Tampa-based 5-on-5 team Power Elite dominated the Orlando 24k Trench Gorilla 5v5 Tournament on Saturday at the first Academy with a pair of Carrollwood Day players leading the way.
Power Elite knocked off a California-based team in the final round to take the title. Leading the way for Power Elite was a pair of two-way 2028 players from Carrollwood — offensive/defensive lineman Antonio Thomas Jr., who had 11.5 sacks last season on defense, and another unique position player, Kameron Battle, who plays both defensive end and running back. Battle rushed for more than 2,000 yards on offense last season.
The 5-on-5 events, which have been spearheaded locally by TFA assistant coaches Aaron ‘Tank’ Jones Jr., and Chad Mavety, are similar offseason competitions like the popular 7-on-7 circuit. These events give the linemen an opportunity to gain exposure, as well as technique coaching from an elite group of coaches who have rallied around the idea, which got off the ground in a big way in 2025.
Pictures: 2026 Orlando 5v5 Tournament, at TFA
Transfer players were aplenty at Saturday’s event.
A pair of recent TFA transfers — 2027 defensive ends Justin Kemp from Poinciana and Trace Johnson, from Timber Creek — were competing for the 24k Trench Gorillas, which made it to the semifinals on Saturday.
Johnson, 6-foot-5, 215 pounds, started his career at East River and was at Timber Creek for his junior season. He had 33 tackles, 6 tackles for loss and 3 sacks.
Kemp, 6-4, 220, who had 7 sacks last season, said the transition to TFA this semester has gone smoothly.
“The process is going good. I think once I get into it, it will take a lot of getting used to, getting up early for the morning workouts, but after that it’s gonna be good,” said Kemp, who also said gaining recruiting attention is not his driving force in making the transfer. “I feel like coming over here from Poinciana is gonna make me better because I will get to go against better comp and I get the good trainers over here and I feel like once I get better, than that’s when the attention comes.”
TFA 2027 defensive end Justin Kemp at the 2026 Orlando 24K Trench Gorillas 5v5 Tournament at TFA, March 14, 2026. (Chris Hays/Orlando Sentinel)
Kemp is well-grounded and has his eyes on bettering himself and getting to the next level through competitive repetitions and coaching. He said he’s not looking for the prize before he’s earned it.
“It’s all just a process, a journey. It might not be going how I want it to be, might not be the best, but you can always get better and take it one step at a time,” Kemp said. “I don’t really focus on [the attention]. I think I did OK today. I just need to work on some things.”
TFA will be loaded again on both sides of the football and Kemp knows that competition in practice will give him the opportunity to hone his skills.
“Just going against these guys every day in practice is gonna make me work. Iron sharpens iron so I think that’s gonna really help me,” Kemp said. “I just need to keep a high intensity at all times.”
He’s looking forward to and gets a big smile on his face when thinking about sharing the field with fellow standout defensive linemen like TFA’s JP Furtado and J’Deion Jackson.
Edgewater 2027 linebacker Jamarcus Tanner at the 2026 Orlando 24K Trench Gorillas 5v5 Tournament at TFA, March 14, 2026. (Chris Hays/Orlando Sentinel)
“Boy, it’s gonna open up a lot for me because you can’t just focus on one person,” Kemp said. “So everybody’s gonna eat. I can’t wait for that.”
He has plans for a lot of quarterback-sack celebrations in 2027, but he doesn’t have it quite choreographed just yet.
“I’m working on it, trying to find one,” Kemp said.
Other transfer players at the event Saturday were: Jamarcus Tanner, a former Apopka defensive end who will play linebacker at Edgewater; OL Trevin Reaves has gone from Boone to Edgewater; OL Fenway Cochrane, West Orange to East Ridge; OL Ashton Jones, Lyman to TFA; OL Dominic Miranda, Tohopekaliga to TFA; and several others.
Chris Hays can be found on X.com @OS_ChrisHays,