Taking the field at Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis this Sunday will be two hometown heroes who grew up playing football in South Florida.
James White and Philip Dorsett both play for the New England Patriots now, but it wasn't that long ago they were at St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale.
It's not really surprising, since the high school has been a national football powerhouse for many years, producing tons of college and NFL players.
Dorsett played for the Miami Hurricanes, and White went to the University of Wisconsin, but both remain role models for current St. Thomas Raiders.
Al Blades, a junior who will be following in his father's footsteps by playing for the Hurricanes in the fall, said it's inspiring to have alumni from his school in the Super Bowl.
"It just lets you know anything's possible, they come from the same place as you, sat in the same seats as you," Blades said. "You know it's possible, it's up to you to go out and take it."
"Just knowing there are people before you that have done that just gives you motivation and inspiration to keep going knowing anything's possible," St. Thomas player Coleman Crozier said.
Legendary football coach George Smith, who's now the athletic director at St. Thomas, says even though his best friend is the Eagles' offensive line coach, he'll be rooting for the Patriots because he wants his former players to win.
"The guys this Sunday, James and Philip, are class acts, they're educated and they're good people," Smith said. "It was so much fun two weeks ago when [Tom] Brady pitched the ball out to James White, he threw it back to Brady who threw it to Dorsett. So that was a St. Thomas play."
