2024 Schedule Analysis: Calvary Christian (Fort Lauderdale) looks to soar higher in 2024

Calvary Christian (Fort Lauderdale) has been a playoff team for the last few years, but they have come up short at times when people thought it could be their year. How will the Eagles’ schedule stack up in 2024? Let’s look at the analysis of their 2024 schedule.

CALVARY CHRISTIAN EAGLES (FORT LAUDERDALE)

2023 Record: 8-4

2024 District: Class 2A-District 12

2024 SCHEDULE

All Kickoff Times are 7:00 p.m. ET unless noted

* – District
** – Preseason (FHSAA)

Week 0 – Fri. 8/16 – Boyd Anderson (Lauderdale Lakes)**
Week 1 – Fri. 8/23 – at Belen Jesuit (Miami)
Week 2 – Fri. 8/30 – NSU University School (Fort Lauderdale)
Week 3 – Fri. 9/6 – TRU Prep (Miami Gardens)
Week 4 – Fri. 9/13 – at Clewiston, 7:30
Week 5 – Fri. 9/20 – North Miami
Week 6 – Fri. 9/27 – at Cardinal Gibbons (Fort Lauderdale)
Week 7 – Fri. 10/4 – Monsignor Pace (Miami Gardens)
Week 8 – Thu. 10/10 – North Broward Prep (Coconut Creek)*
Week 9 – Fri. 10/18 – Saint Andrew’s (Boca Raton)
Week 10 – Fri. 10/25 – at Archbishop McCarthy (Southwest Ranches)
Week 11 – Fri. 11/1 – BYE WEEK

ROAD TRIPPING

The Eagles will travel four times during the season, and their longest trips will be to the Muck Area to play Clewiston in Hendry County (the longest at 78 miles one way or 156 miles round trip) and down to Miami-Dade County to play Belen Jesuit. The other two away games will remain inside Broward County. The question will be, does being comfortable at home potentially come at a cost at playoff time? That will remain to be seen on that one.

To Clewiston: 78/156
To Belen Jesuit: 45/90
To Cardinal Gibbons: 6/12
To Archbishop McCarthy: 24/48

Total 2024 Mileage: 153/306

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE

When looking at the Eagles’ strength of schedule, there is not a lot that jumps out and makes you go, wow, that is a great game, with the one exception – the game against Cardinal Gibbons at the midway part of the season. Overall, the schedule features six playoff teams in 2023. Archbishop McCarthy, who posted a 9-0 record in 2023, was independent last season. This factor does inflate the Eagles’ strength of schedule a little bit as Archbishop McCarthy is returning to district action this year for the first time in several years, and things could be different by the end of the season.

Calvary Christian SOS for 2024: .568

2-Year Combined Opp. Win-Loss: 117-90

THREE KEY GAMES

• 8/23 – at Belen Jesuit: Everyone was stunned last year when Belen Jesuit made it to the second round of the playoffs. Here is a chance for the Eagles’ to see where they stand against one of the six playoff opponents on their schedule.

• 9/27 – at Cardinal Gibbons: This is the toughest test we think Calvary Christian will face all season, against a very strong Cardinal Gibbons program that has been a perennial playoff team. Coming at the season’s midpoint, this will give head coach Kirk Hoza an idea of what to prepare his Eagles for in two weeks.

• 10/10 – North Broward Prep: This being the lone district game, everything will count in this one with a playoff berth on the line. There is not much else that can be said here other than the Eagles will win in this one (as North Broward Prep is also the Eagles).

OVERALL THOUGHTS

This is one of the least exciting schedules we have looked at. While the strength of the schedule is all alright, we felt that the Eagles could have boosted the schedule a little bit more with a team from South Florida that is more playoff-experienced than potentially some of the opponents they have on their schedule. The Cardinal Gibbons game is great on the schedule, but maybe instead of playing TRU Prep, which does not have a great winning history in their short existence, that slot could have been used for a much superior opponent. Overall, Calvary Christian will have a chance to reach the playoffs again in 2024 but don’t expect them to go too deep based on the schedule.