2025 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE ANALYSIS: Father Lopez looks to schedule for improvements for the upcoming season

OVERVIEW

Father Lopez's struggles in recent years came full circle in 2024 when the Green Wave went 0-9. As they look to improve things, the Green Wave have made some tweaks to the schedule for 2025. Will those tweaks help and put some wins on the board? Let's take a deeper look at Father Lopez's 2025 schedule.

2025 SCHEDULE

Kickoff 7:00 pm unless noted

* – District

Week 1 – Fri. 8/22: vs. Central Florida Christian (Orlando)

Week 2 – Fri. 8/29: at Cedar Creek Christian (Jacksonville)

Week 3 – Fri. 9/5: vs. Trinity Christian (Deltona)

Week 4 – Fri. 9/12: at Joshua Christian (Jacksonville)

Week 5 – Fri. 9/19: vs. Trinity Prep (Winter Park)

Week 6 – Fri. 9/26: at Crescent City*

Week 7 – Fri. 10/3: BYE WEEK

Week 8 – Fri. 10/10: at Orangewood Christian (Maitland)

Week 9 – Fri. 10/17: vs. Halifax Academy (Daytona Beach)

Week 10 – Fri. 10/24: at Umatilla

Week 11 – Fri. 10/31: at Taylor (Pierson)

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE

According to our in-house strength of schedule formula, the Green Wave is coming with a very weak SOS of just .323. That SOS can be attributed to the fact that they are coming off an 0-9 season in 2024 and are looking to build things back up as a program. The toughest opponent will be the lone district foe in Crescent City with Halifax Academy sliding over to the Sunshine State Athletic Association for 2025. The easiest opponent? That could end up being Joshua Christian, a team that was not a part of last year’s schedule and who has sporadically played over the last few years.

KEY GAMES & MUST-WATCH MATCHUPS

Father Lopez, which we mention is working to build back up as a program will find Crescent City being the lone district game that matters. A win would go a long way for the Green Wave when they play the Raiders in Week 6 that will decide District 1A-5. The top non-district matchup for the Green Wave right now could be Halifax Academy who finished 2024 at 5-4.

HOME VS. AWAY BALANCE

The Green Wave are going to spend a bit more time on the road than the comforts of home this season thanks to six of their 10 games sending them on the road including the lone district game. With multiple trips to Jacksonville in order along with a trip to Maitland will prove to be putting a lot of miles on the bus overall. The trip to Cedar Creek Christian in Jacksonville in Week 2 will come in at almost 97 miles one way, making it likely the longest trip by a hair this season. And I should note that Father Lopez will only play at home once in the back-half of the schedule with the Green Wave on the road in four of their last five games.

OPPONENT BREAKDOWN

It doesn’t take much glancing at the schedule for Father Lopez to see that the only team that reached the FHSAA playoffs is Crescent City. We could also include Taylor as well as the second team since they did get an invitation and participated in the Class Rural FIT tournament. Now if we look at the host of SSAA teams that the Green Wave have on the schedule, it depends on which bracket those teams were placed in, if we want to consider it that team making the playoffs in the SSAA and a deeper dive tells us that none of the teams on the Green Wave schedule were a part of the SSAA State Championship or 5A bracket last year. And as for new opponents on the schedule, there are several with Joshua Christian, Trinity Prep, and Orangewood Christian on the schedule replacing opponents like Palatka and Santa Fe Catholic.

BYE WEEK PLACEMENT

The bye week for the Green Wave comes in Week 7, following the game against Crescent City. That rest break after playing the Raiders should help especially if the Green Wave do show improvement in a possible push towards a playoff berth.

PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS

With the district game coming in Week 6 against Crescent City, that game is the most important, but we want to look at games that could help boost the resume in the non-district slate, look at those from Halifax Academy and Cedar Creek Christian as the ones that could help boost the resume the most among a relatively weak schedule.

PREDICTED RECORD & FINAL THOUGHTS

Really it is hard to talk about Father Lopez even being in the mix for a playoff berth but because of the low number of teams in the region could back-door them into the playoffs. Really the best-case scenario for the Green Wave is just working towards getting a few wins with those likely coming against Joshua Christian and/or Trinity Prep. That would be a huge improvement compared to last year. The worst-case scenario for Father Lopez is not winning any games at all and that is a very strong possibility as well. Our final prediction for now is Father Lopez going 1-9 in 2025.