by Lem Satterfield
(See video interviews and highlights below)
Click here for video of Leon Kinnard (No. 5) vs Calvert Hall
Click here for Leon Kinnard's post-game interview following win over Calvert Hall
Former youth football league teammates, Michael Campanaro, Malek Redd and Leron Eaddy of River Hill, as well as Leon Kinnard of Loyola and Jordan Love, formerly of Gilman, were all together at Campanaro's house on Thursday night.
The reason for the reunion was to celebrate the fact that each of the rising seniors have fulfilled their dreams of earning Division I football scholarships after playing their final seasons at their respective high schools.
Redd and Eaddy, a running back and defensive back, respectively, are off to Central Michigan.
Campanaro, with whom Redd and Eaddy teamed to help lead the Hawks to a 14-0 record and last year's Class 2A state title, will play the running back or perhaps the slotback position for Wake Forest.
And at UCONN, Kinnard has been told that he will get a chance to see action as a quarterback -- the position from which he has guided the Dons to their second straight Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference title. Kinnard also may get a shot at playing receiver or slotback.
But the biggest news that came out of their reunion was about Love, a 6-foot, 185-pounder who announced Thursday that he has accepted a scholarship to Georgia.
"I committed to the University of Georgia today. I talked to them yesterday. I told them that when I got back home from there that I would commit today. They recruited me as a corner back. They say that they like my size, and that they would like to get me on the field as early as possible," said Love, who has clocked a 4.41-second 40-yard dash.
"That played a big role in where I was going to go. They had a lot of interest in me also as an out-of-state guy, because Georgia doesn't really have to leave their recruiting zone," Love said. "So when they made me an offer, it kind of indicated to me that I must be a pretty good player. For them to recruit a player that far North, you know that I really liked that."
Love will play his senior year at Deep Run of Glen Allen, Virginia, a public school program which, two years ago, completed its second straight state title-winning season.
"They've [Deep Run] only been around for about five or six years, and within those five or six years, they've been to the playoffs, they've won states twice, so they're building up a good program," said Love, adding that, "the people at the school, they were very nice and very accepting of me."
"They have good players. The quarterback has about 18 or 19 offers. He's an athlete, a playmaker. He's big, he's about 6-3, 210. He's a really big guy who makes plays," Love said. "And their defensive end just committed to the University of Virginia. We've got a linebacker who is getting a lot of looks. He's a very good tackler, a crisp tackler from the film that I've seen."
As members of the Columbia Ravens just prior to their high school days, the five players earned several league titles.
At Campanaro's house on Thursday, the high schoolers reminisced about their youth league days while watching film and video of their past accomplishments.
"My first year with the Ravens was when I was 11, which was also the first year of their program, which evolved from the Columbia Bulldogs," Kinnard said. "Since then, they've been winning championships."
The fact that all five players are headed for Division I programs "is what we always talked about and always dreamed about," Campanaro said. "We always talked about playing on the same teams and going to college together."
By the time they graduate from Central Michigan, Redd and Eaddy will have been teammates for more than a decade.
"Basically, I didn't know about Central Michigan until Malek brought it to my attention," Eaddy said. "The first time I went up there, I fell in love with the campus and the coaches."
Redd impressed Central Michigan's coaches by twice clocking a 4.27-second 40-yard dash right before their eyes.
"They were like, 'we want to offer him, because we watched his highlight tape, and we've been looking for a running back like this all around the country. We've got to have this kid,'" said Redd. "They said that there's a good chance that I could start my freshman year. It's the right fit for me."
In the fall, the five players will concentrate on trying to win titles at their respective high schools, after which, they'll turn their collective attention toward collegiate achievements.
"We kind of split up a little bit going to high school and we're kind of split up going to college, but we all had one goal, and that was to play at the next level," Campanaro said.
"I think it was just working hard, and we kept talking to each other throughout high school," Campanaro said. "Obviously, just the hard work is what gets you there."
