DarterBlue2

I am going with Venice by 3. Should be close, but I am not sold on this year's Vero team.

Very difficult choice but a great one to have. Two great games on paper. Hope they both live up to the hype!

He is suffering from long term board derangement syndrome, a new, debilitating malady. I pray he recovers as it would be a shame to lose such a passionate, promising youngster!

Wekiva may have a chance. They are very nasty on defense and have a solid, if not yet spectacular, offense. If they lose, their undoing may be their special teams. We will see in a little.

It's also my brother's!

Exactly.

Columbia deserves to be at the very least within the top 20. I am reluctant to say anymore than that right this minute. But if this was not a fluke and if IMG is still the IMG of recent times, then Columbia should at the very least make it to the third round of the playoffs this year. And, realistically, a trip to Orlando could be within reach.

I agree.

Apopka 28 Mainland 13. I left with just under three minutes to go, but Apopka was driving so I figured the score would either remain the same or Apopka would widen the margin. Mixed feelings on this game. Apopka's defense has come a long way and is very solid. The offense kept shooting itself in the foot, though, fumbling the ball away three or four times of which only one was forced. Two Apopka and one Mainland touchdowns were called back. If Apopka can remain healthy and if the kids play as a unit, they could have a very good season. However, the district, though small, is a tough one, so a playoff spot is not even assured. Mainland had the size advantage, but it was obvious Apopka was the better conditioned team.

Either Fletcher in mid October or Bolles the first week of November. I am leaning towards Fletcher as it's a district game and Apopka is off that night.

Very, very happy for Columbia!! I will be making the trip to see you at home. It will be one of the two games we discussed.

Apopka vs Mainland at Mainland (Municipal Stadium). Should be an interesting game.

He behaved very badly up in Gainsville. Property damage and what not. Kid was talented and actually pretty smart. Had a SAT over 1200 but was obviously troubled.

I think there are no fans from that side of Polk County on the board. They probably have as good a chance as they ever have. Osceola was not especially impressive in its Spring game.

A couple of their kids transferred to OC University and they also graduated a few. Last year, I actually liked their offense and, as I stated in my post, gave them a solid shot at beating Seminole. But they did not. Truth is last year LM was an up and down team. They beat a solid OC University team easily when state champs DP struggled against them and Seminole lost against them. But then lost to Seminole without putting up much of a fight and were in a dogfight with a pedestrian Lake Brantley team. Maybe they take District this year, but unless they have a lot of talent coming in, I don't think they will.

I am. They had a lot of talent last year and if it returns Seminole should be a very good team. Go get through the issues quickly and successfully. Mainland/Apopka should be a fun game whichever way it goes.

Here's the problem I see for Lake Mary: they don't match up well against Seminole. Last year, I too, thought they had a chance. And pretty much the same team they will be facing with a year's more experience handled them with ease. Strange things happen sometimes, but I would be surprised if LM beats Seminole this year.

Brenden, I doubt Lake Mary beats Seminole for District 3. Nothing's impossible, but Seminole has a lot more talent in my opinion.

I, for one, appreciate what you do with these things and take them not as works of perfection, but, rather, things to stimulate discussion.

I think the final was 51-36 or something like that. It was a one score game, Apopka was driving, then they lost their QB to a hit that damaged his future career. Byrnes scored another touchdown after that, to increase the lead to two scores.

That would be terrible. You could get better State of Florida rankings from some of the posters on this board.

Probably Broward County.

The list ranges from the absurdly overcompensated to those making, at best, just reasonable compensation for the nature of their jobs relative to the cost of living in some of these areas. With respect to the Apopka official, his tenure ended in litigation between the City and himself, as the city sought to extricate itself from its agreement with him. In general, the state has way too many small towns and cities that serve as gravy trains for many well connected individuals. If the taxpayers of these places realized what the cost of "local self government" was, I daresay many would be glad to give up their self governing status as in many cases the County could provide the services much more cheaply.

Back then Americans carried "normal" weight. The heavyweight boxing champion, Rocky Marciano (or was it Jersey Joe Walcott), weighed 188 full of steaks. No more. The sad fact is that Americans are digging their graves with their teeth.

Your coaching staff has a lot of balls taking this game. Hope Columbia holds its own. I will keep my fingers crossed.