quarterback Hayes McGuire and running backs Angel Rodriguez, Jayven Williams would all need to step up with running back Nathan Merriman out. McGuire made some good throws along with showing off his wheels as a runner. The Seahawks looked like a team with some depth as they head into the summer.

4. Seahawks' Christian Canarte stood out on the OL

Coming down to shear size and strength, Sunlake's Christian Canarte was arguably the best offensive lineman on the evening. The 6-foot-4, 320-pound lineman helped pave the way on power run plays, including pulling quite a bit. Canarte recently received his first offer from Howard and it figures to be the first of several for the 2026 stalwart.

5. Sarasota's Hudson West leads an improved Sailors' bunch

Though the Sailors weren't able to find pay dirt between the four quarters of play, you can see the improvements overall under the watch of second-year head coach Amp Campbell. A player that definitely caught many people's eyes was 6-foot-5 signal caller Hudson West. The Sarasota quarterback looked very poised in the pocket when he had time and there's no wonder schools like North Alabama and Toledo have already offered. If West has a huge summer and strong fall season, those offers could come rolling in from all over the country.

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-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @highschoolonsi

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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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