Stanislaus District football stars lead Valley’s Got Talent

Modesto Christian High School running back Chris Brown bounces between defenders with a ball cradled in his right arm.

Ceres quarterback Chris Lubinsky drops back, scanning the action downfield as his internal clock counts down.

Downey wide receiver Calvin Grover bursts off the line of scrimmage, cutting into open space.

The blossoming young stars of the fall have come together this spring to help captain Valley’s Got Talent Elite, a 7-on-7 team that competes for Bonsu Elite Athletics, a performance training facility in Ceres.

VGT was one of 18 teams invited to the Passing Down Elite 7-on-7 Best of the West tournament in Southern California over the weekend. VGT won its first two games, trouncing Team Apex 28-6 in its opener. VGT then edged highly touted Mater Dei quarterback prospect J.T. Daniels and Lids Team Sports 19-18.

VGT’s run came to an end against eventual runner-up Pro-Way, a team with a national roster.

“It was encouraging, especially since this is a new team,” said VGT coach and Bonsu Elite Athletics owner Les Bonsu. “It was great to qualify for Best of the West. The competition was like nothing I’ve ever seen. The talent pool was so great.”

In addition to Brown, Lubinsky and Grover, the VGT roster includes: sophomore quarterback Bobby Avina of Gregori, junior cornerback Braxton Howze of Downey, junior wide receiver/safety Cole Petlansky of Central Catholic, junior linebacker Alex Velasquez of Downey, junior running back/safety Noah Preuss of Calaveras, sophomore cornerback Miles Lewis of Downey, junior cornerback DaRon Bland of Central Catholic, sophomore safety Kane Rodgers of Sonora, junior wide receiver Emoni Karriem of Modesto Christian, sophomore linebacker Coleby Garrett of Central Catholic and junior running back/linebacker Montell Bland of Central Catholic.

VGT will compete this Sunday in the TMP Showcase at Inderkum High in Sacramento.

Bonsu said the purpose of the 7-on-7 season is to boost the athletes’ recruitment.

“At a lot of these tournaments, there are scouts and coaches and write-ups,” Bonsu said. “That’s the reason I started this, so they could get that exposure.”

This story was originally published April 25, 2016 at 1:00 PM with the headline "Stanislaus District football stars lead Valley’s Got Talent."