Sun-Times hot corner

Updated: September 28, 2011 7:29PM

Role models

Shaon Berry is looking for a few good football players, but they also have to be good people.

That was the idea behind the Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl, a national prep football all-star game Berry has developed in partnership with the U.S. Marine Corps that will make its debut Jan. 3 in Phoenix.

“I started into this really trying to craft a better working model at developing role models through camps and different athletic events,” said Berry, who played college football at Pitt and now heads St. Charles-based Junior Rank Sports, which identifies and provides training for promising young athletes.

The idea, according to Berry, was “if you could spend a lot of time on character and academics in addition to having a credible football event, then the turnout would be better.”

Berry joined forces with CBS College Sports recruiting analyst Tom Lemming, who helps select the rosters for the senior all-star game and for the junior combine scheduled for Jan. 2. Both will be televised on the CBS College Sports Network.

One way the Semper Fi game is trying to differentiate itself from other prep all-star games sponsored by the Army and Under Armour is to hold some spots open for players who have big senior seasons, rather than simply locking up as many prospects as possible during the offseason. An example of that is South Bend (Ind.) Washington’s Gehrig Dieter, who set a national single-game receiving record of 437 yards against Elkhart Central earlier this season.

A few good men

Local players who have accepted invitations to the inaugural Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl Jan. 2 in Phoenix:

Player, position, high school College

Jordan Diamond, OL, Simeon Uncommitted

Faith Ekakitie, DL, Lake Forest Academy Uncommitted

x-Maurice Fleming, QB, Curie Iowa

Antonio Morrison, LB, Bolingbrook Florida

Michael Panico, RB, Carmel Uncommitted

Anthony Standifer, DB, Crete-Monee Michigan

Jordan Westerkamp, WR, Montini Nebraska

Vontrell Williams, DL, Mount Carmel Illinois

Numbers game: 3

Local football conferences with three 5-0 teams: Fox Valley Valley (Crystal Lake South, Jacobs, Prairie Ridge), Northeastern Athletic (Longwood, Mooseheart, North Shore) and Upstate Eight River (Batavia, Geneva, Streamwood)

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