DarterBlue2

Columbus will lose if it comes down to raw talent. But if they stay close, I would not at all be surprised if they pull the upset. Certainly, it would behoove Venice to take the Explorers very seriously. I believe the final score will be something like 24-17 Venice. But I would not be surprised if Columbus prevails by less than a TD.

Raines is undefeated. But I don't think they have played the quality competition that MNW has. So, I think the Bulls will win state and probably comfortably. Yes, BTW could pull out the win. But winning in small, rural counties where the whole community turns out to the game is difficult; and BTW does not usually travel well. Plus, it's likely a 9 to 10 hour road trip by bus, so they will need to be there a day early and I am not sure if there will even be a good practice facility nearby for the kids to get properly warmed up and loose. Gadsden County has won most of their games in blowout fashion and in their KOC, they played Venice very tough. So, its obvious they have a very good team for a small school. The game will be tight and if it were held in Dade or a neutral site, I would like BTW's chances. I just feel that on the road, in the conditions they are going to face, if the two teams are as equally matched as I think, they will be at a big disadvantage.

Madison County - In a close game. CCC - Could go either way. CN is a good team Gadsden - It will be a long trip for Booker T. I'll take Gadsden because of homefield advantage. MNW - Only the FHSAA can stop the Bulls Jones - Tough game to pick. I'll go with homefield advantage. There's a reason Jones is undefeated. STA - Could go either way based on how STA has been playing. I'll take strength of schedule West Boca - WB is the best team in PBC. Southridge's quest for a title ends in Boca Raton Osceola - In a nail biter. Buchholz is a very good team, but I think physicality and line play gets the Kowboys the win. Venice - Venice's first real test in the playoffs. I believe Columbus hangs tough but comes up just short. Lake Mary - Lake Mary gets revenge. It won't be close. The only easy picks this week are the Lake Mary Dr. Phillips game and the Miami Northwestern game vs Eau Galle. All of the others were pretty tough to very tough to pick. Now DP may just win and I'll have egg in my face. But I doubt it. Lake Mary is on a mission and should do to them what Apopka did to Edgewater back in the 2001 regional finals after the Eagles had given the Darters its only regular season loss.

I can tell with certainty that 7A and 6A are matched up exactly as they would have based on the rankings at the end of the regular season. I believe, but am not certain, since I did not follow it as closely, that the same applies to 4A. So, they are not even following their current rules. Oh well ... we are where we are and that's all I will say. On another note, Manatee is about as tough a place to travel to as is Niceville, but not quite as tough as Lakeland. Good luck you have a long trip.

I saw the game on film; I know Taevion got injured early and I have no idea how the game would have went if he was healthy all game. I am sure Lake Mary is not as athletic as Armwood is on defense, but their defense did fine last night with two interceptions one of which was a one handed catch for a pick six and the other a long run after the pick that took the ball inside the five. Aside from those two timely interceptions, Lake Mary won convincingly because Grubbs had his best game of this season last night. His passes were crisp and accurate and Seminole's secondary was outgunned. I expected they would win, but not as easily as they did. If they play like they did last night, they will almost certainly avenge their loss to DP and likely with a large point spread win. I believe that if, as I expect, the 7A final is Venice vs Lake Mary, it may be an offensive game for the ages, probably like the Apopka vs Cypress Bay final in 2012. Regarding your opponent next week, they have a good QB and a balanced offense. I don't believe they will have a lot of success running against Osceola, so, if they are to have a chance, their QB will have to have one of his best games of the season. Their defense is solid but gives up points to good teams, so Taevion will have his long runs and touchdowns. How many, I don't know. I watched them beat a good Cardinal Newman team a few weeks ago, and was overall impressed with their game play. I believe Osceola will beat them, but they are not a team to be trifled with.

That is exactly what they hoped for. This whole system sucks! No transparency at all. Note that if they were revising the rankings based on the playoffs, Osceola would most certainly be hosting a semifinal based on the their win last night. Instead, they are traveling to Gainesville to play Buchholz. It is, what it is.

It will be Venice vs Columbus and Venice will, indeed, host. Great place to watch a game. Decent sized visiting section and large home side. I am sure there will be a packed house. My advice is get there early. Venice will be the favorite (rightly), but their D can be scored on and Columbus, though not as good as last year, is gritty. So, victory by Venice is not assured. Could end up being a great game.

Great win, Ray. I have to admit, I thought you would keep it close, but I doubted the Kowboys would win. Figured you would lose by a touchdown or less in a low scoring game. Well the Kowboys proved me wrong and I am very glad they did! It should be noted that the two teams you lost to (Lake Mary and Jones) are state semifinalists like your Kowboys. And Lake Mary made it in running clock fashion literally destroying Seminole. There are some solid teams left in 6A, but you have overcome the favorite. Go win state!!

It helps that their offensive strengths play into Osceola's defensive strengths. If I were not coming back from Atlanta Friday, I would make the trip down I-4. But I probably won't get home till around 5pm and I will be tired. So, I will probably make it to either Lake Mary or Dr. Phillips instead.

Bingo! That's exactly what I was saying. But in addition, they had no idea what they were going to face. At least against Coleman, they knew what to expect. They just had a hard time stopping him. Coleman has some of the best pocket presence I have ever seen in a high school QB. Grubbs has a stronger arm and has the kind of size that D1 teams look for. But at the high school level, at least, Coleman is one of the best I have ever seen as he's extremely calm under pressure. And while he's not a classic dual threat, he has enough speed to give opposing teams a lot of trouble with his legs. Time will tell whether he will continue to perform at the next level. But I am glad he will be getting the opportunity to do so. Good luck to your Kowboys at Armwood. It is a daunting task, but I know that Osceola's players will give it their all, and if you get by that hurdle, 6A is wide open and you will have as good a shot as any at going all the way.

Moore gave Edgewater hell the first half. They probably had not seen him on film playing QB and he gashed them for first down after first down on the ground and also made some good passes. In the second half they contained Tech some, but by then it was too late to stage a meaningful comeback. All they could do was keep the final score somewhat respectable

Those kinds of post season events made sense. A final game for the seniors on a deserving team. Those days are long gone.

Don't ask, it's actually pretty amazing, but in a bad way.

Cardinal Newman Trinity Christian Cardinal Mooney Gadsden County Eau Galle Booker St Augustine Naples Norland Jones Niceville Lakeland Buchholz Armwood - Osceola is going to give the Hawks all they can handle. This is not a comfortable pick but is based on homefield advantage. I hope I am wrong and the Kowboys pull it off. Southridge - If it had been West Boca, I would have picked them. But the Ridge lives another week. Dr Phillips - DP gets to the semis in a very had fought game. Homefield is the deciding factor. Lake Mary - despite losing its RB late against Spruce Creek, even if IT is not healthy, the Rams beat this uninspired version of Seminole High. Western

Sorry you are out that way.

I am happy that I am still alive in this august company.

You have a solid lineup of games. Most are pretty hard to pick. I do believe a couple are pretty easy, but I don't know how they stack up relative to the alternatives.

Given it's at Dp., I would make them the favorite. But they are beatable, though pretty good. I give VB a 40% chance of winning the game. Regardless, I think the final margin will be 10 or less

That's a big win for Vero Beach. It sets up a Regional Final against Dr. Phillips. That should be a very good game.

That they did

Indeed!

Clearly there are too many teams in the playoffs. This could easily be remedied by reducing the number of classes by at least one, but preferably two. Having districts no less than 5 teams but no more then 7 would lead to better playoff teams without making it too difficult for teams to schedule out of district, out of area, or even out of state teams with their remaining 4 to 6 games. I am agnostic as to whether we have champs and runners up under this scenario or whether it's champs and the next highest four teams in each region provided the system to determine ranking is rational and transparent.

In my opinion the answers are: no, no and maybe, but very unlikely. A potential upset under the radar is Jupiter upsetting Dr. Phillips. Not likely, but I could see that happening.

Do you understand how much you come over as a total a^^ hole? Perhaps you get some kind of grotesque high off of being like that. I cannot help you as I am not a medic. Needless to say, this is my first and last response to anything you may post for the remaining time I post on this message board.

ditto!!