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SPCjessica2004

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  1. SPCjessica2004

    5A-9 ?

    Hwy17, You're correct.. Gibbs used an illegal player for some games this year, specifically the Tarpon Springs games. The forfeit gives Tarpon a 5th win this year. Gibbs win vs Lakewood still counts though as the illegal player didn't play in that game. http://www.tampabay.com/sports/high-schools/2018/10/17/forfeits-put-gibbs-playoff-hopes-in-jeopardy/
  2. Class 3A top teams going into week 9. This is the first week there is major shake-up as 2 of the top 5 teams in 3A lost last week. #1) Chaminade-Madonna. C-M moved back to the top spot after an impressive win over Booker T. Washington. The Lions lead 28-7 at one point before winning 35-28. The Lions of 2018 are following the same path as the Lions of 2017. Lions should cruise until week 11 showdown with University School. #2) Clearwater Central Catholic. Going into the season many news agencies and message boards felt Calvary Christian would finally topple the Marauders. Despite having 2 weeks to prepare for CCC, the Warriors were overwhelmed by the Marauders as CCC quickly took a 28-7 lead and never looked back. #3) Sarasota Cardinal Mooney. With AHD and King's Academy both losing- it came down to Benjamin, Florida High or Mooney to ascend into the top 3. Ultimately, Mooney was given the nod due to wins against Bishop Verot (who went on to beat AH-D), Berkeley Prep (who has gone on to beat everyone) and Bradenton Southeast. I think they have the most complete body of work outside of the top 2 teams. #4) Benjamin School. Benjamin is on the heels of Mooney in our book. Despite King's Academy losing last week the rivalry game should still be epic in 2 weeks. This week against an over matched St. Andrews should see Benjamin well prepared for that contest. #5) Florida High (FSU School). My family's hearts go out to those impacted by hurricane Michael. Due to the bye week, the Seminoles benefit from AHD and King's losing to regain a footing in the top 5. The Seminoles have an epic game this week against Wakulla. A win here would go a long way to securing home field throughout the playoffs. #6) American Heritage Delray. The Stallions are still a formidable team, but the 5-3 loss to Bishop Verot is perplexing. Sure, the Vikings are a solid team but AH-D should have one this one. The schedule doesn't get any easier with Glades Central and Key West still up. Despite falling in most polls, the FHSAA still has AH-D as the top ranked team in Region 4 from a points perspective. #7) Tampa Berkeley Prep. The Buccaneers are on a rampage after defeating a very solid Mitchell school 43-42 in 2 OT's. Since QB Josh Youngblood has returned the Buccaneers have defeated Mitchell, Miami Edison and Tampa Catholic. The Buccaneers should be fine this week against IMG-White before finishing their season against Tampa Sickles in an interesting private/public matchup. #8) Tampa Catholic. The Crusaders may have suffered a few losses, but they have a chance to finish the season very strong. Games against Bishop Verot (this week) and Jesuit in week 11 could allow the Crusaders to make a late season push for a first round bye week. #9) King's Academy. King's may have dropped a game to Gulliver Prep, but they're still around. Interesting game this week vs Key West to build momentum for their rivalry game next week. #10) Baldwin. Despite being undefeated you can make the argument that they should be ranked higher- I certainly did! The issue is the schedule has been weak. The game that will tell us where the Indians stand is the West Nasseau game, but don't overlook Santa Fe this week. If Baldwin wins the next 2, they'll have the quality wins (along with Dixie County) to jump in the rankings. GAMES OF THE WEEK Clearwater Central Catholic (8-0) at Tampa Jesuit (7-0) Tampa Jesuit is a traditional mid-sized school powerhouse that has won a state championship in its schools history and has recently gone blow for blow against the Bishop Moore and American Heritage-Plantations of the world. Lead by Kiael Kelly, one of the top QB's in the country for his class and a host of D-1 prospects the Tigers gained attention when they defeated Tampa Jefferson 23-20 early in the year. Jesuit would go on to grab state headlined when they defeated 8A power Kissmiee Osceola 21-7. Since that win, Jesuit has turned the corner and is playing dominating football. THE PICK: I think if both teams were 100% healthy and the game was played in Clearwater, I would take CCC by 14- but, CCC has too many key guys out likely to return for the playoffs- key among them Jr. Johnny Newton and Brandon Kennedy. I think CCC is taking the right approach not rushing anybody back for their inevitable long playoff run, but Jesuit playing at home simply has to much momentum. I still expect CCC to finish with the highest average point value in 3A when its all said and done, but this one could get ugly as Jesuit is likely to run up the score. Jesuit 35, CCC 7 Tampa Catholic vs Bishop Verot Bishop Verot has quietly put together an amazing 6-1 record capped by last weeks 5-3 win over American Heritage Delray. The Viking defense has really been stout since an opening season loss. Tampa Catholic has rebounded nicely their 2 losses and still has a competitive schedule remaining with Bishop Verot and Jesuit. THE PICK: When asked what team could potentially upset Chaminade-Madonna in 3A, I've always felt the team with the tools to do so is Tampa Catholic, but they haven't been able to get out of their own way. What Chaminade has in polish, and south Florida swag the Crusaders just haven't been able to achieve. I think TC picks up a big win over a good team that provided momentum heading into their yearly rivalry game with Jesuit. TC 21, Bishop Verot 14. OTHER GAMES Berkeley Prep over IMG White by 35 Cardinal Mooney over Avon Park by 3 Chaminade-Madonna over Doral Academy by 35 American Heritage Delray over Glades Central by 10 King's Academy over Key West by 7 Benjamin over St. Andrews by 35+ Ft. White over Dixie by 3 Ocala Trinity over Providence School by 17 Lakeland Christian over Lake Highland by 10 1st Academy over West Park Prep by 35+
  3. I have to admit- I truly felt that Chaminade was going to pound Uschool similar to last year, but I've seen enough from Uschool now to realize Chaminade might be a legit underdog in that game. Chaminade is up and down, they play well in spurts, they play poor in spurts but Uschool seems to be consistent. Curious how Hallandle finishes the season as well! Always appreciate your views Dillard!
  4. I was wondering the same thing! I truly enjoyed my conversations with Broward.
  5. SPCjessica2004

    5A-9 ?

    You bring up some VERY valid points; however, keep in mind that Lakewood had players suspended due to a brawl a few weeks ago. Gibbs has gotten better since getting annihilated by Tampa Catholic in week 1. Gibbs won't come close to beating Lake Gibson though.
  6. When I watched Northeast vs Chaminade earlier this year, Chaminade dressed half of their team and destroyed NE. I sorta figured Dillard would have fun tonight!
  7. Wheww! Week #8 is here and the playoff picture is slowly coming into view. Here's my top teams in 3A going into week 8: #1) Clearwater Central Catholic (defeated FAMU DRS 49-6): Consistent Central Catholic, despite playing good opponents in the first 2 of 3 weeks and a soft next 4 weeks the results have all been the same, CCC by 20+. The 21 point win over Berkeley Prep is looking more impressive each week. CCC's schedule picks up quickly now. CCC hosts Calvary Christian and D-1 QB prospect Harold Cook this week, but then travels to Tampa Jesuit (who just beat Kissimmee Osceola) and Cardinal Mooney (Probable top 50 team in Florida by week 10). #2) Chaminade-Madonna (Bye Week): The Lions are still the favorite to win 3A, but the finish to the regular season and playoff run could be a bit bumpier than last season. The Lions had a good week off to allow John Dunmore's high ankle sprain to heal and Willie Davis's thigh to heal. My understanding is that CM is healthy and ready to rumble to finish the season. A trip to Miami Booker T. looms large for the Lions, but they're catching Booker T. at the right time. The Tornadoes are exhausted from a grueling schedule. Chaminade should be fine until the inevitable brawl in week 11 against Class 4A power, University School. #3) American Heritage Delray (Lost to University School 50-14): I can't, in good faith- drop AHD for losing to the #1 team in 4A despite having played a good schedule and going undefeated up until that game. I gave Chaminade the same benefit when they lost to Deerfield. Yes, I'm aware CM only lost by 3 and AHD lost by a lot more, but they still have high quality wins over Pace, Belen Jesuit and Pensacola Catholic. Questions will rise about the offense, but the Stallions were no doubt worn down from the previously weeks game at Pensacola Catholic. AHD is still a very strong football team and won't have long to lick their wounds as a good Bishop Verot team comes into town this week. A win here will get the Stallions back on track. #4) King's Academy (defeated Pine Credt 48-6): QB Justin Wake and crew are having a spectacular season at 6-0. Wake has thrown for just over 1000 yards and rushed for just under 500 yards. RB Presley Almond has already rushed for over 800 yards. The Lions haven't played the most difficult schedule this far- at this time, they've only defeated one team with a winning record and haven't played a ranked team, still- until somebody else gets a significant win, it's hard to drop them. Rivalry game vs Benjamin should be a classic in a few weeks. #5) Sarasota Cardinal Mooney (defeated Bradenton Southeast 30-20): It was a very close call between Cardinal Mooney, Baldwin, Benjamin, Orlando TFA and Florida High this week for the #5 spot; however, I'm giving it to the Cougars by a sliver over Florida High/Benjamin after a solid performance/win over Southeast. Paul Mechlete has done such a fantastic job with this group that I believe it's time they got nod. Mooney has a very interesting game in 2 weeks against a tough 5-2 Avon Park team. #6) Florida High #7) Benjamin #8) Baldwin #9)Orlando TFA #10) Berkeley Prep GAMES OF THE WEEK: Chaminade Madonna at Booker T. Washington: The defending state champions scored a very impressive win last year over the Tornadoes en route to the Class 3A State Championship. The Tornadoes have played one of the toughest schedules in the state and are likely to make a strong run in the 4A playoffs. Chaminade might be 4-2, but those 2 losses came to American Heritage Plantation and Deerfield Beach, 2 of the states best. Booker T. might be 4-3, but those 3 losses have come to Miami Central, Miami Northeastern and Miami Columbus. Chaminade, FWIW, defeated Columbus 10-7 in 1 half of play back in the kickoff classic, although comparing one half of a kickoff class vs a 4 quarter week 5 game is difficult. PREDICTION: Booker T. has some quality wins: Coral Gables, Edison, Southridge and Dillard- but upsetting the Lions would be the biggest win of the season. Chaminade has hit the accelerator much like they did in 2017 after losing to AH-P and blew by everybody remaining on their schedule and didn't encounter resistance until the state finals. I expect this to be a very competitive game for 3 quarters, but Chaminade just has a bit more in the tank thanks to having a bye week to get healthy. Chaminade 27, Miami Booker T. 14 Tampa Berkeley Prep vs Mitchell (Pasco County) Don't look now, but Berkeley superstar QB Joshua Youngblood looks to be unstoppable. His dominating performance against Miami Edison last week helped the Bucs win 21-20. Mitchell is a strong football program located in Pasco County and has been one of the Tampa Bay teams of note in recent years. This version of the Mustangs is off to a 5-1 start. Mitchell won 12-9 last year in Pasco. PREDICTION: Youngblood, Harrell and a rapidly improving/hungry Buccaneers team gets revenge at home. Berkeley Prep 24, Mitchell 10 Clearwater Central Catholic vs Calvary Christian (Clearwater) The word around Pinellas county this year has been that Calvary Christian is on the verge of becoming a powerhouse now that Reggie Crume is the HC. They've consistently been able to sway prospects from CCC's direction and grab big time prospects from Hillsborough and Pasco counties. Still, the Warriors are sitting at 3-3 and face something akin of a must win game with Ocala Trinity Catholic and St. Pete Catholic within striking distance to steal the Warriors playoff spot. PREDICTION: CCC was banged up earlier this year and has been in no rush to bring back any of their players- even if it means dropping a game. Calvary is akin to the boastful teenager on twitter telling the world how great he is. CCC is a wiley veteran who knows the race is a marathon and that what happens in the playoffs is more important than the regular season. Calvary has D-1 prospects littered on the field, but it just won't be enough- even if the Marauders are banged up. CCC 45, Calvary 20 OTHER GAMES OF NOTE: Wakulla over Florida High by 3 Tampa Catholic over Cypress Creek by 42 Cardinal Mooney over First Baptist by 28 AFA over St. Pete Catholic by 14 Frostproof over Lakeland Christian by 7 Baldwin over Englewood by 28 Ft. White over Union County by 21 Benjamin over CCA by 35 King's Academy over Gulliver Prep by 28
  8. I just read that originally it was supposed to hit the panhandle, but it's quietly shifting slightly east. Plus, I believe the latest rumor is it could be a Cat 2 or Cat 3.
  9. From all I can gather it's a pretty intense rivalry as well. Not Braden River/Venice, but it's up there in terms of private school rivalries. It's also pretty well split as well, one team isn't dominating. Mooney has gone on to have a fantastic season under a legendary head coach. They're probably one of the best small-school feel good stories of the year. Bishop Verot will have their hands full this week this tough. American Heritage competed well against Uschool for a half, but the superior depth of Uschool (and RB Kenny McIntosh) was too much to overcome.
  10. Bishop Verot lost to Cardinal Mooney who is their big rival. Bishop Verot will be tested over the next few weeks: American Heritage Delray and Tampa Catholic. Chaminade defeated Booker T. last year. I think that was the game the Booker T. QB got hurt and Chaminade pulled away since the Tornados offense went into the toilet after he went out. I just can't see this Booker T. team hanging with Chaminade, even if it's played in Miami. Cardinal Gibbons vs AH-P should be another really good one!
  11. Also, because it was asked of me last week in a direct message- here is my projection for Chaminade-Madonna's power point total based on what I feel the teams on their schedule will finish their season at. Thus, assuming Chaminade finishes the season 8-2.. here is their projection: Chaminade-Madonna Deerfield 38 (Cat 1 Loss) 10-0 Muscle Shoals 45 (Cat 2 Win) 7-3 Ely 38 (Cat 4 Win) 2-8 Northeast 35 (Cat 4 Win) 0-10 Heritage-Plantation 38 (Cat 1 Loss) 9-1 Piper 48 (Cat 2 Win) 6-4 Booker T. 43 (Cat 3 Win) 5-5 Flanagan 38 (Cat 4 Win) 2-7 Doral 53 (Cat 1 Win) 9-1 U. School 53 (Cat 1 Win) 9-1 ----------------------------- Total 429/10 = 42.9 There is a growing amount of people that feel that Chaminade could drop the game against Uschool. In that event they would finish with 414 points for an average of 41.4. Keep in mind, this is just a projection that was requested.
  12. This is going to be a long post since I'm going to do a regional review of Class 3A. It will probably be broken up into 2 posts. First, old business- here's meh Class 3A Top 10 going into week 6. Throw out the old rankings: We re-evaluated each team based on their individual merits, compared key wins and losses and also looked at overall strength of schedule. In other words, just because a team is undefeated doesn't mean they're a top ranked team, or just because a team has 2 losses doesn't mean they're out of the top. We also compared injuries and added a small pinch of looking at the forthcoming schedule. #1) Clearwater Central Catholic (6-0) #2) Chaminade-Madonna (4-2) #3) American Heritage Delray (5-0) #4) King's Academy (6-0) #5) Florida High School (5-1) #6) Sarasota Cardinal Mooney (5-0) #7) Benjamin School (6-0) #8) Baldwin (5-0) #9) Tampa Berkeley Prep (3-2) #10) Orlando First Academy (5-0) REGION 1: At the start of the season many (myself included) felt that Florida High School would be the favorite to represent the north of Class 3A. Little has happened to change anybodies mind; however, Baldwin is playing at a very high level right now and will be a significant challenge for the Seminoles. Florida High is still the most complete team in the region. Ft. White, despite being bitten by the injury bug- is still playing quality football and can make some noise with a win over Dixie County in coming weeks. St. Joseph Academy is currently sitting at 6-0, but haven't played a quality team, still- this is a remarkable improvement. Don't sleep on Pensacola Catholic who is sitting at 3-3 but has played a competitive schedule thus far. I think Florida High and Baldwin are on a collision course in the Regional Finals, but there will be some excellent games in the first 2 rounds as well. REGION 2: No region was more impacted by Oxbridge Academy disbanding football than Region 2. Three teams sit atop the region heads and shoulders above everybody else. Orlando First Academy, Cardinal Newman and West Palm Beach King's Academy. Both King's and Orlando TFA are 6-0 and Newman is right behind them at 5-1. Of all the teams, Newman has played the toughest schedule and will probably end up playing the toughest schedule (Glades Central, Pahokee). King's has a rivalry game against Benjamin remaining down the road. Orlando TFA plays a good Trinity Catholic team. Melbourne Central Catholic could play spoiler, but their body of work hasn't shown it yet. They have 2 blowout losses on the books including a merciless 41-0 loss to Tampa Catholic at home. I'm going with Orlando First Academy and Cardinal Newman meeting in the regional finals. REGION 3: This used to be one of the most competitive regions not just in 3A, but in the entire state; however, in recent years it's become CCC and everybody else and 2018 is no different. CCC is 6-0 and that's with their best offensive player only taking 2 snaps all year at running back and their top linebacker missing significant time, both players should return in the coming weeks. Berkeley Prep overcame the early season loss of QB Joshua Youngblood who broke his hand after a week 1 loss to CCC. Tampa Catholic, which is arguably the most talented team in the region has faltered. They've now lost 2 games, CCC and Berekley Prep and still have a huge rivalry game vs Jesuit on tap. Cardinal Mooney has quietly caught fire and is anticipated to be undefeated going into a week 10 game vs CCC if they can overcome a good Bradenton Southeast team this week. Calvary Christian, who many felt would finally break through under the leadership of Reggie Crume is sitting at 3-3 and haven't looked good in any of those 3 losses outside of the 2nd half of their 49-28 loss to Orlando TFA. Lakeland Christian could make noise, but will need to do so without their starting QB who is out for the season. Trinity Catholic is sitting at 3-2 and could be a dark horse if they can get their offense on track, a win over Orlando TFA could get them going. St. Pete Catholic is sitting at 2-3, but a 4 win season is achievable which would be a good showing for the Barons. I have no doubt that CCC will host the regional finals even if they slip up and drop a game (as long as it's not to Cardinal Mooney), but who will their dance partner be? You can make cases for Berkeley Prep, Tampa Catholic and Cardinal Mooney. I think Berkeley Prep gets the nod right now. REGION 4: To say Chaminade-Madonna is the favorite would be an understatement. They are the best coached team, have the best athletes and have played the toughest schedule. Last year, they bulldozed class 3A until the state finals. This year, there will be challengers to the Lions throne. American Heritage Delray is playing at a very high level as is Benjamin School. Westminster Christian is sitting at 6-0 as well. The question is, can any of these teams compete with a healthy Chaminade team? That remains to be seen. While all eyes are on C-M and AHD, there are some quality teams in region 4. Westminster Christian is 6-0, Palmer Trinity is 5-0. These teams can't realistically compete with the top ranked regional teams, but it does show there's good football being played. C-M and AHD are on a collision course for the regional finals. The only question is where the game will be played. BIG GAME OF THE WEEK American Heritage Delray vs University School This is a biggie! Both teams are undefeated. Uschool is ranked #1 in class 4A, AHD is ranked #2 in 2A. There's a lot on the line for both teams, particularly for playoff positioning. Uschool was hit by controversy this week when their offensive coordinator resigned. I happen to think the AHD defensive coaches are top notch and they have the tools in the secondary to contain the Uschool passing attack. The question will come down to slowing down Uschool RB Kenny Mcintosh. I don't think there's much advantage across the lines, they seem to match-up pretty well although Uschool is a bit deeper. That means this comes down to a coaching chess match. THE PICK: Prior to this week, I would have picked Uschool by 17, but with the latest controversy and the belief that Uschool is going to get AHD's best effort I can see this game being tight. AHD has the weapons to score in bunches, but I think Mcintosh gets a few key runs in the 4th to provide seperation. Uschool 35, AHD 21. Ocala Trinity Catholic vs Orlando First Academy First Academy is undefeated and their offense is scoring points in bunches behind RB Rolous Frazier. Ocala Trinity Catholic started the season strong and continues to exceed expectations at 4-2. The defense is playing at a high level but the offense needs to help the defense out a bit. Still, QB King Redd has done an admirable job guiding OTC to 4 wins thus far. THE PICK: I'm going TFA 42-28. OTHER GAMES: Berkeley Prep over Miami Edison by 7 Tampa Catholic over Steinbrenner by 28 Land O Lakes over Lakeland Christian by 10 Baldwin over Westside by 42 CCC over FAMU DRS by 28 St. Pete Catholic over Northside by 10 Cardinal Mooney over Southeast by 3 Madison County over Pensacola Catholic by 21 King's Academy over Pine Crest by 35 Bishop Moore over MCC by 21 Benjamin over John Carroll by 24 Florida High over NFC by 17 Ft. White over Providence by 21 Jefferson County over Taylor County by 10
  13. Osceola brings a lot to the table for Jesuit to prepare for, but Jesuit has a unique combination of skill position depth, coaching and talent. The game will come down to the line. Osceola has a big, strong offensive and defensive line. By my count I have Osceola at 31 linemen (including TE's). Jesuit doesn't have near that many, capping out at 18. Jesuit is also on the smaller side for both lines, but they're lightening quick. One thing that could favor Osceola is that they've tested themselves schedule wise early while Jesuit is testing themselves late. Osceola has played a much tougher schedule that includes Lake Gibson and Viera. Jesuit has played Jefferson as their only opponent of note at this point. Osceola's back-end of the season is much tamer than their front half. Jesuit, aside from playing Osceola will also play CCC in 2 weeks and finish their season with rival Tampa Catholic. The teams have one common opponent- Ridge Community. Jesuit defeated them 39-0. Osceola defeated them 40-7. If I were picking the game, I would go Osceola 35, Jesuit 27. I can easily see thing being tight until the 4th quarter.
  14. Jesuit is well coached, solid on both sides of the ball. They're coached by Matt Thompson the longtime Armwood defensive coordinator. They aren't big across the lines, but they are very quick off the ball. They have a stud safety Dane Belton and 2 highly rated WR's in Josh Hodges and Jonathan Odom. QB is Kiael Kelly (son of Kenny Kelly) and is a beast. Osceola is (and should be) the favorite in this one, but Jesuit has the tools to make this one interesting.
  15. Osceola at Jesuit is must see TV. Clash of the undefeated!
  16. Interesting story indeed.. They're playing one of the hotter teams in Florida this week in American Heritage Delray. Curious how this impacts the game.
  17. Good day! Time for week 6 Class 3A stuff. With the conversation shifting gears to playoff positioning with the FHSAA releasing their initial power points- I wanted to respect Josh's wishes of not discussing them until he can go through them. So, here's my personal power rankings for the classification: #1) Clearwater Central Catholic (5-0) Playing well without services of 5 starters. 4 of them will be back next week including RB Jerzhan Newton. #2) Chaminade-Madonna (3-2) Still favorite to win 3A. 2 tough losses against superpowers. Same spot as last year before taking off. #3) American Heritage Delray (4-0) Complete game against McCarthy. Stallions hit road to Pensacola Catholic. #4) King's Academy (5-0) Another strong win for the Lions against NBP. #5) Florida High School (4-1) Sole loss was to Madison County, easier week this week before NFC comes calling. ---------- #6) Benjamin School (5-0) Strong win over Key West moved Benjamin to the brink of being ranked. #7) Baldwin (5-0) Great article written in Jacksonville Times Union about Baldwin and high expectations. Indians playing strong. #8) Cardinal Mooney (4-0) See below. #9) Tampa Catholic (3-1) See below. #10) Orlando First Academy (5-0) Many feel that TFA and not FSU High is the favorite to be in Orlando. Games I'm looking forward to this week: Tampa Berkeley Prep at Tampa Catholic Berkeley Prep is 2-2, but they've only had QB Joshua Youngblood for their week 1 loss. In the 3 games since, he's either not played or played running back. After the week 1 loss he broke his hand which prevented him from throwing the football. While Cardinal Mooney is playing at a high level, I've been told that had Youngblood played QB that game may have turned out different. Regardless, that's water under the bridge. Tampa Catholic is sitting at 3-1 and has simply steamrolled everybody behind a gigantic offensive line and the running prowess of Jalen Bussey, Caleb Tate and Andrew Ellis. TC also has a potent deep attack with WR's Tim Young, DJ Taylor and Austin White. PICK: I don't want to call a game a must-win, but Berkeley Prep needs this game far more than TC does. Tampa Catholic has some easier games coming up against lesser competition (Belleview, Cypress Creek, Steinbrenner). Berkeley Prep has games against Miami Edison, Mitchell and Sickles left. A loss here doesn't knock the Buccaneers out of the playoff hunt, but 3 losses will make it all but impossible to get a first round bye. Tampa Catholic 35, Berkeley Prep 28 Pinkos Pick: TC by 6 Cardinal Mooney at Calvary Christian (Clearwater) The Cougars of Cardinal Mooney are officially back as a top small school team. Paul Machetle and staff have done a great job of rebuilding this program in record time. QB Ryan Bolduc has been a very strong presence and he's surrounded by talented playmakers. Mooney has made strides up multiple polls this season and has broken into the top 100 Florida teams via MP. On the other side, Calvary Christian is sitting at 3-2. The Warriors have the pieces to be a very good football team but haven't figured out the key to winning. Last week the Warriors were run off the field against Orlando First Academy. This week the offense will need to be sharper and the defense will need to be stout to slow down the punch that Mooney packs. PICK: Calvary is a good team that's trying to carve out its small piece of the pie and keep its head above water. Mooney is suddenly playing for a lot more than simply a winning season. I expect Calvary to move the ball well, but Mooney has a few to many playmakers for the Warriors this week. Cardinal Mooney 30, Calvary 21 Other games: Chaminade-Madonna over Piper by 28 CCC over SPC by 35 Ft. Meade over LCS by 14 Baldwin over West Nassau by 1 King's over Calvary Christian Academy by 28 Trinity Catholic over South Sumter by 3 American Heritage over Pensacola Catholic by 28 Benjamin over Pinecrest by 35 Florida High over Gadsden County by 28 Westminster Christian over Marathon by 21 Ft. White over Williston by 17
  18. St. Paul's became Bishop Barry which became St. Petersburg Catholic.
  19. Spy, Your opinion isn't just noted, but highly respected! I need to see a bit more from Uschool before giving them the nod. I don't see anybody of Deerfield or AH-P's caliber on the regular season schedule. I'm aware AH-P defeated Uschool in the KoC, but as a rule I don't look at KoC results. Now, I've been wrong before, I'll be wrong again. I'll look into Uschool a bit more. When respected posters drop 411, I owe it to them to look into it. Now, it's my understanding that Chaminade was banged up last night- but, I don't see any of those as lingering injuries. They have a good but not great Piper team this week before having a week off. I can see Piper hanging around for a half, but Piper's car goes is a 4 speed automatic that hums along, Chaminade is a 6 speed manual with a nasty 3rd gear. Chaminade vs Booker T. will be a good game but Chaminade just has a little more and I think Chaminade is catching Booker T. at the right time. Chaminade has the week off prior to play the Tornadoes while Booker T. is playing a tough Coral Gables team.
  20. This is good information. Chaminade has nothing to be ashamed of, they played hard and gave AH-P their best punch. Chaminade is at 3-2, which is the exact same record they had last year at this time but unlike last year they were not blown out in their losses. They lost to the #1 team in 8A by 3 and the defending class 5A state champions. On paper, they're probably at where they should be- from here on out they'll be favored by a hefty margin in every game they play.
  21. Time to look at the Polls as I do each week: AP Sportswriter Poll: 1 CHAMINADE-MADONNA (11) 2 Clearwater Central Catholic (1) 2 Delray American Heritage (1) 4 The King's Academy 5 Tallahassee Florida High HONORABLE MENTION: Baldwin, Cardinal Mooney, Benjamin School, St. Joseph Academy For the second week in a row- I'm totally okay with the poll. I gave CCC a super, tiny nod over American Heritage Delray since Tampa Catholic went on to destroy MCC 41-0, strengthening the Marauders 20 point win in Tampa the week prior. King's and Florida High round out the top 5. In the Honorable Mention area, I'm fine with all of the schools. They're all undefeated right now and if King's or Florida High slip up, one of them will end up replacing them. JOE PINKOS POWER POLL The first Pinkos Power Poll was released. This is a computer poll that's one of the more famous polls. Its accuracy is just a touch over 80%. As is the case with most computer polls, it doesn't take into account rivalries and the human element. #1) Clearwater Central Catholic 181.4 #2) American Heritage Delray 180.0 #3) Chaminade-Madonna 178.3 #4) Benjamin School 174.5 #5) Cardinal Mooney 173.7 CCC is ranked #1 on the strength of their win over Tampa Catholic since has been a battering ram against everybody else. AHD has some high quality wins (Belen Jesuit, Pace), but the computer polls aren't big on the win vs Holy Trinity. Chaminade is at #3 despite playing the toughest schedule mostly due to the fact that they didn't meet the spread against Muscle Shoals and Muscle Shoals has gone on to lose another game (granted it was against a top team in Alabama) the computer poll is also penalizing them for playing Blanche Ely and Northeast. Benjamin school is having a fantastic season thus far. Cardinal Mooney is quickly turning into a solid program again. Cardinal Mooney is benefitting from Bishop Verot having a strong season. Big games remaining against Calvary, Southeast, Avon Park and CCC. LAZL INDEX #1) Clearwater Central Catholic #2) American Heritage Delray #3) Cardinal Mooney #4) Baldwin #5) Tampa Catholic I think it might be best to give Lazl Index another 2 weeks. Any poll without Chaminade-Madonna is suspect in my opinion. Pinkos and Lazl have the same top 2 and in the same order, but after that they have Mooney, Baldwin and TC. I'm actually okay with Mooney, Baldwin and TC in the top 5- but not having Chaminade is what is throwing me off. Like the Pinkos poll, I'm thinking that Chaminade is being penalized for playing 2 bad football teams, but losing to Deerfield Beach by 3 points should get Chaminade into the top 3 by itself. Regardless, I enjoy the Lazl index and will check back in on it often- but I'm thinking it needs another week or two of data. CALPREPS #1) Chaminade-Madonna #2) Clearwater Central Catholic #3) American Heritage Delray #4) Florida High #5) Tampa Catholic #6) Cardinal Mooney #7) Baldwin #8) Trinity Catholic #9) Berkeley Prep A lot of individuals use Calpreps as I'm assuming their rankings have proven to be the most accurate. It's another computer poll, but it seems to be pulling information from Maxpreps. I don't have a problem with the top 5. In this poll, C-M is being rewarded more for losing to Deerfield than any other teams wins. I think that's how it should be. CCC and AHD's schedules are even, but the Marauders win over TC is giving them the nod over AHD's win vs Pace. Tampa Catholic/Mooney are in a fight for 5th. If anything- this shows that rankings are subjective. There are polls with C-M or CCC being ranked #1, AHD either close to being #1 or tied for #2. The remainder of the top 5 will change depending on what you look at. Phww! That's a lot of polls. I probably won't look at this many going forward but I hope you enjoyed the look!
  22. Spy, You're not the first person to say this. The computer polls (Joe Pinkos, Lazl) etc both pick AH-P by 21 or more. Maxpreps has AH-P. A lot of respected posters are picking AH-P to invade Chaminade and come out with a win. I believe the Miami Herald is picking C-M and that's the only entity outside of myself picking the Lions. Not sure what Sun Sentinel is picking. I picked Chaminade on the strength of their defense, but AH-P really hit the accelerator since coming back from NJ.
  23. He's rubbing off! Ahhhhhh!!!!! Actually, Northeast went from scoring 0, to 26 to 40. That's improvement, right? For the record, I'm picking CCC by 40. Northeast is not a good team!
  24. After this week we will be at the halfway mark of the regular season. Pretty insane to think that it feels like we were talking about big week 1 and week 2 matchups. Week 5 has some doozy's on it though. Let's get to it! UPDATED CLASS 3A RANKINGS (Going into Week 5) #1) Chaminade-Madonna. Lions made short work of clearly overmatched Oakland Park Northeast running out to a 42-0 lead in the 2nd quarter. Lions didn't dress the entire team. C-M now gets ready to face their biggest test of the season so far- American Heritage Plantation. The Patriots have caught fire recently, this will clearly be one of the biggest matchups in South Florida. #2) Clearwater Central Catholic. Marauders dominated class 5A Tarpon Springs 47-6. In the game, CCC's passing attack continued to impress while the running game continued to produce without superstar Jerzhan Newton. CCC heads to St. Pete to take on an improving St. Pete Northeast team. #3) American Heritage Delray. If it wasn't apparent already, the Stallions are back. After completely dominating Monsignor Pace, the Stallions have announced their presence as a threat in class 3A. Stallions hit the road for a few weeks, but at this time it's hard seeing them hit any snags until a match-up with University School. Stallions also jumped from 101 to 57 in the Maxpreps Florida rankings, one of the biggest jumps for any team in Florida this week. #4) King's Academy. Lions rhomped Miami LaSalle last week racking up over 300 yards of offense (205 on the ground). Next up is a date with North Broward Prep. #5) Florida High. FSU School, coming off a loss, fell behind 10-0 to Chiles, but a strong second half helped the Seminoles eek out a win. Seminoles play Santa Fe next. Next up: Baldwin, Tampa Catholic, Cardinal Mooney, Orlando TFA, Benjamin. RANDOM THOUGHTS: Ocala Trinity Catholic looks really good. They're now 4-0 and could be heading into a late season contest with Orlando TFA undefeated. Ocala Trinity is fighting for a top 4 spot in the region right now. I would put OTC at #3 in the region right now. Tampa Catholic demolished Melbourne Central Catholic 41-0 in Melbourne. Tampa Catholic and Berkeley Prep both have bye weeks this week and then play each other on 9/28 at TC. Huge game for playoff positioning. Baldwin continues to impress at 4-0. Interesting game against Union County this week. Calvary Christian Academy knocked off Key West last week. Conchs are usually pretty good. CCA making noise in a loaded region 4. I think Sarasota Cardinal Mooney might go into their week 10 game against CCC undefeated. Lakeland Christian lost to Berkeley Prep last week 28-7, mostly due to the LCS QB breaking his leg the week before. LCS isn't out of the playoff hunt, but they'll need some big wins in the coming weeks. American Heritage Delray travels to Pensacola Catholic. Delray beach to Pensacola by bus.. I would need at least 10 bathroom breaks to make that drive. GAMES TO WATCH American Heritage- Plantation(3-1) at Hollywood Chaminade-Madonna (3-1) The Patriots are ranked #1 in class 5A, the Lions are ranked #1 in 3A according to the most recent sportswriter polls. AHP is also ranked #8 in Florida, while C-M is ranked #10 in Florida according to Maxpreps. Both teams are littered with major D-1 talent. Both teams are ranked in the top 100 teams in America. Both teams are defending state champions. Chaminade lost to Deerfield Beach, the #1 8A team 13-10 in week 1. In the game, the Lions fell behind early and a late rally came up short. American Heritage ran into a buzzsaw in Miami Carol City who is playing at another level right now. Pick: Chaminade has come up short against the states elite- either because of depth issues or injury. In this one, there is no excuse. The Lions are as close to 100% healthy right now as they will be for the remainder of the season, playing at home and had extra time to prepare for the Patriots due to playing last Thursday and not Friday. AH-P is going to be a tough out, but it's time for Chaminade to live up to the expectations of being an elite team and not a team stockpiled with talent that under achieves. I think they finally get it done: C-M 24, AHP- 21. Orlando First Academy (2-0) vs Calvary Christian (3-1) Orlando First Academy currently owns a 22 game regular season winning streak dating back 2016. The Royals stingy defense and Wing-T based offense has confused and bewildered opposing defenses. Calvary Christian (Clearwater) feels they're next in line to be a state power. They have coaching, players, tools and most importantly finances to be in the conversation. The program is lacking big wins though. Last year, the Royals defeated the Warriors 26-24 in Clearwater. Pick: Calvary Christian has run up the score on some pretty poor teams (Umatilla, Anclote), lost to Berkeley Prep and struggled against a good Zephrhills Christian team that was without its top 2 players. If Calvary can go to Orlando and snap TFA's streak, that would be a huge feather in the Warriors cap- but there is a reason TFA hasn't lost a regular season game in awhile. TFA 35, Calvary 21 OTHER GAMES I'M INTERESTED IN: Baldwin over Union County by 10 Cardinal Mooney over Lemon Bay by 21 MCC over Somerset Academy by 42 Ft. White over Bradford by 21 Ft. Meade over Lakeland Christian by 28 Ocala Trinity Catholic over Dunnellon by 17 Benjamin over Key West by 7 Kings' Academy over North Broward Prep by 20 COMING NEXT WEEK: I'm going to try and put together a nice mid-season post.
  25. Panther, Not good, they didn't quit- but they simply don't have a lot of talent. I would say Dillard 35, Northeast 7.
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