Leaderboard

I was just looking at the state of GA HC top 100 salaries list and it is crazy how much more they get paid than a Florida coach. Even the 100th ranked coach on the list makes $100k+. How the heck can other states pay coaches well while this dumb ass state, with the best talent pool in the nation, can't even pay a coach minimum wage for all the time they put in? https://www.si.com/high-school/georgia/georgia-high-school-football-top-100-head-coaching-salaries-01jwgttnkwbz

Wow and that’s the website the FHSAA uses for its rankings? What a crap show. Good luck finding the real schedules. The FHSAA doesn’t do anything to help. Georgia puts their on their website for all to see. A simple link that has every team and every schedule. One stop shop. The SSAA isn’t any better. I was trying to update scores from last year and they don’t even have the results from last year. Maxpreps and Scorestream aren’t even reliable either. Crazy that in 2024-25, you can find reputable sites for simple information like high school football schedules and scores

If Bridgewater does get 'taken down,' I'd like to see him take a whole bunch of other guys down with him. No reason why he should be the singular sacrificial lamb.

Some kids NEED to transfer to get in the best position to change the trajectory of their entire life. Could literally save their life. Difference between going to college and being stuck in your neighborhood getting lost to streets. And I can only speak for myself, but I’m more interested in a at-risk kid changing his situation for the better in hopes of saving his life than your favorite high school team losing a game because he transferred from your favorite school.

I know we already have a thread about “Must See” classic games, but can we compile a list of all the preseason games? They should not appear on MaxPreps (although a few do list them there). I know a few in SW Florida Aubrey Rogers @ Cape Coral Barron Collier @ Cooper City Riverdale @ Dunbar Gulf Coast @ Naples Immokalee @ South Ft. Myers Oasis @ Palmetto Ridge Sarasota Riverview @ Port Charlotte

Sarasota Riverview @ Port Charlotte Riverview gonna get boat raced

NFHS has a start time of 3:00pm for the Carol City/Lincoln game on Saturday August 16

Made a second pass through Maxpreps for all 576 (11-man teams). Yes, it takes a while. Here's what I've come up with through this morning: 265 Schedules are complete (assumes 10 game regular season beginning either Week 0 for SSAA or Week 1 for everyone else, unless out of state opponent. 311 Schedules have problems. Here's the breakdown: 218 schedules reflect less than 10 games 88 schedules are impacted by conflicts. ie. Team having more than one opponent on the same day- or- scheduled opponent has more than one opponent on that day. 5 teams have 11 games scheduled. Seems like there's a lot of information to be gathered and rectified over the next few weeks.

Here is the full film: Year of the Bull

MarkECannon, If the FHSAA pays me, I'll do it. And I'll do it right. Nolebull813, Your list of new teams looks good but I'm not too sure about Victory Christian (Kissimmee). They fielded a team awhile back for a year or two. I have a feeling it may be a "sausage fingered" entry on a couple teams schedules, and they entered the Kissimmee school instead of Victory Christian (Lakeland). Just a guess. Also, Graceland is starting up again this year after a brief hiatus.

I remember back in 1907 when Lakeland got hosed by Bartow. Score was 53-0 but it was closer to all of us in attendance that day. The forward pass was invented in 1906 and Lakeland was trying it for the first time. I think the refs thought they were cheating. Anyways. Top win in Bartow history

If you need a backup option On October 3, Coral Shores plays against Marathon in the “battle of the Keys”!!! Monroe County longest rivalry. https://keysweekly.com/42/sports-wrap-marathon-vs-coral-shores-historic-rivalry/

It's on our "to do" list, maybe next year if not this year. We love going to KW. We made it from The Fort in 5.5 hours last time, and that was stopping for a long lunch on Islamorada. Their stadium looks nice. I think we'll make a long weekend of it, maybe finding a Thursday game in the Miami area, then leaving on Friday morning and coming back on Monday. We've seen the Conchs play a couple of times, once at PSL West Centennial and once at Southfork. Going in September or early October, the traffic shouldn't be too bad. It won't be a high level of football, but the right opponent might give you a competitive game in a unique setting.

So, our first week of games is looking like.... Thursday - Chaminade v West Boca Friday - Norland v Vero Saturday - Carol City v Lincoln Saturday - NW v Lakeland What a wonderful world we live in...

Pace and Pensacola Catholic are the 2 top teams in the area. Also Niceville and Choctaw if you want to expand it a little. Those 4 would be the teams to rep the far West of the panhandle

No argument there. I like seeing the variety at the Vero Beach event. I’m sure I’ll see the Chaminade and West Boca Raton each play this year. Probably multiple times.

I'm thinking this might be too far of a trip for that Lakeland guy who wears a boat on his head.

I’m hearing , it’s Lakeland vs Miami northwestern, Vero Vs Miami norland , and carol city vs Lincoln Tallahassee

Although not much is known yet, apparently it’s the marquee game of the “Treasure Coast Kickoff Classic”- an event being put on by the Treasure Coast Sports Commission. Nothing else has been announced but I would expect Vero to play Friday night August 15, but as they have not made any schedule announcements yet this year, so their opponent is TBD. This is the first time Vero has ever hosted an event like this, as they’ve always played a traditional KOC game that week.

No the same thing is gonna happen to them that happens to every other team. They are forced to face a recruited up all star transfer team full of 4 and 5 star guys at every position and lose by 35. Just as nature intended

So, is this going to be a situation where Dillard will have a fantastic regular season, going 10-0 or 9-1, and then falter in the playoffs because they didn't play anyone challenging in the regular season?

Both my boys wrestle and play football. I am very familiar with the home schooled wrestlers who are free agents wrestling for the various power programs in the state. I can say with great certainty that nearly 100% will not earn a college scholarship in wrestling because wrestling is literally the hardest sport to earn a full ride in. There are only 10 collegiate weight classes compared to 14 in high school. You could be the state champ at your weight class but to wrestle at the next level, you will also have to be better than other kids at a weight class above and below you. Additionally, there are only 70 D1 wrestling schools and not a single D3, D2 or D1 team in Florida. Finally, Pennsylvania is so far above every other state in wrestling that they will take half of the scholarships, leaving crumbs for everyone else. Last note, wrestling also has very poor NIL prospects. So kids that are sacrificing their HS experience to wrestle three hours away are doing it for only high school glory, nothing else. After wrestling is over, what can they do with their shitty education? The kids I know that are home school athletes pretty much just train all day. I wonder when they even go to school at home?

I agree that this is an interesting concept. But Florida has 67 counties, and what might work well in your county could be a bust in others. No question that you could potentially get more money invested, better coaching, and better quality of play with regional all-star teams. But you lost me when you state that you would get better fan support. While high school football may be transactional to some, it is still an emotional experience for many. It's not just the play on the field; it's about the sights and sounds in the stadium on Friday night, and if the home team wins, all the better. Yes, the hardcore fan will always make an effort to see an "all-star" game, but I don't think that holds true for the casual fan who knows the QB who lives down the street or has a son/daughter in the band or some other personal connection to the school. I'll travel 50 miles to see my local school play on Friday, but I personally would not travel 20 miles to see a game with just a handful of players from my local community, no matter how high the quality of play. And I think that's true of the majority of fans who typically attend games and support their local high school. My belief is you would end up with the typical AAU basketball crowd - parents, hardcore fans, scouts, and hangers-on. Again, probably a better model for the football purist, but I don't see it being more popular in terms of fan support in large parts of the state.

Larry Blustein podcast link talking about this event: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/south-florida-high-school-sports-radio/id993198627?i=1000717251522

I suddenly wish Bridgewater had known he was breaking the rules and kept it on the DL. He obviously cares a lot about that program and those kids. Hate to see a guy who cares like that get taken down while the true cheaters are out there doing their thing.

You are finally starting to make some sense, have they changed the black and orange water over at Bryant Stadium?

If it’s for something reasonable like a Gatorade and water donation & they reach out to the community of course I will help. it’s all within reason tho. 14,000 for a 3 day gym stay is unreasonable. 2,000 a week for food. Me & a few alumni would just get together and cook.

So if Dillard wanted to do some of these things you would say no and not support.

What are the rules for booster clubs? Would you be able to run the money through the booster club? You might want to do your OV’s by Zoom. There should be a way to get donations for health services so athletes that need it for injuries and the like. Of course the opportunities for fraud and abuse are obvious.

Niceville vs Bay Choctaw vs Milton Navarre vs Pensacola Mosley vs South Walton Fort Walton Beach vs Blountstown Northview vs Baker Graceville vs FAMU Wewahitchka vs Aucilla Christian Branford vs Dixie County Bell vs Oak Hall Trenton vs Fort White North Bay Haven vs Joshua Christian

MLB Taurean Charles didn't last long as a Gator. At 6'3" 245lbs he dominated a pretty good defense his Jr and Sr years at Bethune-Cookman College in the 2005 and 2006 seasons. His fight with the coach ending with him on top only certified "physically" he was already a man among boys. It's a shame he never reached his full potential.

Biggest upset in Florida finals history. I would put Berkeley Prep over Norland second

Haha. Second-best win in Bartow history. I was present for the top win in their history, on a cold afternoon in Daytona Beach in 1996

Interestingly, Pensacola Woodham High School closed in 2007. It reopened as a middle school later in 2007, which was also later closed. The building now houses West Florida High School. Woodham went 35-1 during the 1982-84 seasons, winning the Class 4A state championship in 1982 and 1984. They were known as the "Titans", much like another team with an epic history of their own (T.C. Williams in Alexandria, Virginia).

Does anyone have a complete list of 11 man SSAA teams and their conferences/divisions? Also, it appears they may begin their regular season one week earlier while everyone else is playing kick off classics. Can anyone in the know verify this?

I hope it grows too. To about 500 members! Some of the SSAA teams were or would be playoff teams in FHSAA. You are correct, they have zero chance of winning a championship in FHSAA. Some are figured that out. About 400 or so need to come to the same conclusion.

Looking at their schedule, the most competitive game at home looks to be against Jackson on October 24. University Christian the next week would be interesting.

Some of you may remember, in the Manatee Allstar vs Sarasota Allstar game following that season the Sarasota Allstars had the 69-36 score on their jerseys. Correct me if I got the details wrong but thats what I remember.

Wow! A clean sweep for Dade County. Can’t argue with any of those picks. Did not know that C vs WBR was on Thursday. What do any of you think of this matchup? Don’t be surprised if this nutcase, me, goes to all of them.

Now that I'm all the way down this rabbit hole, let me confirm for those wondering: 1994 Southridge's record entering the state title game: 14-0 Head coach Don Soldinger RBs: Darren Davis and Sedrick Irvin.

I favored Jesuit going into that game. Living in Tampa for many years I saw Jesuit play many times. Jesuit Athletics Director Terry Rupp is a class act. Pine Forest probably should have beat Jesuit that night. I believe Jesuit was overconfident going into the game. They beat Miami Northwestern in the semifinals so I think they thought the final was a mere formality. Pine Forest controlled the line of scrimmage practically all night.

I would add the 2021 Pine Forest team that lost to Tampa Jesuit, 35-29, in the 6A championship game. But your point about Pensacola teams is well stated. I don't see any serious contenders from that area this year.

Vero should be very solid this year, the offense has more experience this season as they started several true freshman last year, the defense lost some talent so that will be the question mark heading into the offseason. I see them being as good as the team that lost in the 3rd round, probably a little better to be honest. The hopes are high considering the talent that is coming back, and has already transferred in, do they have state championship level talent? No, but hopes are high. I do not see them starting 0-3 like least season though. Vero QB Champ Monds went into those games last year as a true freshman who had never played a game at the high school level, now has a year under his belt, and holds 20+ offers as a rising sophomore. He has the potential to be one of the top QB’s in the country by the time he’s a senior, the question for Vero is can they keep him here. IMG has made a run at a lot of the higher profile talent in the treasure coast area the last several years.

Wow! If true I would like to see if there would be a better kickoff classic in the state of Florida. I think a jamboree type setup would be a good way to go. Vero Beach, Lakeland and Lincoln by luck of the draw play the Miami teams a half at a time. Each team would only play 2 half’s.

Only the top bracket is the State Championship bracket of each classification (11-man, 8-man, and Atlantic League). The other brackets allow teams and student athletes to compete against teams having the same type of season (good or bad). They aren't winning a state championship, but getting an opportunity to compete in a bracket against like-minded schools that are equal to them for that season. The model works.

Just announced that Miami Northwestern will face Lakeland Aug. 16 at 7pm at...Vero Beach High. So, a somewhat middle ground for each. Weird venue to be sure!

Dr.pepper lmao lol

Interesting concept and we should be open to consider these kinds of possibilities going forward as the current environment for HS football is not ideal.

The Broward event was never during the preseason week. It always counted as week 1 games

Respectfully, this just isn't the way that high school sports are supposed to work.