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I've quietly lurked for sometime enjoying the site. So this year I decided to try give the weekly Pick-ems a try. I'm an average FLHS football fan, stuck living in Knoxville, TN. Cocoa alumni from way back, so you know which way I lean. I kinda keep up with the better teams in Brevard and around the state, so that's how deep my knowledge goes. Looking at my current standings, in the Pick-ems, I'd say I'm meeting my expectations. I enjoy the shared info and insight shared here, as well as the opportunity to do so on the site. Thanks to all that contribute and to Josh for the site.

Sitting here, in South Florida, and I’ve been watching UIL (Texas) high school football championships, LIVE. For the last few days (for FREE). And can’t watch any Florida high school championships…man I miss them Sunshine Network days.

Already landed on my feet. In less than 4 hours I found a new home! Wont be the head coach, but titles do not mean much to me anyway. I know I can make a difference where ill be coaching.

John Peery, Former editor of the local weekly Apopka Chief, passed away today. John wrote all of the sports articles in the Chief, and was always on the sidelines of Apopka football games. And though he retired a year ago, he continued to write his articles and cover Apopka football from the sidelines. We last exchanged pleasantries at the Pancake Supper and Pep Rally before the Edgewater game three weeks ago. I ragged on him a bit for picking Edgewater to win by 7 points and suggested that the Darters could pull the game off. Little did either of us know the shellacking we were about to take. Last Friday John was on the sidelines when our kicker nailed a 43 yard field goal to win as time expired in dramatic fashion. John, who was am ample man, literally leapt for joy. Though I don't count myself as a personal friend, for the past 25 years, his weekly articles have been a staple in my life. I am sure all Apopka fans will agree with me that John was the epitome of what it meant to be a Blue Darter. John graduated in the class of 1974, and his daughter graduated from Apopka several years after my two boys did over a decade ago. I don't know if John ever posted on this message board, but he used to post on the old Florida Varsity Football Central board back in the day. In addition to Apopka football, John was an ardent fan of Tennessee football. He will be greatly missed.

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

My recap: Quarter 1 TD called back on Vero 1st series was legit - definitely motion / illegal shift on Vero Holding call on MNW at 7:46 on 2nd drive looked legit - moved Vero to MNW 11 A few obvious jumps/offsides on Vero - 3 in one possession Close call around 6 min mark on a potential fumble ruled as incomplete pass - looked like right decision. Lots of jumps overall, nothing seemed particularly out of order or one sided. One questionable no-call PI on MNW around 5min mark. Looked like interference to me and from the commentators. Running into the kicker call on Bulls was legit. Defensive holding on Bulls soon after inconclusive due to being out of frame. Was 2nd defensive holding call on MNW DBs Commentators seemed to think Bulls' DLine was leaning into neutral zone and not called Vero Final Drive, late hit called against Bulls was legit - put Vero at the 3 and led to 1st score. No overtly problematic calls Q1 as far as video showed. Some missed/uneven calls but nothing that would change the 6-0 outcome of the quarter. I can't tell about the two sideline warnings on MNW because both were out of frame. Quarter 2 Personal foul against Vero for pulling helmet off Bull on a tackle WAS questionable. This call allowed MNW possession for a long drive that might have ended in a punt but ended in a score. Subsequent delay of game and illegal formation calls against bulls looked legit. 1st and goal for Bulls and sideline warning becomes penalty. Obviously this is third call against Bulls. Assume it was legit, but out of frame. Bulls score anyway: Bulls 7, Indians 6 Next possession, unsportsmanlike conduct called on MNW, late flag. No one seemed to know who it was on. End of that series, pooch kick returned by Bulls for TD. Same offiicial throws flag just prior to returner entering endzone. Commentator initially agreed because he saw Vero player fall in front of MNW player at the spot of the flag - called it a "silly foul" to block the guy in the back like that after the returner had clearly beaten him. Slow motion clearly showed that wasn't a block in the back. So 2nd commentator seemed to pivot in his comment away from this ruling and said, "must have been an illegal block" . So clearly commentators missed it, camera didn't show it. So the play was either out of frame (irrelevant to the play) or potentially a bad call. Holding call on MNW was obvious False start call on MNW punt actually helped them pinning Vero inside own 10. Holding call at 3min mark on Vero legit according to commentators. Roughing the passer on MNW QB was obvious. officials debated ball placement because it was a completion. Ball eventually placed correctly. Next play, Bulls score with 7 seconds left. two separate delay of game calls on both sides evened out Halftime: Bulls 13, Indians 6 3rd quarter Offsides called on Vero to start kickoff looked right (camera was zoomed in, but you could see helmet on botom of screen looked past line, but commentators complained). 1st series, Bulls jump, legit MNW illegal procedure call hard to tell. Personal foul (late hit) on Vero looked legit. Set up MNW inside Vero red zone Bulls TD at 9:45 - flag thrown for holding #79 for MNW did indeed look to hold, saw Vero Dlineman #76 complain, had left arm under leg and turned sideways. So good call, even though QB had already rolled out. MNW flagged for intentional grounding. Very late call. Momentum shifts back to Vero at this point. MNW punt: Block in back on Vero Beach was apparent on the video, but commentators initially called confidently that MNW had illegal block. Didn't see it. Very late flag (personal foul) against MNW - commentators seemed to be confused as to what it was for. Speculated that it was sideline warning again. Vero commentator questioned where official placed ball after forward momentum by Bulls QB, but replay showed placement was correct. Just prior to Vero score, MNW charged with 2 consecutive 12-men on the field calls. Legit. Just bad coaching there. Personal foul on Bulls during Vero TD is earned. Ejection because it was helmet to helmet and QB was already in end zone by 5 yards. Game tied at 13 w 3 min left in quarter Last 20 seconds MNW called on some defensive holding call that was unidentifiable by both the commentators and the camera. 4th quarter 1st series, #5 MNW safety called for personal foul with late flag. questionable. safety was falling, helmets contacted, but could have easily been a no call. Next play defensive PI on Bulls, brings Indians to 1st and goal inside the Bulls 10. good call. Bulls with 103 yard pick 6 TD. Holding call negates it. No camera angle on it. Commentators didn't see it either. Block was clearly no where near the play. Camera showed Bulls DB got a jump and beat all but two of his blockers. So block, if legit, was out of the play. I can see some concern here. A couple plays later, Bulls false start. Close but good call. Next play, big TD called back on Bulls 3 and 14. Flag was thrown earlier in backfield on screen play. Illegal procedure. Didn't see it, but probably legit. You can see frustration kicking in on Bull's side. Penalty #30 on Bulls pins them inside their own 5. Punt return for Vero flagged twice: illegal block on Vero, late hit on Bulls. 1st call good, late hit ok, commentator aid hit was 5 yards out of bounds, but camera showed it was closer than that and momentum forced. Could have been a no call. On same play, it appeared that the Vero receiver's knee touched the turf at the point of reception. Referees took a while to make the call. Penalties should have been of setting. eventually, zebras rule "knee was down" - then two dead ball fouls followed. Took several minutes to resume play. Big run by Vero, holding call made. No evident on camera. Veros still maintain drive. Bulls called for CB lining up in neutral zone Bulled flagged late for Personal Foul in endzone (facemask). Could not see on camera but official was right there. Eventually called of setting penalties. Serious lack of discipline. Before next play, MNW calls timeout. 3rd and 1 inside the 5, MNW gets flagged for their THIRD 12-men on the field call. No excuses here. Vero 1st down at the Bulls 3 yard line. Two plays inside of the 3 and no score. Commentators are beside themselves. TD on 3rd down. Missed PAT with 2:25 in game ensuing kickoff, obvious fair catch violation on Vero. Bulls miss last best chance to win with open dropped ball by #2. Would have been TD. Before next snap, MNW coaches called for being on field. Not visible but probably legit. - It was the 4th overall. Officials' decision took far too long to call. Final 19-13 Overall, one score negated for Indians, 4 called back for Bulls. 2 of them were questionable, 2 weren't. Clearly, MNW is undiciplined, both on the field and on the sideline. But also clear, MNW has more talent overall. If they can get some discipline they are still looking as a contender come playoff time.

13 years agon February 1, 2010, I launched FloridaHSFootball.com as something to be involved in the world of high school football and here we are getting ready to roll into year 14! Thank you to everyone for your support along the way!

Good God, please don't tell me that Jesse and Columbia Fan are going to spend the next three pages of this thread arguing about whether Columbia and Madison are rivals! I don't know if I can take it.

Wow! Just wow didn’t see this coming , the tigers crowd talking mad trash , they yelling “it’s gone b a long ride down alligator alley back to dade” lol hahaha whewwww talk yall trash jesuit. when I see games like this it really take me back to what I’ve been saying COACHING, solid competent coaching is so vital. so much was said about Miami northwestern talent & their speed & how Jesuit was gonna be overwhelmed & yet it’s the tigers overwhelming the bulls. why because of coaching , then boys in Tampa are well coached to the “T” & their O-LINE & D-LINE are fit,disciplined & understands their assignment. down here in south Florida we praise speed, size & athleticism but it’s our COACHING that needs to be evaluated, our o line play down here is suspect especially vs teams who actually is well coached. All I can say is CONGRATS TIGERS! You wasn’t intimidated by the Miami mystic & the bright lights.

Congrats Vero Beach I mean Dillard

No! You Continue To Cover Your School, it’s Not About Who Stays Or Who Goes iF You Bleed purple, White & I think Gold if I’m not mistaking then You Bleed Your School pride Regardless Of The Fact. I Have Never Stopped Rooting For Dillard, Covering Them or Going To The Games. And we’ve had a lot of bad seasons, every year or every other year coaching changes & Through it All I’ve Still Bled Blue & Gray. for decades we Couldn’t keep players home, Now Not only Do we keep them for the most part, other kids from other schools want to come in and be apart of our program.. for decades we couldn’t keep a coach & within the last 3 years we have had two of the best coaches 1, of them my friend who suddenly passed away in 2020 after going undefeated and getting coach of the year in his first year. we went from being a laughing stock and disrespected to now being a top 10 school in all of south Florida, we’re on a 24 game win streak, we won the first Annual tri county championship & were coming back even better this year. point is @ColumbiaHighFan2017class regardless of how bleak it seems now, regardless of how frustrated you may be with the front office now, you don’t jump ship you hold it down and be the face of Columbia high school.

I want to take a moment to acknowledge one of the most important figures in Lakeland football history who's never gotten any credit from anyone under 40, or who started paying attention to Lakeland football post 2003. Bill Galloway. He was the OL coach who developed the "Beefaloes" tradition, which is what made Lakeland into the power-running team that goes a long way to explain their sustained success. Galloway left, I believe, after the 2003 season to move to Tennessee. He was with Castle for roughly 20 years. And, when he was there, I can tell you he was almost Coach 1B to Castle's 1A. Castle's offenses in the early years were known for being balanced- they produced a QB who held the NCAA completion percentage for a time (Wayne Peace at Florida). Galloway's influence probably helps explain the shift to run-dominant offenses in the 1990s. Lakeland won three state titles with Galloway being a crucial part of the staff, and I think his mark carried over to the teams that proceeded his exit. There were some other long-time coaches who deserve credit as well. But, Galloway was a towering figure who functioned almost like a co-head coach with Castle. Lakeland ran for over 1100 yards in two (2) playoff games, mostly from under center, and without a hurry-up approach. The Lakeland tradition of power football, which inspires players today, owes a lot to Galloway.

https://x.com/jonsantucci/status/1695249654961918443?s=46 https://www.instagram.com/reel/CwddF88tO6k/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== THESE TWO LINKS WILL SHOW TWO PLAYS, BOTH OF WHICH ARE TDS CALLED BACK FOR PHANTOM PENALTIES. At some point though Jambun you gotta do yo own research, internet is free.

If you wanted to watch 2 tremendous defensive teams you needed to be in Lakeland tonight. Not sure what their mindset was as maybe they thought the first game was a fluke and they would just blow us out as they had the other 11 teams on their schedule but nothing could be further from the truth. They continually hurt themselves (trash talking, etc.) drawing 5 Unsportsmanlike Penalties during the game. We actually ran the ball against them better than I thought we would and though I don't know the stats may have outgained them overall. Final score was 14-7 with them mounting one drive the entire game which was an impressive 16-17 play 89 yard drive for their first TD in the 3rd quarter tying the game. Their second score was a 60 yard TD run by Tyler Williams which ended up being the margin of victory. Outside that, we kept their running attack in check all night. I believe we had 3 or 4 time consuming drives of our own getting into the red zone twice and coming up empty on interceptions. Each of those picks it appeared that our QB and WR weren't on the same page as both times it was thrown directly to the defender with the WR nowhere in the area. We just shot ourselves in the foot on a couple of plays which could have changed the outcome. My hats off to our tremendous group of seniors that have given us 3 years of outstanding teams with hopes of a state title, but it just wasn't to be. Good luck to Lakeland in the finals.

The forums are back online finally after much dismay when someone hit the server with a malware ad attack that took days to figure out where the issue was. This affected things from the website loading properly to the forum software working correctly. With all that said, everything is back online now the software that runs the forums is now 100% up to date as well.

Sorry, but you're not allowed to agree with another poster on this Board. It's against the rules. If you think you agree with something that someone has posted, you have to ignore that post and go back to one of their earlier posts that you don't agree with and then attack that post (or attack the poster himself).

First thought: Madison is not in the Top 50. Second thought: we may need someone to do another well check on Jesse. Third thought: Soon-to-be-State-Champs Dillard is not in the Top 10. Fourth thought: we may need someone to do a well check on This_is_Dillard.

I've learned over the years that every now and then you need to do something for somebody else. So, I decided to do this for Jesse. I've created this thread -- Jesse's own little safe place, if you will. As the title suggests, it's for people to come and share posts relating to Madison, but it's a place that Jesse can call his own. Obviously, the most important Madison (at least for Jesse) is the high school football team from Madison County, Florida, that, best I can tell, is the third best team in Florida, if not the country, behind only IMG and STA. But, because this thread is for "All Things Madison," people should also feel free to discuss Madison, Wisconsin (home of the University of Wisconsin), Madison Avenue (in New York City, home to many of the nation's advertising giants) and James Madison University (in Virginia). I'm afraid any discussion of James Madison himself (4th President of the United States) might cross over the line into the realm of politics, so we probably ought to keep those discussions off this thread. However, I see no reason why we can't include conversations about James' wife, Dolley Madison. And we can certainly discuss Dolly Madison Bakery products (I anticipate a rather 'healthy' debate over which are better: Zingers or Golden Creme Cakes). Jesse, as for you, here is my suggestion: when you run across a topic on this website that is related to high school football, but which really doesn't have anything to do with Madison, avoid the temptation to post in that thread and instead come back to this thread. So, for example, if someone started up a thread to discuss how Venice would match-up against Lakeland, there is no reason for you to say "They both trash. MadCo would put running clock on both of them." Come to this thread and post: "Who care about Venice and Lakeland. They both trash. MadCo would put running clock on both of them." We all understand that once you've been triggered, you have to say something; it's simply a matter of you saying it in the right place. And this is that right place. Just don't be disappointed if you find yourself alone in this room a good bit of the time. Like most of time. Maybe even all the time. Perhaps that will give you a little insight as to how much other people care about MadCo football. And, just to get the debate going, I'll go with Zingers.

Please join in the search for crib boy. Look in bushes, trees, behind couches, or under spot rugs. It’s a typical trait of those who “trash” then “Dash”.......

As a South Floridian ... we reject the inclusion of Sarasota County. We stand firm at 5

I was able to narrow down the search area to

Biship Sycamore will play your JV team on Thursday night and stick around and play your varsity team on Friday night if you promise them that the game will be live-streamed.

Josh was the team who went 10-0 and lost in the 1st round. Lol

I wrote this poem last Friday night while enjoying a game. Any perceived slights, omissions or misrepresentations are strictly unintentional. If you’re pressed for time, skip ahead to the last two lines. In the spirit of “Twas the Night Before Christmas”; with apologies to Clement Clarke Moore and Joshua Wilson… ‘Twas the 25th of August, and all through this site Board members were fired up; it was opening night The coaches all studied their game plans with care In hopes a state title soon would be there The players were all clad in blues, whites and reds While visions of NIL deals danced in their heads Me in my team gear, with Momma in tow Had just settled in for the band’s pregame show When down on the field there arose such a clatter I put down my popcorn to see what was the matter When, what to my wondering eyes should appear? The head man, with eight assistants pulling up the rear I looked at the head coach, and thought, oh my gosh For I knew in a moment it must be St. Josh Full of bluster and hot takes, his posters they came And he whistled and shouted and called them by name Now Icaza, now Dillard, now Darter and KeemD Now Venice, now Badbird, now NoleBull and Nulli Now post away, post away, post away all But first a little advice, for each of y’all Feel free to debate, but don’t personally attack others No matter your team, we are all still “brothers” Keep your posts on point; don’t get too messy Get way out of line, you’ll be on the sidelines like Jesse Maintain some ‘Perspective’; you don’t want to be labelled Foolishly bet on your team, and your account might be ‘Disabled’ Focus on the positive, point out players who are shining Quit your complaining, and Metros - stop whining Take it easy on the refs; they’re doing their best But if you don’t like it, put ‘Jambun’ to the test No fretting over classes; there may be a lot Just be grateful it gives more Suburbans a shot Don’t worry about Power Rankings; they’re really not that bad Since you’re opposed to large districts, it’s the best to be had You can dream about transfers having to sit out a year For now, we can be thankful the football season is here Now there’s green grass and bright lights; get ready, let’s go You could be stuck at home watching some boring show And then like a receiver, he was off in a flash But I heard him exclaim as he took off in a dash From Key West to Pensacola, and points far and near Good luck to your team, and to all a good year!

Hey @VeniceIndianFan! Where are you man? I'm just making sure you're okay after last night. No one wants to start the season with a loss. I know I don't. However, there's plenty of season left and it's best to take the lumps early and improve from that. I'm speaking for myself too, lol.

You literally ask everyone to give examples of poor officiating when they mention bad calls. He went through and broke them all down and actually agreed with more calls than most other people have, now you’re taking issue with it?! He NEVER rated the officials, simply stated his opinions on the calls. You are known for asking why people don’t agree with calls or what happened, he gave it to you and instead of breaking down the calls yourself your attacking him. YOU have given ZERO input on the officiating, only questioning people instead on this and other threads. Get over yourself, refs are human and screw up.

Before people start bashing this matchup because this years' Green Wave are very young and have no chance of winning this game, I would like to take a moment to explain how this game came about. Tonight is Sam Sirianni Night in Fort Myers. It is a local celebration of our long- time coach, Sam Sr. He led the Greenies for 33 seasons, including 5 decades, before his passing in '02. His son Sammy Jr. took over and is still the HC at this time. Coach Smith and Sam Sr were very close friends for many years. Coach Smith contacted us numerous times over the summer about coming over to be a part of our night to honor our former coach. With that said, Sam Jr. finally accepted, knowing full well that this year's team would not be able to give the Raiders much of a game. It's a celebration of our '92 team that lost at STA in the state semi's for the second year in a row. In an effort not to make this post too long and boring, I just wanted to point out that even in this day and age, once in a while friendships and respect can still mean more than wins and losses at the high school level. After getting to know Coach Smith and many of the Aquinas fans over the years, I have the utmost respect for the program and those close to it. I have an open invitation to Aquinas games and have seen many of their games from the sideline over the years. I knew of the school when it was Central Catholic High. Had many friends who attended STA who were nationally ranked tennis players as was I. Jeanne and Chris Evert to name a few. So that should explain how this game came about and if I didn't explain this very well, please just reply and I will try to do better.

Whoaa. Thought for a minute you were really looking for the ultimate test and had scheduled Madison.

It was good to see team champions from Jacksonville, Madison, Venice, Tampa, Ft Laud, Hollywood, & Miami. Crib boy said everything runs through Miami-Dade but actually they were in 7 classifications & were eliminated in all but 1 class. Jesuit beat down the 305 & beat 954. Hillsborough had 3 terrific teams in the finals! Pine Forrest went under the radar & out played Jesuit, but didn’t outscore them. Venice made Apopka look outmanned with their strictly run offense. Gibbons & Cocoa was a tremendous game. Chaminade ended the season as good as any team in the State. Aquinas smothered TBT early. Rockets, Dade’s only champion were exceptional! Whata great season....it simply goes by too fast.

Hawthorne trash. Madco by 40. Madco beats every other team in playoffs this year and beats IMG by 14. (Sorry, just channeling my inner Jesse).

Lee. And the Jacksonville newspapers won't report it.

Super teams meaning teams with multiple impact D1 transfers that no one can compete with outside of other super teams. So back in the day, Lakeland used to beat STA’s head in like a baby seal to the tune of 4 titles and a 5-1 overall postseason record against STA from 1996-2006. After 2006, STA said NO MAS!!!!! The South Florida teams started stockpiling talent at break neck speed starting with Miami Northwestern. With a collection of future college and NFL talent MNW wins the high school national title. Then in 2008, STA loaded at every position with a Broward County All Star team, crushes Lakeland and wins the first of their 2 national titles in 3 years. STA from 1963-2007 won 3 state championships. Then after stocking super teams, they proceed to win 12 state championships from 2008-2023. Miami Central from 1964-2009 a grand total of ZERO state championships. From 2010-2023 they win NINE titles!!! Chaminade from 1964-2016 they win 2 titles. From 2017-2023 they win 6!! American Heritage won zero from 1981-2012 and then 4 titles since. These are the 4 top teams in Florida the last decade by far. None of these teams were anything before 2006. You can say STA won 3 but that is in 35 years compared to winning 12 of the last 16. And it’s all thanks to Lakeland

Madison 701 Hmmm...

Berkeley driving 4 hours South to beat state top 5 AHP at their house was impressive, then driving 4 hours North to beat another state top 5 team was even more impressive!!!! Berkeley earned this title. This wasn’t a case of better teams choking. This was a case of Berkeley executing their game plan to perfection and wanting it more

They just need to do it like the College Football Playoffs. That way, there will be no issues, disputes or arguments about who should be in and who gets left out.

https://www.aroundosceola.com/sports/beeken-removed-poinciana-football-coach The Lord did find me a place to go! with Brad Lord at Southlake! Go EAGLES!

For over taking Hollywood Chaminade and winning the FHSAA's final regular season title. Hats off to this perennial little powerhouse that will play anyone, anywhere. It's hard not to love those kids and their fabulous football program.

Yes this is the exact problem I have with this proposed open division. As usual the FSHAA fixes something by proposing an even worse solution. They are avoiding the root cause of all issues and that is recruiting/transfers. It seems simple enough to separate school choice from athletics such that anyone is free to transfer for academics but they must sit out a year of athletics unless they moved to that school zone? This doesn't solve the private school unfairness but just throw them into their own athletic association and be done with it. Screw em.

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.

It would be nice to see some occasional new blood go on a run but not possible in the transfer era where the strong reload each year and the weak donate their best to the strong. Tired of seeing the same teams every year.

Nolebull, glad to see that you think so highly of your own idea.

In a defensive struggle Osceola did enough to defeat Treasure Coast in a slugfest by the score of 14-5. They were able to run the ball better against our defensive front than I thought they would but despite giving up some yards they never got into the end zone. Their initial drive was helped by several offside penalties we committed early to keep the chains moving and got into field goal range and hit it. On the ensuing kickoff our sophomore star RB Taevion Swint return it for about a 90 yard TD. Later in the 2nd quarter we put together another good drive and Taevion punched in his second TD. They got a safety when their punt pinned us at our 1 yard line for the other 2 points. We only had one good drive in the second half and should have scored our 3rd TD on a short slant, but our receiver bobbled the ball and allowed the defender to strip it from him for an INT in the end zone. No more scoring in the second half. Offensively we were inconsistent throughout the game but I think their defense had alot to do with that. It was your typical UGLY WIN, but a win nevertheless against a team most on this forum picked to win the game against us. QB position still in flux as both were given opportunities throughout the game to earn the job and neither seemed to be the clear winner. On to the next game against a strong Sanford Seminole team that some didn't feel would dominate Sarasota Riverview but simply blow them out 48-0.

Wow. Someone may have to do a wellness check on Jesse today . . . and tomorrow . . . and Sunday . . .

Congrats to your Eagles, Jones was a tough out.

A team that passes an average of only two times per game cannot beat Apopka unless they have truly elite talent on offense. TC has some good, but not great, backs. Running the single wing against Apopka pretty much doomed them to defeat. To beat Apopka, you need a very good passing game. Venice has this. It's going to be the green giants against the boys in blue. This game will likely sell out.

Yes.

Josh, consider making the "Pick 'em" contests (regular season and/or playoffs) an 'official' part of this site and name the contest after Joe. "The Pinkos Pick 'Em.' RIP to Joe and peace and condolences to his family.

So you talk trash without knowing anything about the young man, run your mouth before you have any knowledge... damn don't they teach anything out in Madison. Just curious, he won a state championship last year. They beat Hawthorne to win. Just to remind everyone. How did the mighty Cowboys of Madison do when they faced Hawthorne?

Some of this is true; some is not. Allow me to provide some context (WARNING: Long Post alert): Prior to the 2019 season, Plant had a 14-year span (from 2005 to 2018) in which they won four state championships, never won less than 9 games (and won ten or more games 12 times), and went 58-0 in district games. Yep, 58 wins and zero losses. 2019 broke several streaks, including their district winning streak, their playoff streak and their season winning record streak. They finished the season 4-6. Plant's six losses came against their first six opponents: (1) Armwood, who finished the season 12-2 (only losses were a 2OT loss to North Gwinnett (GA) and a 4th round playoff loss to Edgewater); (2) Gaither, who also finished 12-2 (only losses were to Armwood in the regular season and a 4th round playoff loss on the road against Escambia); (3) Steinbrenner, another team that finished 12-2 (4th round playoff loss to Apopka); (4) Bloomingdale, who finished 9-3 (only losses were to Lakeland and Armwood, once in the regular season and again in the playoffs); (5)Tampa Bay Tech, who finished 8-4 (with losses to Armwood, Gaither, Bloomingdale and Lakeland in the playoffs); and (6) Gonzaga (MD) (nationally ranked at the time, but finished their season 8-3). If you take away the out-of-state schools and losses to each other, this group of teams had a combined record of 53-6 in 2019. Plant finished the 2019 season with four straight wins, including three district wins, to finish second in the district. In those four wins, Plant outscored their opponents by a combined 164-20. In any one of the prior 15 plus years (when Plant won their district), their runner-up district status would have gained them a playoff spot. However, 2019 was the first year that the FHSAA relied on a power rankings point system to determine the four non-district winner playoff spots and Plant lost out on the final playoff spot by the narrowest of margins when Steinbrenner lost their season finale to Chamberlain 26-20 (thus, slightly lowering Plant's "opponents record"). To my knowledge, they were the only team in the state not to win a state championship, but nevertheless finish their season with four straight wins. In all likelihood, they wouldn't have made a lot of noise in the playoffs, but they did have some momentum and had figured out how to play to their strengths. They would not have been an easy win for any team at that point. Head coach Robert Weiner did serve a three-game suspension in the middle of the 2019 season for an alleged FHSAA rules violation. He was accused with providing benefits to a player when he asked his director of operations to see if she could help a kid who was new to the football program, but nevertheless registered at Plant, find a place to spend the night when it became apparent late one afternoon that the kid was otherwise not going to have anywhere to sleep that night. Ultimately, through the FHSAA appeals process, the "conviction" was overturned, the fine was rescinded and Coach Weiner's clean record was restored. However, unlike professional sports (where you can continue to play or manage while an appeal is pending), Coach Weiner was forced to serve his 3-game suspension before the appeal could be heard. When your head coach is also your offensive coordinator/QB coach and play-caller, this can be a problem. In short, Plant lost to six quality opponents, but finished the year strong, just missing out on the final playoff spot in the region. PinellasFB is correct that Plant's offensive line was not on par with previous seasons, in part because of early-season injuries and lack of depth. After the season ended, Coach Weiner accepted a college coaching job with the University of Toledo. Plant's QB signed with Georgia Tech (but has since transferred to Toledo). The Plant administration went through a laborious process to find a new head coach. In an effort to do everything the right way, and perhaps not understanding the new wild, wild west of high school football, the school took its time accepting applications, interviewing prospective candidates, narrowing down the field, etc. They eventually settled on a man who had played and coached at the college level and who had previously been the Plant JV coach. In hindsight, it was not the right hire. However, in both Plant's defense and the coach's defense, no one could have anticipated the chain of events that would transpire for this person, professionally and personally. In the meantime, after Coach Weiner announced his departure and before the new coach could be named, a number of Plant's top players, unsure of what the future would bring, decided to do the 'Hallendale Bail,' two years before Hallendale did it. Some did it on their own; others were, to use polite terms, 'encouraged' by 'representatives of other school's athletic interests' to transfer. Area coaches smelled blood in the water and used every opportunity and resource they could to reach out to top Plant players and their parents. Before the school year ended, Plant lost at least eight players who had played significant time in the 2019 season and/or who were expected to contribute significantly the following season, including two top receivers, the expected QB1 and the expected QB2, a starting RB/LB, a starting DB and two OL/DL starters. At the time, four of them had D1 offers and another has since picked up at least one D1 offer. 2020 was a disastrous year for Plant. First year without their old head coach, first year with a new coach who was not on campus, Covid restrictions, no returning varsity QB (and very little chance for anyone to earn the spot with limited 7 on 7 games/tournaments), etc. There were a number of additional factors that led to the downfall, but a lack of incoming new talent over the past couple of years definitely was a major contributor. Plant finished 2-6 last season, but did make the playoffs (yeah, only because every team 'made the playoffs.' ). Once again, Plant has a new head coach: former assistant coach Hank Brown. Coach Brown will surround himself with others that have been around the program in hopes of restoring its glory days. It won't surprise me if Plant has a better record this year than last, but in large part, that will be because of the way that Hillsborough County does its scheduling. For non-district games, Plant won't be playing the 'top tier' teams like Armwood, Gaither, Steinbrenner and Bloomingdale. But, they'll still have a number of tough games and will be lucky to finish the season with a .500 record. In short, Plant's success cycle likely is over, at least for a while. So, in short answer to the original question, Plant will not be a factor this season (or anytime soon) in the playoffs. It's possible they could make the playoffs and it's possible they could win their first playoff game, but that's as far as I see them going unless and until more talent shows up. Oh, and here's the catch: Plant is an A-rated school that has been over-capacity for years. So, unlike some of the other 'football-oriented schools' in the county (or across the state), a kid cannot choose to attend Plant unless they live in the Plant district. That will make it even harder to regain their status as one of the top programs in the county, if not the state. But, it was a helluva run while it lasted.

Madison county is right down the road.