2024 Schedule Analysis: Hollywood Hills looks for playoff berth with winnable schedule

Hollywood Hills has been a team that has had its fair share of struggles and has struggled to reach the playoffs in recent years. Could the 2024 season be a chance to get into the playoff conversation? Will the schedule help lead to a playoff berth? Let’s look at our schedule analysis for the Spartans.

HOLLYWOOD HILLS SPARTANS

2023 Record: 5-5

2024 District: District 5A-15

2024 SCHEDULE

All Kickoff Times are 4:00 p.m. ET unless noted

* – District
** – Preseason (FHSAA)

Week 0 – Fri. 8/16 – TBA**
Week 1 – Fri. 8/23 – at Taravella (Coral Springs)
Week 2 – Fri. 8/30 – at Mourning (North Miami), 3
Week 3 – Fri. 9/6 – Dr. Joaquin Garcia (Lake Worth)
Week 4 – Fri. 9/13 – Cooper City
Week 5 – Fri. 9/20 – BYE WEEK
Week 6 – Fri. 9/27 – McArthur (Hollywood)*
Week 7 – Fri. 10/4 – at St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale)*, 7
Week 8 – Thu. 10/10 – at Hallandale, 7
Week 9 – Thu. 10/17 – at Pompano Beach, 7
Week 10 – Fri. 10/25 – Boyd Anderson (Lauderdale Lakes)*, 3
Week 11 – Fri. 11/1 – Nova (Davie), 3

ROAD TRIPPING

As with most schedules for teams in South Florida, most teams will not travel outside the confines of their county, and that will be the case for Hollywood Hills, except for the game against Mourning that will come early in the season. However, that game into Miami-Dade County will not be the longest road trip as the games at Taravella early in the season and the game at Pompano Beach later in the season will equate to the longest road trips of the season for the Spartans. At most, the Spartans will travel on a round trip of just 122 miles in 2024.

At Taravella: 18/36
At Mourning: 13/26
At St. Thomas Aquinas: 7/14
At Hallandale: 6/12
At Pompano Beach: 17/34

Total 2024 Mileage: 61/122

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE

Looking at the schedule for Hollywood Hills, this is designed for a team that is still trying to improve and build after being a combined 9-11 over the last two years. The best game by far that stands out on the schedule is the one with St. Thomas Aquinas as a mandatory district game. As a matter of fact, only two teams on the schedule for the Spartans have reached .500 or above in the last two years, St. Thomas Aquinas and McArthur. The schedule is designed for Hollywood Hills to win, and if they did win, would it get them into the playoffs? That is a question only time will answer for us.

Hollywood Hills SOS for 2024: .319

2-Year Combined Opp. Win-Loss: 70-123-1

THREE KEY GAMES

• 9/27 – McArthur: The best shot of Hollywood Hills being in playoff contention is getting a district win against the Mustangs in what we call a must-win district game. There is no choice but to win this one and potentially finish second in the district.

• 10/25 – Boyd Anderson: This is the second must-win game, and this would go a long way to putting Hollywood Hills in playoff position if they are sitting at or just above .500 when this game takes place.

• 11/1 – Nova: Take it for what it is worth, but playing an old-school rival like Nova can be a momentum booster, especially if the Spartans feel they are on the verge of a playoff berth come the final week of the season that can boost their chances of being in the playoffs.

OVERALL THOUGHTS

This is not an impressive schedule, but it allows the Spartans to build confidence and momentum while potentially securing a playoff berth. However, with that said, we would love to see Hollywood Hills have at least a non-district opponent or two that had been a playoff team or at least at .500 or above the last two seasons on the schedule. The opportunities are there to grow, and this will be the season to take advantage of that before other opponents start to make their moves on improvements.