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I thought Hwy17 got it. This is just a guess so I will say Lely in '87? Beat Glades Central and Cocoa with Merv Ward being the HC.

Hey I needed that Old School Lion. lol. My recent batting average would have sent me from the Big Leagues to Little League. Lee County has a monster rb at Lehigh High. Remember the name: Richard Young.

Brandon James, St. Augustine. 2005 state champs over Sarasota Booker. Played college football for the gators.

I’m very partial to this one since I’m a Bull myself! This is Anthony Henry! USF Hall of Famer Friday- Estero High Saturday- University of South Florida Sunday- Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions Good one OldSchool!!!!!

Eddie Feely Gradutated from Gainesville High School, played at FSU. Led Merritt Island, Choctawhatchee and Buchholz to state championships (all undefeated seasons).

sure did!

So did I finally get one right Old School Lion?

Thanks for the shoutout Jambun.

Merv Ward was a coaching legend in Southwest Florida. He coached the Naples Lely Trojans for 11 full seasons and parts of two more from 1985-2002, winning 4 district titles. He arrived as an assistant from Michigan in 1984, and three years later, he'd taken a mediocre Lely program to the area's first state title game. In 1987, he led a senior-laden Trojans team to the Class 3A championship game, earning the berth with upset wins over powerhouses Glades Central(26-20 in 2OT in the Muck) and Cocoa High(7-6). Lely fell at home to Live Oak-Suwannee, 35-7, but it served as the model for coaches struggling to find success across the region. 'A native of East Palestine, Ohio, Ward played fullback and nose guard at Bowling Green and often drew comparisons to one of his idols, Ohio State legend Woody Hayes. Ward passed away in 2008.

No problem, and you will find a lot of great perspectives on this message board Silver King.

Wait there has actually been North Florida teams throwing TDs in a state championship? Must have been before I was born because for as long as I can remember whenever a North team makes the finals it usually ends with a SFL team steamrolling them lol

Too bad we don't have anyone on the forum from north FL.

Hornet you are correct that Seminole County has started back however there are at least two schools of the 8 in the county that had to shut down work outs due to a Covid case. Kids and coaches will contract Covid during the season, the question is how do we handle it at the high school level? Do we shut down the program for a week, two weeks, etc...or do we sit the kid or coach who is sick? We need a statewide policy as to how this will work. ALL schools should treat a positive case in each sport the same. We all know public schools can not afford to test each kid each week or even twice a season. What if we do it the old Pop Warner days like weight check, each team must have a book and a medical professional (Dr and/or ATC) must check each athlete daily or at a minimum before each contest for temperature, and signs of sickness.

Thanks Peezy, my brother! Columbia, Venice and Palmetto are always tough, lots of athletes and good coaching. Think both graduated QBs last year. But Venice is really good in getting transfers to key positions they need to make a run.