SPCjessica2004

I'm watching a cell phone feed of Chaminade-Madonna vs Northeast. Chaminade is up 41-0 at the half and has dominated every aspect of the game. Chaminade is that good, but Northeast is clearly out of there element here and is clearly struggling. I'm not sure why the teams agreed to play this one. Chaminade's sideline look really thin, like REALLY thin.

I have Chaminade at 38 players on varsity total, and that's taking into account injuries. Of the 38, I have them at 14 total linemen (O-Line, D-line and backups). 7 of the players are 280 or bigger. I have C-M with 3 QB's. Starter Daelin Menard, back-up Taddius Franklin and then JV QB Alexander law. I've heard that Coach Jones isn't the best X's and O's coach- but the guy comes from numerous winning years at Hallendale where he turned them into a top 20 team in the state for years. Now, he might be a "players coach" which is a guy that parents, players gravitate toward since he knows how to talk and inspire confidence but he's clearly winning. It's my opinion from what I see, that Chaminade is physically stronger than they were last year. They were pushing around Deerfield Beach something that Buford and Westlake didn't accomplish. The Offensive Coordinator, Coach Tate strikes me as a good football coach that the players enjoy playing for and he seems to find ways to get his play makers involved in their offense. Statistically, they are balanced. I'm not going to pretend to know the inner workings of South Florida football, but I look at things emotionally and my husband looks at them logically and we both concluded that outside of AHP- we see C-M blowing everybody else off the field in 3-4 TD wins on talent alone since there isn't another team that has the depth along the lines C-M does. Now, going into 2019 I agree- C-M needs to land 20 to 25 transfers and 6 or 7 of them need to be 3 or 4 star athletes to keep the train going. With the changes coming to the Step-Up and McKay scholarships, I don't see any private school that isn't receiving private donations for athletics to get 20 transfers in one off season.

To be fair, in 2016 Lions were still learning how to win and they hadn't established the system they use now. I also recall that Coach Jones didn't have a full offseason with the team since the administration removed Jason Milgrom shortly before the season started. Chaminade has a varsity roster 38. Uschool has a varsity roster of 44. The difference is that Chaminade has more linemen, while Uschool has more athletes. Chaminade's athletes are flat out better than Uschool. While there are spots where Uschool has an advantage- Chaminade is physically stronger and will last longer before fatigue sets in. Now, if there's injuries involved that could change the context of the game- but Chaminade has avoided the injury bug this year by extending their offseason work outs from 90 minutes to 2 hours and players have been conditioning on their own together. I think the time they put in during the off-season will payoff in the games as long as the team they're playing doesn't have 20 linemen.

Uschool's O-line is well coached, but they're long and lanky and really don't have a lot of depth. Chaminade's defensive line is simply more stout, there's more of them, plus their appears to be a huge difference in physical strength. Chaminade has been banging bodies against 8A schools that go 3 deep in the trenches. Chaminde's weakness is depth against 7A/8A schools in the trenches. Well, duh- 3A schools don't have 25 linemen like 7A/8A schools do. But, they do legitly go 2 deep which 3A and most 4A schools don't do. Keep in mind, I'm also not looking at teams right now, but in week 11 Daemon Jones will have that team blowing everybody out of the water. Had the game been played in week 1 or 2, I would actually give the nod to Uschool at home.

As I do each week, here is the 3A Sportswriters poll and some thoughts about it: Class 3A 1. Chaminade-Madonna (9) 2-1 103 4 2. Clearwater Central Catholic (2) 3-0 95 1 3. American Heritage-Delray 2-0 90 3 4. King's Academy 3-0 67 5 5. Tallahassee Florida 1-1 60 2 Others receiving votes: St. Joseph Academy 13, Benjamin 6, Cardinal Mooney 6 How about this? My top 5 and the Sportswriters top 5 are the exact same. Chaminade should have never fallen out of the #1 position even after losing to Deerfield Beach, but last week they were ranked #4 (HUH??). Thankfully, that's been corrected this week as the Lions picked up 9 first place votes. Chaminade should remain #1 unless they have 2 losses and even then the team that jumps them needs a strong resume. CCC drops to #2 but still picks up 2 first place votes. They are now on a 16 game regular season winning streak which includes multiple wins over Tampa Catholic, Cardinal Mooney, Berkeley Prep and a road win over Rockledge. American Heritage- Delray is in a great spot right now at #3. They picked up 90 votes, which means only 13 votes separate #1 and #3. A win over Monsignor Pace this week will solidify the Stallions as a 3A powerhouse once again. King's Academy comes in at #4. Per my post above, they don't have the most impressive resume, but they've won big which tells me they are capable of more going forward. In addition, the teams below them haven't done enough yet to definitively say they're better. Good call putting the Lions #4. FSU School drops to #5. I'm glad there wasn't an overreaction to kick them out of the top 5. They lost to the #1 team in 1A and a traditional small school power Madison County. They simply didn't have the depth to compete for 4 quarters, but they started off up 17-0. This week only 3 teams received votes St. Joseph's Academy, Benjamin School and Cardinal Mooney. St. Joseph's Academy is a good story- and I'm okay with them getting votes, but this isn't a team that could seriously challenge any of the top 5 teams in the class at this point. Benjamin School continues to win and Cardinal Mooney is looking like a contender going forward. I actually think Cardinal Mooney will go into their week 10 game against CCC undefeated for a must-see week 10 match-up.

Cat_Scratch, Uschool plays Monsignor Pace who is currently ranked #5 in the 4A sportswriter poll and #78 in the MP poll. American Heritage Delray is currently ranked #3 in the 3A Sportswriter poll and 101 in the MP Poll. They also play MCC who is currently not receiving votes in the 3A sportswriter poll, but is 139 in the MP poll- by the time the teams meet MCC could break into the top 100 if the Hustlers go on a run. I do agree, Uschool will get run off the field by Chaminade. Had the teams played in week 1 or 2, Uschool would have been a trendy pick for an upset, but by week 11, Chaminade will be rolling to a 3TD win over Uschool. Their D-line will be picking up the Uschool RB and throwing him at the QB.

Thanks Spy! We try:-) I've received quite a few E-mails/DM's and various communication since the start of the season. I really don't have the time to respond to them all so instead I look for patterns in questions. Here's some questions I'd like to address as message board fodder: 1) Why isn't Calvary Christian at least an honorable mention in any of the 3A Polls. After defeating Anclote 61-13 we are averaging 40ppg and only giving up 9ppg. (Note: I'm paraphrasing this question, but the concept is the same and most likely coming from Calvary parents). I like the way Calvary is playing. Qb Harold Cook, WR Richie Illaraza and Rb Niles Jordan are all quality players. The defense has stepped up to the plate. I think Calvary will have a good season, but here's the reality. In Calvary Christian's 2 wins (Umatilla, Anclote), the teams are a combined 0-5. This was overlooked since Calvary was averaging 55ppg against those 2 teams. The issue is that once the competition stiffens, the Warriors simply struggle. Calvary's single loss was to Berkeley Prep 14-7, the scary thing about that loss is that Berkeley Prep QB Joshua Youngblood had already sustained his broken hand and was moved to RB. Calvary is going to have their chances to get votes and break into the rankings. I believe Calvary is catching Zephrhills Christian at the right time this week as Zephyrhills Christian recently lost their best player to a broken back. Calvary then has a huge contest against Orlando First Academy on the road before returning home and playing a dangerous Cardinal Mooney team. 2) Jess, what's the deal with Region 1? Any love for the panhandle? The panhandle is the toughest region for me to cover outside of Florida High and that's because Florida High has lots of coverage this season. I would love more information on Pensacola Catholic, Ft. White, Taylor County, Providence School, St. Josephs. One team that I have my eye on right now is Baldwin. They're 3-0 and have a very solid offense with depth along the lines. This is a team that will likely start getting votes in the 3A poll. It'll be easier to receive information on some of these teams around week 5 or 6 when newspapers starting writing their mid-season recaps. When I make my posts, they aren't intended to be defacto facts- they're simply observations based on opinion. 3) Will JaxTCA return to 3A? Any major changes coming for the class? A lot of will depend on how the FHSAA handles football for 2019. Right now the focus is on all sports except football thus I don't see anything changing for football. The cutoff between 3A and 4A is 636 so the immediate change will be Tampa Catholic and American Heritage Delray will be forced into 4A since both schools are over 800 enrolled students for 2018. Historically, Tampa Catholic has fought to stay in 3A and is one of the few schools that has consistently won appeals to move down in class, I don't see that happening this time. They have a better shot of going further in the playoffs in 4A than 3A, plus they can keep all of their natural local rivalries in 4A. Heritage Delray will probably petition to stay in 3A, but if the 636 cutoff doesn't move (or moves down) then it's going to be a hard sell having a team with 800 students (and K-12 as well) in 3A. I don't see JaxTCA returning to 3A, they're doing just fine in 5A. Keep in mind the reason why JaxTCA moved to 5A in the first place was because they couldn't fill a 10 game schedule without having to go out of state multiple times. Assuming C-M wins the state championship, they'll be in the same boat- teams just aren't going to play them plus being a 2 time champion with 3 finals appearances in a row will result in much peer pressure to move up for more competition. We need to see where the cutoff between 3A and 4A will be and where 2A and 3A will be. 4) Biggest surprise so far in 2018? Cardinal Mooney being 3-0 is surprising. They defeated their rival Bishop Verot in week 1 and then knocked off Berkeley Prep in week 3, most people had them splitting those games. That's a good start for the Cougars. St. Joseph Academy returning to classification play and starting 3-0 is a pleasant surprise. Most other results were anticipated at this point. I'll revisit this topic later though.

Lots to cover going into week 4, so let's get to it!!! Class 3A, top 5 going into week 4 1) Chaminade Madonna (2-1) Remains #1 after dominating performance. C-M started off slow in 2017 before ramping it up after week 5. This C-M team is following a similar path. C-M still has highly interesting games against AHP, Booker T, Uschool on the schedule. I'm also being told not to overlook Piper as they've improved from 2017. Still, that loss to Deerfield Beach by 3 points is looking more and more impressive as Deerfield has gone on to defeat Buford and Westlake Georgia by wider margins. 2) Clearwater Central Catholic (3-0) The computers had CCC as a 10-13 point favorite over rival Tampa Catholic, but the human element had TC as a 3-10 point favorite since TC was playing at home. It turns out, the computers were correct as CCC dominated the 3rd and 4th quarter en route to a 34-14 win. I know I'm a broken record saying this, but the Marauders are already really, really good and star JR Running Back Jerzhan Newton hasn't seen time at running back due to a leg injury. Marauders have a few weeks of easier opponents in Tarpon Springs, Northeast and St. Pete Catholic, but Calvary Christian, Jesuit and Cardinal Mooney (combined 8-1) finish their season off. In particular, that CCC at Jesuit game is looking like must see TV. 3) American Heritage Delray (2-0) Stallions move up a spot by not playing a game. The defense has been lights out and the offense is moving the ball. Quality win over 8A Belen Jesuit in week 1. Really interesting game this week against Monsignor Pace. I knew the Stallions would return to form in 2018, but I'm impressed with what they've done. AHD has a couple of marquee games coming up besides this week's game vs Pace. Uschool and Glades Central loom down the road. 4) King's Academy (3-0) While the Lions haven't played the most competitive of schedules, they've performed well enough and have some late season challenges that I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. I'll keep and eye on them and move them up and down as necessary based on other teams strength of schedule going forward, but for now- the Lions are strong enough that I think they can punch harder than the teams they're playing. 5) Florida High (1-1) I dropped the Seminoles 2 spots, but not out of my top 5. Madison County is a truck load, but I also haven't seen a northern 3A team with an overly competitive schedule to replace them with. Seminoles depth could be an issue as MadCo was able to wear them down and dominate the 2nd half. Seminoles have to move forward, Chiles is up next. Others I'm looking at: Sarasota Cardinal Mooney (3-0), Ocala Trinity Catholic (3-0), Melbourne Central Catholic (2-1), Tampa Catholic (2-1), Benjamin School (3-0), Orlando TFA (2-0). GAMES I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO: Chaminade and CCC have easier weeks this week, so the top 2 teams should be fine; however, after them- there's some really good, competitive games on tap. Here's what I'm looking forward to: Tampa Berkeley Prep (1-2) vs Lakeland Christian(2-1) The Berkeley Prep Buccaneers are a talented bunch and have played a competitive schedule, but a win against rival LCS would right the ship. Berkeley Prep lost 28-19 to Sarasota Cardinal Mooney last week which is a somewhat surprising result considering the Bucs talent level. LCS suffered their first loss to Bishop Verot. When Specturm Sports televised games, this game would always find its way onto their TV schedule and for good reason. This has been a highly entertaining and competitive matchup for years. In week 1 vs CCC, QB Joshua Youngblood broke his throwing hand late in the 4th quarter with the game already decided. The Bucs did knock off a potent Calvary Christian team in week 2 ad Youngblood moved to RB, but without Youngblood at QB- the offense has stagnated. LCS on the otherhand got off to a hot start in weeks 1 and 2 against Teneroc and Auburndale. My Pick: Both teams are competing for playoff positioning. Berkeley Prep cannot afford a third loss this early in the season, especially with Tampa Catholic and Mitchell still on the schedule. LCS probably has a bit more wiggle room, but the loser of this game is going to be hurting for playoff positioning. Berkeley Prep 28, LCS 25 Melbourne Central Catholic (2-1) vs Tampa Catholic (2-1) After a tremendous 2 year run under new HC Stacy Sizemore, many felt the Hustlers of MCC would slip this year due to a huge graduating class and inexperience in big games. The Hustlers were smacked against Cornith, MS- but against Florida competition the Hustlers are 2-0. Lead by LaAnthony Valentine and strong play in the trenches the Hustlers were able to pound Archbishop McCarthy 30-0 last week. Tampa Catholic started off 2-0 and outscoring their opponents 66-6 before running into Clearwater Central Catholic which accumulated just under 500 yards total offense against a very strong Crusader defense. In the loss, Sr. Rb Jalen Bussey was a bright spot- scoring both Crusader TD's. TC Jr QB Dylan McCain has a rocket for an Arm. My Pick: MCC is a good team, very strong, athletic but young. TC is loaded with D-1 prospects and goes 4 deep at running back. I can't see TC finishing anything less than 8-2 this year which means they'll win this week. I expect TC to get back on track with the defense leading the way late in the 4th. Tampa Catholic 28, MCC 21 Other games of note: Trinity Catholic over Mt. Dora by 17 Calvary Christian (Clearwater) over Zephyrhills Christian by 14 American Heritage Delray over Pace by 7 Chaminade over Northeast by 35 CCC over Tarpon Springs by 35 Ft. White over Taylor County by 10 NFC over Providence School by 10 Holy Trinity over West Oaks by 30 Pensacola Catholic over Milton by 3 First Academy over Tampa Bay Christian by 35 As always, these are just the thoughts of my hubby, myself, brother and pop. Feel free to add information about any of the teams listed!

Interesting results for Week 3. Chaminade dominating Ely wasn't a surprise, they let out 2 weeks of frustration in one night. C-M has another game against an over matched foe this week before playing the game everybody wants to see, C-M vs American Heritage Plantation. Special kudos to RB Willie Davis for an impressive outing! Many (myself included) felt Tampa Catholic would defeat CCC. TC goes 4 deep at running back, has a QB that has a rocket launcher for an arm and is being protected by an offensive line that averages 6'4 285. CCC took a 13-7 lead into half-time and then outscored the Crusaders 22-7 in the second half. TC isn't going away- they're still supremely talented, but unless the Marauders lay an egg the playoff rematch will be in Clearwater . Florida High had the lead at halftime against Madison County but couldn't hold on. Despite the setback they did enough to still be my pick for 3A North. Heritage Delray was off and King's continues looking impressive along with rival Benjamin School. Ocala Trinity continues to deserve praise for their turnaround and 3-0 start. #1 Chaminade dominated Blanche Ely 38-0. #2 CCC went to Tampa and defeated Tampa Catholic 34-14. #3 Florida High lost to Madison County 33-17. #4 American Heritage Delray had a bye-week. #5 King's Academy defeated Glades Day 26-0. Other scores of note: Ocala Trinity Catholic 46-14 over Jax Stanton. Calvary Christian (Clearwater) 61-13 over Anclote. Sarasota Cardinal Mooney 28-17 over Tampa Berkeley Prep Orlando First Academy 20-15 over Orlando Christian Prep Melbourne Central Catholic 30-0 over Archbishop McCarthy Lakeland Christian lost to Bishop Verot 17-10. Benjamin School over LaSalle 41-0 I'll update my personal rankings this week at some point, there's a lot to sift through and while the top teams in 3A don't have exciting matchups this week, there are some really good games being played such as Melbourne CC vs Tampa Catholic, Lakeland Christian vs Berkeley, Trinity Catholic vs Mt. Dora, American Heritage Delray vs Monsignor Pace.

Oldschool, I wasn't pointing you out btw:-) I actually received some messages from some friends in Broward who were a bit down on Chaminade's performance. As I recall last year Shaun Shivers called his team out on twitter after the American Heritage game for being selfish and then had a closed door, players only meeting. Shivers is very much missed because of his leadership- I also agree that as good as John Dunmore is (and make no mistake, he's special) he also is still a new kid on the block even though he was previously at Chaminade under a different coaching staff. There are some battles ahead for sure- American Heritage Plantation, Booker T, Uschool. I tend to give Chaminade (as I would anybody who has been consistency successful over the past few years) the benefit of the doubt. I think the schedule eases up a bit over the next 2 weeks, let's see how the Lions adjust. The AHP game is going to be huge for them.

1A is sort of a beast on its own. Also, starting this year (2018) 1A-4A have added the extra round to the playoffs that the bigger classifications have played. The top two teams in each region in 1A-4A have a round 1 bye in the playoffs. As far as combining classifications- you will get a lot of resistance from the teams in 2A if you throw in 1A classes. 2A-8A are based on enrollment numbers, but 1A is based on being listed as a rural school and their enrollment can go into the upper 500's and lower 600's. 2A and 3A could be combined without any issues as a lot of those teams play each other already.

Phwww, the season is flying by quickly! Let's look at my top 5 teams: 1) Chaminade-Madonna: Defeated Muscle Shoals 28-21. While many fans are a bit down on Chaminade for not winning by 50+, I actually give credit to Chaminade for winning this one despite a 10am kickoff on a Saturday in another state. The Lions are just fine. This week the Lions have Ely coming to town. A scrappy but over matched team. Historically, Daemon Jones coached teams start slow and pick up by week 4. That game against American Heritage Plantation is must see- TV! 2) Clearwater Central Catholic: Up 35-6 against Sarasota Booker at the end of 3 quarters, the Marauders emptied the bench in anticipation of their rivalry game this upcoming Friday. Perhaps the most amazing thing about the Marauders run is that superstar RB Jerzhan Newton has only taken 2 snaps at running back all year. 3) Florida High: The Seminoles started strong routing Blountstown. Huge test for the Seminoles this week as Madison County comes calling. 4) American Heritage Delray: The Stallions continue to roll knocking off a talented Holy Trinity team 35-14. The schedule picks up this week vs Monsignor Pace. 5) King's Academy: Lions score a good win over 5A John Carroll Catholic. A trip to Glades Day is up next. Other teams I'm keeping an eye on: Ocala Trinity Catholic: Don't look now, but the Celtics are 2-0 and have a favorable schedule coming up. The offense has been lights out. Watch out for the Celtics. Berkeley Prep: The Bucs were hammered by CCC is week 1, but bounced by knocking off Calvary Christian 14-7. Berkeley plays undefeated Cardinal Mooney this week. Benjamin School: 2-0 and getting ready to play LaSalle. Orlando TFA: First Academy is off to a hot start, but won't be challenged until they play Calvary in a few weeks. Ft. White: Despite week 1 loss, schedule looks good coming up for Indians. TOP GAMES FOR WEEK 3: GAME OF THE WEEK Clearwater Central Catholic @ Tampa Catholic The Marauders currently own a 15 game regular season winning streak. Their last loss was @ Tampa Catholic in 2016 when they drove the ball to the TC 1 yard line with 30 seconds remaining. TC made a goal line stand on 4 downs. CCC knocked off TC last year 25-0 in the regular season and 37-35 in rd1 of the playoffs. CCC is currently ranked #1 in 3A in the Sportswriter Poll. The Marauders have traveled to Tampa Catholic twice as the #1 ranked team and lost both games (2013 and 2016). Since 1998, CCC is 17-6 against TC but very few of those wins have come at TC. CCC has not won at TC since 2011. Jess's pick: If the game was played in Clearwater- I would pick CCC without question, but it's not. The Crusaders are lead by a pair of 3 star running backs (Jalen Bussey, Caleb Tate), the biggest average offensive line in all of 3A, a speedy defense that has only given up 6 points this year and some big names on the coaching staff. TC has wanted a piece of CCC for a year- expect a huge crowd, fireworks and a big win for the home team that will turn Tampa Catholic back into a 3A power. Tampa Catholic is where CCC winning streaks and lofty rankings go to die. Tampa Catholic 28, CCC 24 Madison County vs Florida High The stakes are high at Florida High (See what I did there?). After an impressive win over Blountstown- the stakes get higher this week as FSU School hosts Madison County. Jess's pick: Florida High is still my pick to get to Orlando and represent 3A north, but Madison County is simply too much. Madison County: 35, Florida High 21

I would agree with round 1 and 2, but Chaminade's round 3 win was impressive and the state finals win was against even competition.

This is the truest statement I've heard because it's also the biggest problem. There's already discussion on using polls similar to this going forward in other sports to determine playoff seeding and which teams are in which classification. If this comes to high school football in Florida, it will be an issue.

These are all valid points- and things discussed by myself and others. It was explained to me that the poll doesn't mean CCC would beat Chaminade at all. It simply means that relative to the schedule played and in front of each team- these are the teams having the best regular seasons compared to who they're playing. A fair point, but that's not a sentiment shared among all pollsters.That's the issue- it's not consistent among classifications or pollsters. If that was the guidelines, I'd at least understand (but not agree) with CCC being moved to #1. I'm not sure there is a specific guideline of how to vote, and I seriously doubt any film is being watched outside of MAYBE a few Hudl highlights of a few teams. My big gripe is- how do 15 teams get a vote in 3A? Who is watching all 15 teams? Between myself, my brother, pop, cousin and hubby we watch MAYBE 4 games at most per week and we follow high school football in the lower classes pretty closely. How are these pollsters doing this for 8 classifications? On paper, Chaminade lost to Deerfield Beach by 3 at home. If Deerfield Beach played at CCC, I would take Deerfield Beach by 3 TD's or more most people would, yet we have multiple polls where Chaminade is not ranked #1. Now, the debate is between CCC and Chaminade; however, I have no idea what Florida High is doing #2 this week. I still maintain that in 3A it's Chaminade and then a long drop, CCC and then a drop.. and then there's a bunch of teams clumped together. Personally, I think it's a moot point as I see Tampa Catholic upsetting CCC next week. Anytime CCC has been ranked #1 (2013, 2016) and had to travel to Tampa Catholic they've lost- I see it happening again on 9/7. That will put Chaminade back to #1, but it's my opinion that Chaminade should not need TC to beat CCC to be #1 in the state when they're the defending champions and only lost to an 8A powerhouse. Overall, I have a lot of gripes with the poll and have sent some E-mails out to the pollsters. I doubt I'll receive a response, but I'm interested in the thought process.

Here is my personal analysis of the AP Sportswriter Poll as I try to break this down every week. This was released yesterday but I needed an entire night (and morning) to wrap my head around it: Class 3A Record    Pts    Prv 1. Clearwater Central Catholic (5)   1-0          131    2      2. Tallahassee Florida   0-0          110    T3 3. Chaminade-Madonna College Prep (9)   1-0          107    1 4. Delray American Heritage   1-0          73      NR 5. King's Academy   1-0          34      NR Others receiving votes: Melbourne Central Catholic 18, Tampa Catholic 17, Father Lopez Catholic 14, Taylor County 13, Lakeland Christian 12, Cardinal Mooney 7, Benjamin 6, Holy Trinity Episcopal 6, Trinity Prep 6, Westminster Christian 6. ANALYSIS: I'm not sure where to begin here, but I'll start with the obvious. Why is Chaminade being penalized 2 spots for losing to a very good 8A team? Honestly- I'm not sure why they are being penalized at all, but I get it- the Sportswriters AP poll is not a poll that is used to determine a state champion, it's a regular season poll. With that as a context, I can understand (but don't agree) why CCC is moved to #1. They're on a 14 game regular season winning streak and have only lost 1 regular season home game since 2012 (2014 to IMG)- but why is Chaminade behind Florida High? And why does the poll not have FSU School's name spelled correctly. For the record, Florida high is listed last week as being tied for 3rd- they were tied with themselves and I'm NOT making this up, go back and look at last weeks poll, they were listed twice. While I'm on the subject, why is Chaminade's record listed as 1-0? If they were 1-0 we would be talking about them being a dark horse for a national championship if they went undefeated. At the very least Chaminade still received the majority of 1st place votes. Also- while I'm griping this morning, why are there 15 teams listed in the poll? This is class 3A, not 7A. There's no need for 15 teams to be listed, but if we're going to list 15 teams why isn't Ocala Trinity Catholic getting at least 1 vote? I'm okay with spots 4,5,6,7- I believe TC, MCC, AHD, KA are all pretty even with each other at this point in the year. Once we get past the 7th spot, we're stretching a bit. While I believe some of those teams after 7th will be in contention at some point for a top spot, there are others that just simply do not belong. It seems to me that some sportswriters are voting their hearts and not their heads. It almost feels like, "Hey, your football team stinks- but I'm going to get you some votes while I can." Overall- it's not the worst poll I've seen, but I'm not sure how much thought went into it either. While it's easy to say rankings don't matter we also live in a world where there's talk of MaxPreps being used as a component to determine playoff seeding in other sports, so don't mind me if I come off as a bit cynical.

Good morning! There's a lot to discuss so this post might be lengthy. Kudos to my younger brother for helping me with information over the duration of the weekend. CLASS 3A RANKINGS WEEK 1 REVIEW #1) Chaminade-Madonna: Losing to Deerfield beach 13-10 in a back and forth contest is nothing to be ashamed of. Last year the Lions were dismantled by Miami Central which was cause for concern. There are still heavy hitters on the schedule including American Heritage Plantation, Booker T and Uschool, but I don't think the Lions will see the depth of a defense like the Bucks. #2) Clearwater Central Catholic: CCC knocked off Berkeley Prep in a 2 night affair. On Friday evening the Berkeley Bucs lead by QB Joshua Youngblood (41 offers, Temple commit) went up 7-0 in a thunderous downpour. The teams met again on Saturday evening where the Marauders outscored the Bucs 35-7 the rest of the way. Star RB and All-State Running Back Jerzhan Newton did not play offense accordign to the times, only defense. He will be returning to offense this week giving the Marauders a bigtime weapon heading into week 2. #3) FSU School: I mistakenly mentioned last week that Florida High played Blountstown. They do, but Florida High had a bye in week 1. FSU DRS and Blountstown play this Friday. #4) American Heritage Delray: Don't look now, but the Stallions are creeping back into power. The Stallions knocked off 8A Belen Jesuit 36-29. This is quickly becoming a team to keep an eye on in 3A. #5) Ft. White: Ft. White QB Dylan Blair completed 11 of 15 for 156 yards and 2 TD's to help the Indians take a half-time lead but in the second half Suwanee was able to make the necessary adjustments which resulted in a FW loss. Suwanee scored 21 points off of FW turnovers. CLASS 3A TOP 7 WEEK 2 #1) Chaminade-Madonna #2) Clearwater Central Catholic #3) FSU School #4) American Heritage Delray #5) Tampa Catholic MAXPREPS SMALL SCHOOL NATIONAL RANKINGS Max Preps released their top 25 small schools. Maxpreps defines a small school as a team with genuinely under 1000 students enrolled and playing in Florida classifications 1A, 2A and 3A. Also note that the poll does not seem to include 3A teams who have elected to move to 5A such as Jacksonville Trinity Christian. Chaminade-Madonna comes in at #2. Clearwater Central Catholic comes in at #8. Madison County comes in at #18. Champgnat Catholic comes in at #22. Pahokee comes in at #24. https://tinyurl.com/y8gq8yb5 is the link to the entire poll. GAMES OF THE WEEK Chaminade-Madonna vs Muscle Shoals (AL) The Lions hit the road for the Freedom Bowl which sees them take on a good but not great Muscle Shoals team from Alabama. The Lions may have lost last week in a nailbiter, but they're still a top 100 team nationally. Muscle Shoals defeated Deshler 31-0 last week and is currently ranked the #22 team in Alabama according to AL.com. The Trojans of Muscle Shoals appear to have a solid Junior QB and RB one-two punch and are physical up front, still- being the #22 ranked team in Alabama probably puts them around the 100-110 mark in Florida. Chaminade should represent Florida well and win this one big. Chaminade 38, Muscle Shoals 10. Melbourne Central Catholic vs Corinth (Missouri) The Hustlers continued their winning ways with a 41-19 win over the IMG Varsity team. This week things get a bit more serious as the Hustlers take on a 1-1 Warriors team from Missouri. Corinth lost last week in OT to the #5 team in Missorui Tupelo. MCC had a huge graduating class, but there's a lot of speed on the roster- especially LaAnthony Valentine at RB. Atheltically, MCC is probably a bit better; however, Corinth is playing at home. MCC is not very big along the lines, their biggest linemen that sees playing time is only 240 according to Maxpreps. Corinth had multiple players 6'2, 275 and bigger. MCC will most likely have a significant speed advantage in this one. Speed Kills, but I expect a close matchup from what I've heard. MCC 28, Corinth 21 Tampa Berekely Prep vs Calvary Christian (Clearwater) One of the questions I've received quite often is a variation of the following question: How good is Calvary Christian? The hype started the moment Reggie Crume was hired and superstar QB Harold Cook transferred in from Alonso. Calvary returned 2 top notch WR's in Kai Martin and Kendrick Maynard Jr. They then added Richie Illaraza from CCC- they are big up front with multiple 290lb linemen and then added a star DE in Bo Planeta who transferred in from Mitchell HS. The schedule has left a lot to be desired for though. Their wins are against St. Pete Catholic in the kickoff classic and Umatilla last week. Berkeley Prep knocked off class 2A state semifinalist Victory Christian in the kickoff classic 21-7 in 1 half of play. They started hot against CCC but the Marauders asserted their dominance in the 2nd quarter which resulted in Berkeley Prep losing 35-14. This will be the toughest game for Calvary Christian this far. Berekely Prep has one of the top pure athletic QB's in the state and as big as Calvary is in the trenches, Berkeley is bigger For Calvary to be taken seriously they need a win that says, "We've arrived". Beating Umatilla 100-0 isn't going to turn anybodys head, but a win over Berkeley Prep at Berekley? Now people will start talking. Still, Berkeley Prep is coached by a legend Dom Ciao and it's really hard to see this Bucs team starting 0-2 especially since they still have one of the top linebackers in the country Jaylen Harrell patrolling the field. Berekley Prep 24, Calvary 21.

My thing with Chaminade last year was that in the first half of the season they were getting hammered. After the AHP loss, Shaun Shivers rallied the team by calling a players only meeting and leading the charge. I think Keontra Smith has the ability to be a leader but he's a quiet guy. When I look at the roster I think the guy needs to be the QB or the OL Nixon guy since I believe he's homegrown as well.

Panther, Yes, they shut the program down entirely. Oxbridge is no fielding a team in 2018. There's talk about them bringing football back at some point in the future- but at least for 2018 they are not fielding a team.

CCC ended up winning 35-14. The Berkeley Prep fan I spoke with yesterday didn't tell me the game was played in a monsoon like condition. Tonight the teams started with Berkeley Prep up 7-0 with 8:13 left in the 2nd. CCC would score 28 unanswered in quick and decisive fashion, Berkeley scored late and then CCC put the game away midway through the 4th.

Proseteye, That was a good, strong win to set the tone for Trinity Catholic. A win's a win and I'm starting to jump on board with the new staff and think the winds of change are in the air for Trinity. Keep us up to date on them! OldschoolLion, Chaminade losing to Deerfield Beach doesn't change the 3A picture one iota, but you're correct- they do continue to struggle vs the states elite, but I also look at the bigger picture. Last week Chaminade played Columbus this week Deerfield beach, 2x really good 8A programs. I think Chaminade has one of the most interesting games in the state next week with the Alabama team. Some other games I saw went down: American Heritage Delray defeated 8A Belen Jesuit. I personally ranked AHD in my top 5 at #4 as I felt this program was making rapid steps toward coming back to power. This was a big step for them. CCC vs Berkeley Prep will resume today at 6pm; however, I've been told CCC looks awful and might be one of the worst teams in 3A right now- granted it was a Berkeley fan who told me that, but it's the only feedback I could gather. It's 7-0 with about 9 minutes left in the 2nd quarter, but Berkeley Prep has run 35 offensive plays to CCC's 6. When play resumes, CCC will have the ball 2nd and 6 from the CCC 40. Tampa Catholic and St. Pete Gibbs is delayed until Monday. 8/27, Lakeland Christian is playing Tenoroc this morning. Some other notes: I noticed than MCC destroyed IMG White (Varsity), Calvary Christian dominated Umatilla. Cardinal Mooney snuck by Bishop Verot. St. Pete Catholic went down to Carrollwood Day. Orlando TFA knocked off West Oaks.

I've received quite a few messages from the Tampa Catholic faithful saying they're severely underrated in all of the polls and opinion of the public. These messages and comments have come to me for the past few weeks; however, after Tampa Catholic beat Tampa Robinson in the KoC the comments have increased. TC was down at the half 15-14, but dominated the second half scoring 22 unanswered points as they inserted young QB Dylan McCain who completed some passes. The ground game rushed for 350 yards. The excitement from the Crusader faithful stems from the theory that this is Tampa Robinsons best team in years. Perhaps it is their best team, but having a strong second half in a KOC is a far cry from competing with Jesuit. Look, I'm not Big County Preps who has a financial incentive for openly supporting TC football so they can get TC kids at their camps and who's founder is BFF's with TC's HC to the point where they will purposely not cover specific schools that TC is a rival with out of loyalty. I also don't have much negative to say about Tampa Catholic football. They had a rough offseason, but they've done a good job rebuilding the program. I do have a problem with their O-line coach saying on twitter, "Nah nah. Remember we're supposed to go 0 and 10 this year. No OLine, No QB, No real skill guys.... PSA After penalties, We ran for 350+ yds last night " No Oline? Tampa Catholic's offensive line right now is bigger and taller on average than Chaminade-Madonna's. 0-10 this year? How could Tampa Catholic possibly go 0-10 with one of the easier schedules in all of 3A. Gibbs is rebuilding from the ground-up to the point where the HC just wants players to have fun and run around without worrying about actually competing or winning. Tarpon Springs is in complete rebuild mode. Cypress Creek is a 2nd year varsity program. Bishop Verot may win 3 games all year. Belleview is rebuilding as well. None of these teams are expecte to win more than 5 games this year. Some of them may not win 5 games combined. No QB? Well, you lost 2 power 5 QB's in the span of 3 months and by your HC's own admission he still needed to watch film to determine a starter. Skill guys? Who said TC doesn't have skill guys- even Jesuit fans have respect for TC's skill players. Even with all of the transition at no point did anybody question TC's skill guys. TC may not be in any polls right now, but there is ample opportunity to jump into them as the year progresses; however, you have to beat the teams that count that grab headlines.

Darter- I couldn't agree more! Berkeley QB Joshua Youngblood made a statement by calling it the most important game of his high school career which gathered attention from the media since he's a pretty quiet guy otherwise. Last years game was amazing. According to Kibid (Coach at CCC), Berkeley Prep was up 28-14 with 11 minutes left. Down 28-26 CCC with under 2 minutes in the game they had to drive the length of the field and convert twice on 4th and long to kick a 35 yard field goal with 1 second on the clock. I would have loved to see that game in person- I saw the video after the fact.

The first Florida sportswriters/media rankings were released- here is Class 3A: Class 3A 1. Chaminade-Madonna (12) 0-0 129 2. Clearwater Central Catholic (1) 0-0 97 3. Florida 0-0 58 (tie)Tallahassee Florida 0-0 58 5. Fort White 0-0 43 Others receiving votes: Tampa Catholic 41, King's Academy 37, Melbourne Central Catholic 28, Delray American Heritage 22, First Academy-Orlando 15, Lakeland Christian 13, Taylor County 8, Berkeley Prep 7, Calvary Christian 7, Benjamin 6 The way it's worded you have Chaminade at #1, CCC at #2 and then the entire state of Florida would be #3 in 3A and the city of Tallahasse would be #4 in 3A. I chuckled as did my hubby, this is clearly a mistake. I believe they meant to put Florida High at #3, Ft. White #4 and Tampa Catholic #5. Overall, this is pretty much how I have my top teams setup. Chaminade is #1 and then there's a significant drop-off. CCC is #2 and then there's another significant drop-off. You then have teams 3-7 within 20 votes of each other. I do think higher of American Heritage Delray right now, but I understand why the voters voted the way they did. Overall, 16 teams received at least one vote which tells you that if you take away Chaminade and CCC, there is a lot of parity in the class which should make for exciting football this year.

Major respect to those who took their own personal time to put this together!