BOCA RATON, Fla. — For the second year in a row, Spanish River High School's football team won the 6A District 14 title. The Sharks are undefeated this season against district opponents and are 5-3 overall. Two of those Sharks are now preparing to swim into deeper waters: college football.
You know them from Football Night in South Florida. Derek Goulbourne and Jayden Elder are frequent visitors to WPTV's weekly highlight show. That's because they produce plays that are must-watch football.
WATCH BELOW: Spanish River stars headed to Army, FIU
Goulbourne, a wide receiver, is committed to play college ball for Army next year.
"I really like the brotherhood that they have there. They all care deeply for each other and the coaches. They want to see the best from their players," Goulbourne said.
The wide receiver has only been playing on the gridiron for four years.
"My freshman year, so as soon as I got into high school, I got the all-clear from my mom to start playing football, so I came out to practice, and that's when it began," Goulbourne said.
He is now headed to West Point on a full scholarship.
"I'm very thankful for the opportunity," Goulbourne said.
Goulbourne said he is eager to elevate his game at the next level.
"I'm definitely excited. The atmosphere is definitely something crazy. I mean, playing on Saturdays with the fans on TV, that's always amazing. But I think most importantly for me, I'm focused on elevating my game to the next level, always learning new things. That's a big goal for me to go in there and learn from the veterans so that hopefully I can make an impact," Goulbourne said.
He said the bond with his teammates is what he'll miss most about high school.
"I'm definitely going to miss just like the energy here. You know, it's like you grew up with your teammates in high school. I think that it's really great the bond that we have on this team. So I'm definitely going to miss that for sure," Goulbourne said.
Like Goubourne, teammate and wide receiver Jayden Elder is also college ball bound. But Elder's football journey began when he was young.
"I've been playing since I was 6 years old, so that was my first ever sport I played. Ever since I started playing, I never stopped, Elder said.
Once this season wraps up, Elder too will miss playing as a Spanish River Shark.
"The brotherhood, learning, learning from my coaches, learning from my teammates, growing, growing a bond, a connection. That's really the main thing," Elder said.
After years of putting in the work, Elder earned a roster spot and committed to Florida International University.
"It felt like a weight lifted off my chest for sure. All the hard work I put in finally felt like it was all coming together, so it felt good for sure," Elder said.
He said he hopes to carry lessons from his coach into the next level.
"Keeping my composure for sure, keeping my head up, don't let my chin down. Stuff like that, just staying in the game, don't let nobody bring me down," Elder said.
As for this season, Goubourne has his sights set high.
"Definitely hope that we make a good run in the playoffs. I don't want to end the season any earlier than the state championship. So that's definitely a big goal. And I know that my teammates definitely have the same goals," Goubourne said.
Head coach Nick LaSala said Goulbourne is a versatile player, and even though he is a wide receiver, he can also be used in some cases like a tight end.
"He knows what everybody's doing on the field. He honestly might be the smartest player on our offense. He understands the run game. He obviously understands the pass game, explosive player, physical, just a well-rounded player," LaSala said.
LaSala said Goulbourne's statistics on paper don't give the entire snapshot of his type of play between downs.
"I think last year, his numbers, they were good, but they probably weren't reflective of how important he was to our offense and all the stuff that he did," LaSala said.
It's not a secret college recruitment can be a long and big process to take on, especially for high school student-athletes. But LaSala is there to do what he can, advocating for his players.
"I mean, you have the conversations with the college coaches in the offseason about all these different guys," LaSala said.
Using film has been a big component of showcasing Goulbourne and Elder's skills on the field, LaSala said.
"Sometimes you just have to laugh at it because I get to see it on the practice field every day. But when they (college coaches) can't see it, all they can trust is the film. So there's definitely been a lot of that, and they've both done a good job of putting it on film," LaSala said.
LaSala also shared the advice he has for Goulbourne and Elder as they take their football careers to the college level next year.
"If you just focus on being there and growing in the program and being invested in the people around you, it's going to work out for yourself because the rooms now in college, they change so quickly, which honestly, being in South Florida, they probably get a taste of that as well because South Florida invented the transfer portal," LaSala said.
LaSala advises the players to simply take it all in, for all its worth, and to "just be where your feet are."
The Spanish River Sharks round out the regular season with a game this Friday and will have their final home game on Nov. 4.
