ST. CROIX - Local high school football has reached a point most experts believed was decades away when the Educational Complex Barracudas knocked off the mighty Charlotte Amalie High School Chickenhawks over the weekend. St. Croix fans mobbed the field, reminiscent of a ranked team in college football being beaten by an underdog.

Now the hard part comes in duplicating that scene that took so long to complete. I hope WTJX channel 12 airs a re-broadcast of that game, because the people of the V.I. need to see the two best teams in the territory. This is a moment in which parents and children can say, 'I was there, and I witnessed one of the best games ever.'

With all of that said, my column features a pair of former All Saints flag football players, who now call Naples, Fla., home. The duo introduced themselves to me during a volleyball contest at Bertha C. Boschulte Middle School.

I was caught in a state of amazement that they knew who I was. Then I took a long look at one of them. I could not believe I was looking at someone I had last seen as a toddler.

It was "K.J.," who now goes by the name Kelvin Pickering Jr. Yes, the name should sound familiar to local sports fans. His uncle is former major leaguer Calvin Pickering. In his first season at Barron Collier High School, Pickering was named starting quarterback on the freshman football team ... twice.

"I started my first two games at QB, then coach moved me to running back because I excelled as a runner" said Pickering. "Then the varsity QB got injured, which created a vacancy. The freshman team QB moved up to JV and the JV QB moved up to varsity. The freshman team was left without enough strings and I decided to fight for the position that best fits me. I showed them in the tryouts that I can play first string and was reinstalled as the leader."

Leading is what Pickering has done best as Barron Collier sits at 5-1 on the season. He has passed or ran for 10 total touchdowns on the season. The 5-foot-7, 135 pound Pickering knows that he must do a lot more to become a better player.

"Barron Collier has summer camps," added Pickering. "We have summer weightlifting and conditioning that lasts during weekdays. It is mandatory from 8 in the morning to 1 in the afternoon. In a couple of years I will look like Hulk and hopefully catch a couple of coaches' eyes."

The son of Dessarie Smith ended up at Barron Collier after his cousin, who is a wideout on the JV team, told him to try his hand. Larrimore Webbe of St. Thomas, who shared the backfield with Pickering at All Saints School, moved to Naples a year earlier.

"My father, Larry Webbe, went on study leave from the Fire Department,"said Larrimore. "It was a pretty hard adjustment for me from flag to tackle. But I made the team and now I am on the JV team and producing."

The junior varsity season has not been kind to Barron Collier. The team has two wins in seven tries and Webbe has been giving it his all.

"I am only 5-foot-4 and 150 pounds, but I have five touchdowns so far. I mainly play wideout, but to get to college, I think I would have to move to running back. But that is next season when I play varsity."

Barron Collier's varsity team is ranked in the Top 25 in the state. If Webbe or Pickering make the varsity team and produce, the odds are good that college coaches will take notice. This summer, the duo plans to attend the First and Ten Camp in Orlando, Fla.

"This will be my second time at the camp," said Pickering. "The best of the best in the state of Florida are in attendance. We wake up early in the morning, eat breakfast, 6-on-6 drills, and play football for whole day. No matter the weather ... football!"

- David Edole is a V.I. resident and a sports enthusiast.