Wildwood youngster to play in all-star football game in Houston

Wildwood’s Benji Gormley may be just 13 but he’s going to have a memorable New Year’s Eve.

The 5-foot-11, 150-pound Gormley, who attends Rockwood Valley Middle School, will be participating in the seventh annual Offense-Defense Bowl Week festivities taking place Monday (Dec. 31) at Reliant Stadium in Houston. Gormley is in the eighth grade.

While attending an Offense-Defense Football Camp last summer, Gormley was named an Offense-Defense All-American. That earned him an invite to Texas to play in the game with his age group. Here, Gormley plays for the Chesterfield Bears youth football team

Gormley, a linebacker, tight end and wide receiver for the Chesterfield Bears youth football team, was selected for this honor from a group of young athletes numbering in the thousands across the country and played well representing St. Louis at the camp.

“I was selected by coaches and awarded top wide receiver and tight end,” Gormley said. “It was very exciting to be chosen because I have been playing for seven years and it is nice to finally be rewarded as an All-American.”

The Offense-Defense Youth All-American Bowl is part of a week long series of events including the televised  Offense-Defense All-American Bowl, an All-Star football game that showcases 88 of the top high school seniors in the country. The game has featured current NFL pros such as Cam Newton, Carlos Dunlap, and Dez Bryant among others before they were collegiate stars.

Offense-Defense Sports has been running full-contact football instructional camps for the past 44 years and currently operates in approximately 40 camp locations nationwide every spring and summer.

In the game with his age group, Gormley will playing for Midwest Blue. Gormley has been playing for the Chesterfield Bears since he was in the second grade.

“I have been a starter every year,” said Gormley.

Going with him to Houston will be his parents (Ben and Ashley) and his two brothers are Brandon, 19, and Brody, 16.

This fall, Gormley said he will attend CBC. He said he wants to play football for the Cadets.