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Damn @cribboy305, @THIS_IS_DILLARD, and @nolebull813!!! Keep it down! All this trashing refs talk is gonna release the Kracken! Chill. Refs never ever, EVER, get a call wrong. And you three don't seem to understand that. And you NEVER will. Becasue you are not qualified to complain! ... play on

St. John Bosco losing to Kahuku in Hawaii this past weekend makes STA's loss to SJB look worse. Maybe it's a sign that karma will eventually even things up against STA.

Cardinal Gibbons-38 Dillard-14 Final Since Dillard stop posting lol

After three games that count in the 2023 season, and two that don't, I feel I am in a reasonable position to post comments on my long time favorite high school team. Strengths: 1. The 2023 Darters have begun the season in a fashion consistent with how the team has performed under Head Coach, Jeff Rolson. The defense remains very strong, while the offense is a work in progress. Defensively, I believe that the current one is playing better as a unit than any of the Apopka defenses have since the 2019 season when the Rolson era began. For while there are no Jalen Carters, Nikai Martinizes or Kaven Calls on this team, at least none that I can discern at this juncture, overall, I feel the unit is deeper, more experienced and more cohesive at this stage of the season. The front 7 has recorded multiple sacks, and as many quarterback hurries and has just been generally very disruptive against opposing teams. In total, it has given up 5 touchdowns in five games against five solid teams (Jones, Osceola, Ocoee, West Orange and Dr. Phillips). And the secondary spearheaded by Davey and Grant has been very very good by Apopka standards. If the old adage, "defense wins championships" holds, this team certainly has a shot. 2. The 2023 Darters has, overall, its best special teams unit in several years, including those preceding the Rolson era. The kicking and punting game are much improved under the leadership of two seniors in their third season; the team has blocked two punts which have resulted in points and, against Dp., created sufficient agitation to contributed to a bad snap which contributed to a terrible, hurried punt that set up more Apopka points. Weaknesses: 1. While there is adequate talent on the offensive side of the ball, the offense has yet to develop an identity. This, too, has been a characteristic of Rolson coached teams. They have tended to start slowly on offense, and, to date, have peaked around playoff time. None, so far, has been outstanding; however, they have been good enough to get Apopka to to three state title games and a losing semi-final in four seasons. If recent past is prolog, then one expects that this offense will follow that trajectory. At spring practice, there was a second QB on the squad who had recently attended high school in a small, rural Georgia county. In the spring inter-squad scrimmage, this kid showed very good pocket presence, a strong arm and decent mobility. I believe he's returned to Georgia having concluding that Florida "big boy" football may have not been for him. Not having a viable alternative of his caliber hurt us against Dp., as our starter was out injured and his absence or the lack of a viable alternative hurt the team a lot during the first half of the Dp. game. 2. Despite being reasonably experienced, the Offensive Line has yet to fully play up to its potential. This has affected both the passing and running game. I believe this can be easily fixed. Prognosis: If the Darters can remain relatively healthy and follow their recent trajectory under Coach Rolson, another deep playoff run is highly likely. However, Apopka is in a very competitive district that has no scrub teams this year. As such, securing the District title with critical district wins will be a priority, as securing a couple home playoff games to begin the run to state would help the cause a lot. If Apopka gets back to the title game, and the opponent is Miami Columbus, I believe that the Darters will win a hard fought title game this time, securing for Coach Rolson his first state title in Florida. Final Comment: Rolson coached Apopka teams remind me a lot of Carol City teams under the legendary Walt Frazier from the 1990s through the first four years of the new century. Like Apopka, those teams leaned heavily on the defense to set up the offense. And, unlike many inner city teams of his era, Coach Frazier teams had strong special teams units. The year they beat Edgewater 13-0 in the final, they had a kicker who was good for field goals from 50 yards, and who routinely boomed his kickoffs into the back of the end zone. Epilogue: This may well be my final season in the state of Florida which has been my home for 33 years. I would love to see the Darters and Coach Rolson end it with a well deserved state title.

I just went back & look & shout out to @Nulli Secundus for being the ONLY 1 who wasn’t prisoner of the moment & picked Dillard to win last week vs Miramar. to the rest of yall @Perspective @muckboy561 & etc ….. I ain’t even gonna say it lol lmao.

Here we go lol

These early rankings are a sick joke. A somewhat intelligent person, with no knowledge off Florida High School Football, if given each team's results, would most likely come up with rankings that made more sense than this. When you lack the SKE (skills, knowledge and experience) the best method is the most simple method. Six teams minimum to a district and the top two make the playoffs. Yes, it would yield inequities, but at least the process would be transparent and each team would know from the beginning of the season what they needed to accomplish to be playing past the first week in November. With the current system, it's not even clear how one should schedule in order to have a decent shot at making the playoffs if you are not the winner of your district. It seems to me that the FHSAA and the politicians in Tallahassee are on a mission to destroy the high school game in the state of Florida.

Let me grabs some breakfast for this thread lol

Rural class should play their game in a rural county. Suburban class in the burbs and Metro in the met. @Joshua Wilson as a secret member of the FHSAA, get on it!!

This is a travesty. All the teams that make the title game are in South Florida. Horrible that these teams have to drive 8-9 hours to play one game against each other. Imagine Miami Central and AHP having to take that drive for no reason. This is another black eye on the FHSAA

Thanks for the effort and the info. That said, if the best team in my county was 0-4, I might wait a few weeks before posting a county rankings.

As a Brevard fan of High School Football since 1969 I like seeing good teams play each other. Games where you're not sure who has the advantage. For me, it's not always about the win but watching the talent shine then play outstanding at the next level. The Cocoa Venice was such a game. Both teams have outstanding talent that will succeed at the college level. Except for a few calls on Venice the game could have came down to a FG or missed extra point. The game was that close, and with Venice on the road they played full on for 4 quarters. Their tandem QB's were a nightmare for Cocoa and I'm sure Venice will be one of the top contenders in the playoffs. Both teams played their hearts out the entire game. Much respect to Venice. The last 5 or 6 years they have improved every season. Also one of the hardest teams to beat at home. Cocoa and Venice have proved on the field they are both tough teams to beat. I wish Venice the best in the playoffs. Also lots of respect to VeniceIndianFan. He seems to be a thoughtful poster.

This will be of little interest to most, but the governor has appointed his 8 representatives to the FHSAA Board of Directors, per HB 225. More of a "public" and "suburban" lean than I would have expected. Still 2 public and 2 nonpublic representatives to be elected, but this is the group that will be responsible for setting the policies and procedures that we like to complain about. https://www.flgov.com/2023/08/22/governor-ron-desantis-appoints-eight-to-the-florida-high-school-athletic-association-board-of-directors/#:~:text=— Today%2C Governor Ron DeSantis announced the appointment,Florida High School Athletic Association Board of Directors.

wow!! Wow wow!! What a game & to see it in person was insane! Worthy of being on espn prime time. I want to start out by saying these are 2 dam good teams & shout to chaminade for representing the 954. with that said if you’re Miami central this season has been a DISAPPOINTMENT so far. why has it been a disappointment ? It’s been a disappointment because this year the goal wasn’t to show the world you’re the best in the state, coming into this year roc bloc already self proclaimed themselves as “KING OF FLORIDA” the goal this year was to prove that MIAMI CENTRAL was the BEST in the NATION! We get it the rockets probably go undefeated the rest of the way & 5 Pete. But that was already expected. In this off season you get over 30+ transfers added to an already nationally ranked team & you lose your first national test in Vegas. Excuse: that’s probably the best team in the nation we won’t see that offense again. Booker T gave you all you can handle. Excuse: it’s a rival game Booker t is loaded as well. Now this game: the game of the year on your turf & you come up short again & now post a (1-2) record with a team that had national title aspirations coming into this season. I RESPECT the hell out of central it’s NO SHADE AT ALL! & unless norland or MNW pull a miracle out of their had the rockets are gonna 5 Pete. But for the amount of prospects & transfers the rockets have received this off season & the amount of trash they talked, NOT ONLY are they NOT the NATIONS best, they’re NOT even Florida’s best & that’s on the coaches. Great game with two great programs, this season has been one for the ages & we’re not even half way through yet.

For the sake of argument, if Manatee and Buchholz both go undefeated, then strength of schedule would be the deciding variable for seeding purposes. At this point, Buchholz has had the stronger schedule to date, and likely will have the higher strength of schedule rating based on opponents for the rest of the season. But remember that the 4 remaining teams are re-seeded after the regional finals, so #1 hosts #4, and #2 hosts #3. So as long as you are one of the 2 highest ranked teams after the regional finals, you will host a state semifinal, with the state final in Tallahassee. My conclusion is that an 8-2 (or worse) team can never overcome a 10-0 for the #1 overall seed, regardless of their respective strength of schedules. A 9-1 team could conceivably overcome a 10-0 team for the overall #1 seed with a significant enough differential in their strength of schedules (although it did not happen last year in the 8 classifications where that was possible). So your best bet is going undefeated and hope everyone else loses at least one game. The computer does not care that Venice or Lakeland are really good teams, it looks objectively at the fact that they lost multiple games. And transparency would be wonderful.

A true championship will find a way to win regardless of where the game is played. In 2014, Apopka, going into the playoffs with a 6-4 record, played its first three games on the road, including a trip to Jacksonville. It did not matter, they won them all. If Lakeland is destined to be a champion this year they will overcome the handicap if, indeed, there is one at the end of the regular season. It's almost as if you doubt that your team has it in them to win under adversity. If that is the message conveyed to the kids, guess what? That's right, they won't win.

That could be a problem for Venice . . . I don't think they're allowed to play road games.

DarterBlue2, if you have a problem with me and what I have to say, how about answering my questions, talking to me like a man instead of avoiding me, and making faces at my comments?

No argument here. However, a review of last year's final rankings, as well as these new rankings, makes it clear that the current system rewards winning percentage much more than strength of schedule. Last year, the overall #1 seeded team in 8 of the 9 classifications was undefeated (there were no undefeated teams in 4M). This week, the overall #1 seeded team in 8 of the 9 classifications was undefeated. It takes an extremely strong strength of schedule component to overcome anything less than an undefeated record. So if one wanted to maximize their chances of making the playoffs as an at-large qualifier and/or achieve the highest seed possible, one would schedule as many winnable games as possible, regardless of the strength of opposition. I am waiting for someone to come on here and say, "there are not enough games in the sample size for the results to be accurate; the rankings will work themselves out at the end of the season", etc., etc. If that's the case, why does the FHSAA put these rankings out at this point in the season (other than to cause angst in those who have an interest)?

Which is why it is unfortunate that the seeding formula is both a mystery and highly questionable. Calpreps has both Treasure Coast and Buchholz ahead of both Lakeland and Venice. In the calpreps formula, both Venice and Treasure Coast will be harmed significantly by Cocoa's defeat of STA being recorded as a loss for Cocoa. Cocoa gets dinged- as the result amounts to -15 of STA's rating- for a game where they defeated the opponent. This means all of Cocoa's opponents also get hurt. Venice is very far down in calpreps at the moment. Granted, we can't be sure how the FHSAA ratings may differ from the calpreps formula they start with before removing margin of victory.

Top 15*

You all... You all keep complaining.... One the contracts ran out at Gene Cox and DRV PNK Second, I don't believe DRV PNK was interested in renewing and taking on all nine games. Third, FHSAA heard a ton of complaints regarding the split weekends. Honestly, going back to one site was needed. Fourth, Orlando... my understanding is both sides tried, but it comes down to dollars and what is going to make sense for all involved. A lot of you think the FHSAA can just go pull up to any stadium and play at it, and the stadium will be fine with it. It does not work that way. Logistics are a major thing in all of this, and if all the logistics do not line up, would it make sense to play at said stadium? And no, I am not a secret member of the FHSAA... I just understand how things work and what the bylaws and policies are without trying to sound off-putting here.

In 2021 we had Rockledge, Cocoa, and GC on the same schedule coincidence???

Very embarassing loss as Rockledge was as challenged as us on offense and should have never got the last TD which was the only one produced by their offense. Too many mistakes, fumbles, bad snaps, kick coverage, you name it. Worse, it was torture to watch.

Assuming they all stay at MNW and don't transfer again/somewhere else. These days, it takes a special coach to keep kids together when they're losing.

I guess you will have to find out by getting your picks in after 5:00.

Man I’m hiring you if I ever need a PR guy. You are setting it up perfect. I would look at it like he’s rusty haven’t played at all. Sorry no excuses. They better be humming and put it to them. I wanna see Lakeland play a complete game. From beginning to end with no excuses. I’m thinking 52-7 they should win

Lakeland was winning 7-0 in the 3rd quarter and 14-0 in the 4th quarter against LARGO!!!! And please don’t use the excuse they didn’t practice much because of the hurricane. Largo had just as much practice maybe less because they are located in a much more vulnerable area. Excuses like that are funny. “We loss because it was raining!!” Lol. As if it only rained on the losing team.

Another tough loss and again, no moral victories with Kowboys again giving their all. Offense did run the ball better despite missing several key RB's from the injury bug and props to the coaches utilizing a couple of the WR in spots to help the running game. Unfortunately, early in the game we had a couple of opportunities to score and miscues of our own had us come up empty; even a short field goal attempt went haywire. This seemed to ignite Jones as they had struggled early to move the ball well against us, but eventually got a TD before halftime for a 7-0 lead. The 3rd quarter opened up with a Kick-off return for a TD giving them a 14-0 lead which forced us to start throwing the ball more and the quarter ended with them scoring on a short run for a commanding 21-0 lead going into the 4th quarter. We also played the game with only the 1 QB as the other was out sick which may have turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The more this young man threw and the more reps he was getting seemed to boost his confidence which led to him start making plays with the WR group. At one point in the 4th it looked like they may score again which would have increased the lead to 28-0 but our defense (Jalen Bell) got a pick to give us a momentum boost. From that point on our little QB was on fire making plays all over the place getting chunk play after chunk play to get a quick score (21-6). They did get another long TD run to push the lead to 28-6 to seemingly get the momentum back. However, on the ensuing kickoff we got an electric return from the electric Alijah (Flash) Jenkins for about 90 yards down to their 4 yard line before punching it in for another TD; the 2 pt. conversion was good for a 28-14 score. With the clock against us everyone knew an onside kick was coming and despite that we executed it perfectly and got the recovery. Now strictly in passing mode we shredded their defense and got another quick score but failed the 2 pt. conversion (28-20). Again, we tried another onside kick and almost came up with it a second time but they got possession about midfield. With time running out we got a stop, the ball back and started moving the ball again before time simply ran out. As I said previously, despite being 0-3 kids showed no quit fighting the injury bug that has plagued our early season success. Think we may have strong case on who should be the starter at the QB position. GO KOWBOYS.

You are correct on both of your posts. The game cannot be overturned, but the FHSAA can take other actions. Everyone should be held accountable for their actions, there are no excuses. (If it is determined this is really what happened in this game.)

Don't forget that the last timeout was used when STA got stopped on third down. Check the scoreboard as well. The timeouts for them was 0 when Cocoa stopped them on 4th down. After the penalty on Cocoa possession the clock got didn't move. Then the clock went to 4min then changed to 1:28. They ruined an amazing game and took away one of the top wins in Brevard history

@Perspective 13 @Joshua Wilson 13 @Nulli Secundus 12 @DarterBlue2 11 @muckboy561 11 @nolebull813 11 @Trelle 11 @DILLARD_HIGH_PANTHERS 11 @KeemD321 10 @imjustafan2 9 @Longtime Observer 9 @VeniceIndianFan 8 @cribboy305 5

Thanks for the insight. I get when you say, if teams had their true starters healthy, they would be better teams. I agree with that for sure. But when you do not have those starters available, then you can only be judged by what you got. Not what you could have if the circumstances were different.

Perhaps they have. But the year APK shut them down, they had scored around 60 on Cocoa in a big shootout that ended with, I think, a 3 point margin separating the two teams. On a tangentially related matter, congrats to the Colorado Buffaloes on its huge win against TCU who was in the National Championship game last year. I will note, that Jimmy Horn, JR., a Sanford Seminole wide receiver on their 2020 state title team played well and put points on the board for Colorado. Very heartening to see the Greater Orlando area representing!

Once again, some good matchups this week. Cocoa vs STA (stack the LOS & make a mediocre QB beat u). Venice @NW(looked more inviting after the KOC). Treasure Coast vs Sanf Sem. Titans got sum skill players but that OL is quick & synchronized. Noles def a state title contender, as well as the Coast. Explorers gotta b at least -21 vs T Jesuit, that’s still living off of 1 great year…..I’d have Homestead somewhere in the bottom 25. I’d take Trin Christ out. They’ve pasted 2 patsies & lost by 3 TDS to AHP. Their schedule going forward is EASY…..Bartram Trail who look pretty good( 3 point win over Ponte Verde looked bad until PV beat Florida High!) has a chance to jump up in the rankings if they can beat Mainland. BTW has a chance to show if Harris has the Tornadoes elite again with a match vs the Rockets( who shoulda, woulda, coulda!!!!!). Lions have another chance to flex as they host nationally ranked Bergen Cath. Those Jersey teams can b tough…….

On a side note, I did get to attend the first UCF home game of the season to watch our DT John Walker as he was #2 on the depth chart. As a true freshman he got about a third of the snaps throughout the game, recorded 2 tackles and had a couple of QB pressures. Certainly looked comfortable and making an impact already.

They should’ve stayed aggressive after the bomb. How you get big play like that late in the game & go conservative. Makes no sense to me

I was at the game. Titans might have had 400 yds rushing. OL know their assignments. Lotta homeruns. Jesuit not the team it was that 1 great year. Looked lost.

I have never complained about any player OHS lost to Poinciana or any other team locally when it usually benefited the players playing time, exposure and success. Again, as Coach Beek pointed out everyone gets transfers; some places more than others and sometimes under suspicious circumstances. If those players elevate his team or any local county team's chance for success I applaud that as I cheer for them all until they play us. My point is suspicions arise when a stud player transfers locally from one school to a rival school usually in their junior and particularly senior year. Our two stud LB's from your list we obviously didn't know them from Adam when they moved here from far away (1 from 2000 miles away) and chose to attend our school. So it appears to me to be an oxymoron that you listed them as transfers on your list, but now you got a new classification called "MOVE INS" for the Poinciana kids. I have sat in the stands at a Kowboy game with Coach Beek and admire what he is getting done at Poinciana; I have told him as much in person. You "MY GUY" just seem to be a hater of OHS.

Sumner got beat by Durant last night. 28-27.

My question is, if Manatee makes it to round 4 and their opponent happens to be Buccholz, where would they play? For the sake of argument, let's assume that they both go into that game undefeated. Does strength of schedule only then become a factor? Does the record of their opponents, or even the records of the opponents of their opponents, come into play? What if Manatee beats Venice and goes undefeated, and Buccholz finishes with 1 loss on the regular season, but because Venice lost 3 regular season games and Buccholz' 1 loss was to a "superior opponent," they get home field anyway? My head hurts thinking about all of this, LOL. But this lack of transparency is nauseating and really harms the credibility of the FHSAA, however much of that remains.

The difference is I'm working under the assumption that Buchholz will have the home field advantage for all of those potential games, whereas you don't seem to consider that. While it's true that we don't yet know for sure how the final seedings will look, it seems a very good bet Buchholz will be ranked ahead of all of the other teams in 4S. All you mention have or figure to have a loss, with the possible excpetion of University City which you didn't mention. I like Lakeland or Venice vs. Buchholz in either a home game or a neutral site game. But, on the road in Gainesville, where those teams will still be perceived as favorites and thus will get screwed by the officials, Buchholz will win IMO.

Winning percentage seems to be more important than strength of schedule, right? So, let's say for example in 4S: by every subjective measure, Manatee has played a considerably worse schedule than Venice. Let's say Manatee has a great night 9 days from now and beats Venice on their own field (a real possibility.) This could potentially leave Manatee, (and possibly Buccholz,) as the only 2 teams in 4S who are undefeated. If this is the case, that potentially leaves: Treasure Coast, Lakeland, Kissimmee Osceola, Bartram Trail, Vero Beach, and Deland with no possibility of hosting the state-semifinal game if Manatee and Buccholz both make it all the way to round 4 of the playoffs, even though all of the other state-hopeful teams in 4S that I listed have played much more challenging schedules and will finish with at least 1 loss on the regular season. This doesn't seem fair at all. Manatee and Buccholz must be very pleased with the way this looks on paper.

FAM YOU WAS THE MAIN ONE HYPING THEM PPL! I think Im da only one who said the BTW & NORLAND would be just as good, they took a L to a good team & they still have good teams to go. Game could’ve went either way & you still got a fairly young team at central. They gon be ight

NO SHADE AT ALL, but the whole (truthful) thread throwing trash. The "NO SHADE ALL AT ALL" comment got me crying laughing.

Much appreciated. That was the best game I have been involved in since I have been at Poinciana. Whether we won or lost that game last night the kids proved something to me. There was such selfless playing, we had Bowser, our best DB with his hand in the dirt! Our QB playing very injured, put together a winning drive when it counted most. We had senior edge rusher playing 1 tech. We had a what ever it takes attitude, which I have never seen from these or any Poinciana kids. The shake up in our staff was the spark they needed. They felt that they had something to prove. I believe we have found our direction and purpose for this season. We still have some very tough games ahead, but In my opinion we can win out the season if we stay focused.

Naples loss doesn't help the resume when they turned around and lost at home the very next week against Golden Gate; yeah, I was thinking the same thing..... Golden who???

I’m gonna add 1 (3-1) Miramar @ (1-2) Dillard - panthers yes you’ve had a tough schedule & yes you were in competitive in the first half in both of them. But you’re 1-2 with an another good team coming to your home turf. What are you gonna do ? Are you gonna ride to the occasion & win or are you gonna do what most expect you to do which is fall to 1-3.

By the way, last year Swint was a 3* and Melendez was an unknown to experts like you. Melendez exploded into a 4* after the season ended and during the offseason. We have those kinds of players on our roster today unknown to experts like you.

Always! Difference of opinion doesn't mean lack of respect. At the end of the day, we all think and feel how we, think and feel.